# Dying Betta, please help!



## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

I dont know what happened, and it might be too late now, but my betta stopped eating this morning and in a matter of hours he's got these white stringy stuff hanging from his head area, his pectoral fins are campled and his eyes cloudy. I couldnt see anything before because the betta is white. But he looks like he's aged 10 years!

Im treating with Maracyn and Maracyn 2. What else can I do? Any ideas pf what it might be??


Please, help!

Before someone asks me ammonia and nitrites are both 0, pH 7.5


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## thatsfishy (Jan 18, 2005)

Sounds like the onset of an bacterial infection (columnaris). The meds mentioned should work well.


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

Do you think so? Oh my god he looks so bad. He stays at the surface most of the time, then he goes to the bottom and kinda tilts to the side. It all happened so fast!! Last night he was fine. He ate and all... This morning when I went to feed him, he didnt want it, which I thought it was weird, but he didnt have any other symptom. 

Im so desperate! I've never had any fish sick like this. He really looks like he's not gonna make it


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

I have a list of meds here that I bought just in case some day something happened:

Besides the two I've added to his tank, I also have:

Quick Cure
Super Sulfa
Kanacyn
Parasite Clear
Fungus Clear
Methylene Blue
Malachite Green
Aquarium Salt
Melafix
Both types of medicated food by Jungle Labs

I dont want to mix meds though. I just hope I chose the right ones.


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

Ive taken some pictures. Sorry if the quality is not good


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

he died


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

thank you 

i have no idea of what happened, it happened SO quick, but my question now is, should I continue treating the tank??? i have 7 small cories and 2 otos there only.


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## Imbrium (Feb 7, 2005)

I'm so sorry. Columnaris can take them so fast. I've lost one to it before.


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## thatsfishy (Jan 18, 2005)

Sorry to hear. However, the pictures don't show much out of the ordinary, it may just been old age that got the better of him. Therefore, I would do a good partial wc's on the tank for a few days, add some extra salt and keep an eye on it. Don't medicate the whole tank as an preventative, wait and see if others show symptoms. Cloudy eyes are a sign of stress, poor water quality, old age and other non-bacterial causes that don't call for medication. So I'd wait and see.


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

would it not be worse to stop the treatment without finishing it?
i've always heard that once you start treating with antibiotics you'd better finish the whole treatment. i had to put the meds in the whole tank because my QT was occupied with some other fish that i bought 2 weeks ago.


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## drosera (Feb 2, 2005)

*Another question.*

I have a somewhat related question. Last year I had a Betta that suffered in a similar way. I don't know that it was Columnaris (though it could have been). The white stuff was on his body and fins. I had just heard about the banana peel treatment, and since I had no meds at the time, and I did have a banana, I decided to cautiously try it until morning. Wow! Though he actually looked worse because there was more white stuff, it was falling off him, and I could see that he looked better. Later that evening (I think) he was all but cured. 

Anyhow, my question is this. Would it have been appropriate in this case? 

Chris


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

banana what?
can you tell me more about it??


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## thatsfishy (Jan 18, 2005)

Banana peel? Heard of treating with dried banana leaves, which is what many Thai breeders use to cure wounds, but peel? Where you got that from?


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## drosera (Feb 2, 2005)

*Banana peel*

Ooops!  When I had read of the treatment, I thought I had read "banana peel" not "banana leaves". I guess I got it wrong! 

Whatever the case, it did work like magic anyway. My Betta was clearly in distress. Along with the white mouldy looking stuff, he was having trouble getting to the surface of the water. I put him in a 1 gallon jar, no filtration, with some floating plants to rest on, and a 1" by 2" piece of banana peel. As stated, within 24 hours he was cured. I put him back into the main tank after that, and he went on his merry way.

Given that this is an unusual and new (to me) treatment, I wouldn't just recommend it to someone without a couple more goes myself, but I would definitely do it again if the need arose.

What can I say. I goofed! lol

Chris


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## Hamm35924 (Jun 13, 2005)

im so sorry about your betta chrisinha, i had a goldfish that something sililair like that happened to. one day he was fine the next he was terribly ill and dieing.

Oh and whats with this bannana peel treatment? ive never heard of it before


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## chrisinha (Jan 24, 2005)

thank you guys for the kind words! i really miss him. it's terrible not to know what happened. 

back to the banana subject... does it matter what type of banana??


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## drosera (Feb 2, 2005)

*Banana peel*

Like I said before, I'm really not keen on offering a treatment I have tried only once myself, and which seems to have been a mistake in the first place. I will say that I used a regular old yellow chiquita? type banana peel. Since treatment is supposed to be banana leaves, that is what really should be tried, though I can't think where you'd find some. 

Should anyone actually attempt this, be prepared to eyeball the fish constantly in case of stress. The water will get very milky from the decomposition of the peel. I was concerned about this myself, but my Betta showed no problems of this nature. Also, I used a large jar without filtration. While I think this is necessary for the treatment to work, it might also be asking for trouble if something goes wrong with the "brew".

And finally, don't forget that Columnaris or other mouldy problems may not be the only thing affecting your fish. They may have other infections or parasites that need more conventional treatments.

That's the last I'll offer about the treatment at this time. If I ever need to try it again, and have positive results, I will share more details.

Chris


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## Imbrium (Feb 7, 2005)

Lots of breeders offer banana leaves for sale, along with other kinds of leaves. You can even get them in tea bags for easy use.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

after posting a dying betta thread and reading yours i'm going off to get some banana leaf. Lucky for me i live in tropical queensland where there are banana trees all over the place, there's one down at my son's childcare centre so we're off to get some now.. I assume i jsut add a piece to the tank and allow it to float?


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## prince'smom (Mar 17, 2006)

thats so cool about the banna peel and you fishe's health. i'll remember that one i am a believer of natual product. i know bananas are high in potassium and potassium helps with blood pressure, maybe lowering the blood pressure reduced the fishes stress....it a thinker, bananas are good for diarrhea/constipation Both, easy to digest because it has nutiants which helps intestinal track...another thinker........oh yeah some say they even smoke.... them lol 
`~;''`'';``~CHEERS TO YOUR BETTAs HEALTH`~;''`'';``~


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