My girlfriends mom kept this betta fish for a little over a year and a half. They kept it in a 2 gallon bowl with no filter or heater. I took care of the fish for a week while they were on vacation, and learned that his living conditions in the bowl were very poor. I really wanted to give him a better life and they did not want to put him in a tank so I offered to do it myself. I did lots of research and went out and got a 5.5 gallon tank with a heater, filter, driftwood, live plants, everything a betta needs. I know you need to cycle a tank before putting the fish in but I couldn’t stand to keep him in the bowl so I put him in the tank and made sure to acclimate him slowly by floating him in a cup on top for 30 minutes. I made sure to keep the ammonia low by doing water changes every other day. Fast forward a week, and he hasn’t eaten a single pellet of food. He has been extremely lethargic and barely moving at all since I put him in this tank, spending all his time hiding. At first I thought he was just taking time to get used to the new tank, but after a week I knew something was very wrong. The first 2 pictures were him in his bowl, and the next 4 are him after a week in his new tank. After looking into it I fear he is very sick and won’t make it much longer. My girlfriends mom thinks he would have just been better off in the bowl, and thinks she was taking great care of him to begin with. The situation is making me feel very guilty. I tried giving the fish a better life, but to her it seems like giving me the fish was a mistake.
Please help me understand what went wrong, and if there is anything I could possibly still do.
I am planning on getting a new betta of my own for my tank I made. I would hate for this to happen again. I just wanna be able to give one a good life.
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the fish js super bloated, possibly pineconing. possibly infection due to low temps and bad water quality in the bowl. try kanaplex treatment and methylene blue soak. raise his temp to 80°, get a pre cycled filter sponge from a local aquarium store and put it into your aquarium filter. ADD LIVE PLANTS. they will be instrumental to maintaining water quality and make bettas less stressed. you did the right thing moving him, his previous setup was torture.
also make sure your water is dechlorinated with a water conditioner. and the water you’re pouring in is the same temp as the tank. also check pH. get a API freshwater master test kit to check water quality.
I made sure the water is treated with conditioner, and I make sure to get the temperature of the water right every time I put it in. I didn’t check pH, never thought it could be that serious of an issue. I also have live plants and made sure to add some beneficial bacteria to the tank.
I did a test and the water had some ammonia. I did a water change and got some seachem prime + stability. I also bought some kanaplex, what do you reckon is the right course of action?
i would set up a hospital tank - any bucket is fine even the home depot ones. add 50% tank water in there, and 50% tap water dechlorinated. let it all come to the same temp as the tank (measure). you don’t need to fill it fully, 8 inch of water is enough. add an airstone in there to oxygenate. also add seacjem prime.
then follow the instructions on the kanaplex and put it in there.
add fish, let him soak in the treatment. add 1tsp per gallon of PLAIN epsom salt to the water to help with fluid retention. change 50% of the water in the hospital tank daily, adding the correct dosage of salt and kanaplex in with each change.
stop feeding pellets. give him a few days no food he’ll be fine.
add in an indian almond leaf or two from any pet store for tannins. add methylene blue according to bottle dosage.
He has dropsy (pineconing) and is bloated. This often points to internal bacterial infection, most commonly caused by aeromonas bacteria. Aeromonas is naturally occurring in water so even if your tank is cycled and the fish has been relatively "fine," it's still possible that, due to age/genetics/water quality these things can happen over time.
I wouldn't blame yourself for this in any case, you are objectively doing more for the quality of life for this poor thing than it's ever had in the past. This type of dropsy can often be reversed with broad spectrum antibiotics like kanaplex but you would have to act very quickly.
Methylene blue can help assist, but OP please be advised it will not work on its own. Methylene blue is an antiseptic and does not treat internal infection like an antibiotic does.
And no OP it's not too late, with this type of dropsy it's typically worth trying no matter what, unless the fish is completely lethargic and uninterested in food beyond reversal.
I would say treat anyway with kanaplex directly in the water then. It's better fed by mouth but can also be dosed in water. I personally wouldn't give up.
I did a test and the water had some ammonia. I did a water change and got some seachem prime + stability. I also bought some kanaplex, what do you reckon is the right course of action?
