# betta sick



## westb182 (Dec 10, 2006)

I just noticed today, my betta swimming crooked, on its side. Its just lying at the top of the water. Still moves to eat, but not all over the place like it used to. Its a 6L bowl with gravel. Any ideas? I dont want it to die!

To add some more, no visible signs of fin damage, no puffiness to the eye, no puss or white spots along the body. Gills are not damaged, but breathing is not as much as usual.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

Try doing a very gentle water change (to avoid added stress on the fish), add 1tsp of sea salt per litre of water and get some medication like Betta Fix or Strees coat from your local pet shop and follow the instructions on the bottle.

How old is this fish? He may just be getting on in years and it may just be his time to go. Also has the water temp been fluctuating or the weather gotten colder? If so you might want to consider getting a heater to maintain the temp more constantly.

Good luck with him I hope he's ok.


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## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

If hes floating on his side at the top of the water and seems to be having a hard time balancing upright, he could be constipated. Its a fairly common problem in bettas. Usually fasting a day or two or feeding the inside of a cooked pea will help this along.

What is your water change regimen? How often do you change the water and how much water do you change when you do? Whats the temp? Whats his diet like? What are the water parameters?

Btw, 2Tbs of salt seems like a lot of salt to add to 1.5gallon tank. I don't think I would use that much personally.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

Christine, it was meant to say tsp which is short for teaspoon but I accidently left off the 'p', have corrected it now. Your right 2 tablesppons of salt is WAY too much!


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## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

yes but... 1 tsp per liter... its a 6L tank so 6 tsp... 6 tsp is the same as 2 Tbs and 6L is 1.5 gallon. So thats still recommending 2Tbsp for a 1.5gallon tank. Maybe you meant to say 1 tsp per gallon?


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

Christine said:


> yes but... 1 tsp per liter... its a 6L tank so 6 tsp... 6 tsp is the same as 2 Tbs and 6L is 1.5 gallon. So thats still recommending 2Tbsp for a 1.5gallon tank. Maybe you meant to say 1 tsp per gallon?


Yeah, I did mean 1 tsp per gallon! Keep getting mixed up with the conversions. Sorry.


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## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

:lol: I understand totally!


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## westb182 (Dec 10, 2006)

Today he seems to be a lot better. He is swimming again all over the place. I did a partial water change.
I do a partial water change weekly, about 25% He eats flakes, and sometimes pellets I use bottled water, as the water here is full of Cl and it is hard. I only had the fish for a few months. I didnt add the sea salt, I have to go pick some up. Thanks for all your input!


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## westb182 (Dec 10, 2006)

If kitchen sea salt OK? (Id hate to go on the other side of town to the pet store today)


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## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

If hes doing better, I would probably skip the salt. He may have just been a little constipated.

Do you happen to know if you have managed to cycle his bowl with this water change regimen? 

If his bowl is not cycled, I would increase his water changes to 3 times a week changing most if not all of his water just to help prevent ammonia buildup. If you have managed to get it cycled (could be a hard task with something of that size) I would still increase the frequency of the changes a bit.

Sea salt is ok... kitchen table salt is not. Table salt contains additives to keep it from clumping which can be harmful.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

Even in a 6L tank you need to do a total water change once a week. I do that with all of mine (which range from 1.5L-5L) and I do a 50% change every other day. If you can get that rock sea salt or flaked sea salt thats ok to use but like christine said not regular table salt that would probably kill him. I'm glad to hear he's perked up. Try feeding him some live foods at one of his feeds such as bloodworms or brine shrimp and pellets/flakes at the other. You should be able to get these at your pet store in frozen block form. That will help to stave off the constipation too.


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## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

If hes managed to cycle the tank, (unlikely but is possible) then no I wouldnt do 100% water changes. 

I've found bloodworms can contribute just as much to constipation (probably because they like them so much they are willing to over eat them.. alot so you must be careful how much you give). Daphnia would be considered natures remedy to constipation in the normal fish food dept. I know many betta breeders that feed the inside of a cooked green pea once a week to all of their bettas to help prevent problems. I also know alot that fast their bettas once per week.


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## westb182 (Dec 10, 2006)

The tank should be cycled, I had it set up a month before I got the fish, and added aged water from a friends established FW setup in the beginning. Ammi=onia levels are none, and the water isnt cloudy. I was talking about cooking sea salt, I know table salt has iodine and other additives that would hurt th fish  Like I mentioned, hes all happy, swimming around, chasing my finger around the bowl, back to his usual self. I do have live plants in the tank, and they are doing fine. No algae problems since I added the plants at the get-go. I never really seen him fast, he likes his food  Food wise, I feed him whatever he can eat in about 10min, and scoop up most of the rest. I also use my little siphon I made out of aquarium tubing and a piece of wood to siphon the bottom and do the water change.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

You should only feed him as much as he can eat in 5 mins, if he's getting as much as he can eat in 10 mins no wonder he was constipated! I feed my bettas 4 pellets each twice a day and once every other day they get either brine shrimp or bloodworms for their morning feed. Betta's are like cats, they'll eat until they make themselves sick if they're allowed to. Try giving him smaller feeds and good luck! Glas to hear he's back to normal too


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## westb182 (Dec 10, 2006)

Thanks!
Today he is also like his old self, so I guess he was constipated.
Ill cut down on his food a bit, and hopefully he will be fine from now on.

Thanks again!


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