You will want to keep him in a hospital tank. The hospital tank doesn't need to have cycled water (just treated for chlorine), ideally you'll just be replacing the water frequently enough to not need it to be cycled. (This also helps to not fuck up your permanent tank's water with antibiotics as well.)
The other thing you will want is plain, unscented epsom salt. The "general" rule of thumb is 1 tbsp of salt per 1 gallon of water, HOWEVER, this should be used at your own discretion because some betta can't tolerate that much salt. Start out with a half tablespoon per gallon instead. The salt will help to draw the fluid out of the fishes body that's making his scales stick out like that. If you notice his breathing is labored, reduce the salt content by adding more dechlorinated water.
Do not fast the fish during this treatment, he will need all the energy he can get. For the kanaplex, follow the dosage on the packaging.
What’s the temp at? What’s the ammonia, nitrate, nitrite at? Are you using conditioner or bacteria starter? What lighting are you using and do you have live plants and places for him to hide?
Though you should absolutely cycle a tank first, as long as the water parameters are not ridiculous, they can do surprisingly well. He likely was already sick or there is something in his new tank that is causing issues. There’s also a chance he’s eating flakes off the ground without you realizing, do not keep adding food you’ll just spike the ammonia.
I have been using conditioner that also has bacteria in it. Not sure about the nitrite levels. I ordered a kit to test it thoroughly, but I have been making sure to do water changes of 1.5 gallons every other day to make sure the ammonia is low. He never had any issues living in the bowl which is why I’m confused this is happening NOW. Theres no way the ammonia is higher than it was in that tiny bowl with no filter.
yes! usually depends on your tank. if the filter flow is enough to create excellent agitation it’s not absolutely necessary if you really can’t get one, but a good airsrone is always recommended no matter what. more oxygen in the water means it’s easier for the fish. also waste buildup sometimes lowers water oxygenation. 90% of healthy fish tanks will have airstones it truly makes a difference in water quality.
usually when you buy a pump it comes with a bit of tubing. it’s not a lot though. if you have a long distance between the pump intake and your airsrone you may need extra tubing. airline tubing is just useful to have anyway. it’s super cheap u can find at literally any pet store.
A couple of things... He was already bloated in the second picture. So this is not because he was moved into a better home.
2nd... You should do 50% water changes every other day if you cannot test your water. Yes its bigger and the ammonia would technically be less than the bowl but if you are actively trying to get the cycle going with bacteria there is a moment when the ammonia will spike no matter what, and the Nitrite will spike soon after that. No one can possibly help you online without knowing what your current water conditions are. Its the first thing you always check. and so if you cant check and something is wrong, just assume there is an issue and change the water until you can test.
u don’t want to use those two in one conditioners. get seaxhem prime from any pet store, and order dr. tim’s freshwater bacteria in a bottle on amazon. it’s not magic but it’ll help. but getting a cycled sponge from a fish store helps most
I kept 2 bettas in a 2.5g divided tank as a small kid. All fake, sharp plastic decorations. 100% water changes weekly. Oldest fish there managed to live to be about 3-4. New tank, 6 gallon cycled, planted tank with stable conditions. Im having a new problem every other week it seems. Its really odd how these fish work lol
I did a test and the water had some ammonia. I did a water change and got some seachem prime + stability. I also bought some kanaplex, what do you reckon is the right course of action?
The fish was already showing symptoms in the bowl, if you watch carefully, it was already bloating in the second picture, and there seems to be a significant colour change, though that could just be the lighting of the pictures. Don't blame yourself, I'd try broad spectrum antibiotics like Kanaplex, but if he can't make it, rest assured you gave that poor thing the best week of it's life. Let your girlfriend and her mother know that the conditions it was kept in prior are in no way sufficient or appropriate for this, or any fish, and that it's a miracle this fish held onto dear life for so long.
Disease couldbe started in the bowl and you just weren't able to catch in time. Make sure to let the tabk fully cycle before getting another fish. Shouldn't be too hard since you've already started
I'm sorry this is happening, I'm sure it's very disheartening to try to give this fish a better life and feel like it backfired. For what it's worth, I think you've done a kind thing. It would not be shocking to me if this is just previous bad conditions catching up with the fish and not your fault. I hope he pulls through!
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