# i think my betta is sick



## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

I just got a betta three days ago. When I got him, he was the most active of the fish at the local Wal Mart. He seemed to be the healthiest. When I got him home I started to research bettas. I then noticed that his tail did not look like other bettas. It was sort of curled up. Then I noticed some white spots on it and his head. Also, he wasnt really eating. I looked up betta diseases and figured he had ick. So, i went to the store and got some Ick Clear by Jungle. I have given him two treatments of the Ick Clear, each time doing a full water change to wash out his tank. I have put nothing in his tank for cleaning, just a good rinsing. I use a teaspoon of sea salt for my two and a half gallon tank, also some bowl buddies water conditioner by Jungle. Today, he seems to have white stringy stuff on him. This wasn't there before. His tail has fanned out greatly and he is eating a little bit more. The white spots on his fins and tail have gone away and his color is brighter (he now has some colors on his body, which originally was dark gray). I am worried about this new white stuff on his body. some of it looks like just white coloration on him and some looks like strings are peeling from his body. Could I have diagnosed him wrong or is it possible I bought a fish with multiple diseases? I think if he isn't better by tomorrow I might take him back because i dont want a fish that is going to die. But i want to try and save him first. I dont know if I can treat him for another disease so soon to treating him for ick? can anyone help?


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## Guest (Aug 2, 2005)

The first sounded like it should have been ick---the other I can't remember what it is. It has happened to my bettas before also. My blue one didn't make it past the ick. Chances are he got it from being in his little cup to long at walmart without a water change. Go ahead and try to treat him again.


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

I came home from work today and the stringy stuff is gone. Someone told me it was the ick healing or something. But now he has some red spots near his gills that I am not sure if they are just markings on him or if they are something to worry about. He didnt have any coloring before, so I guess I will just watch him closely. I am giving him one more treatment tonight just to make sure all the ick is gone. I dont want it coming back right away. I would rather treat him until all signs are gone. Thanks for the imput


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## BlackArchFish (Apr 29, 2005)

You mean RIGHT behind his gills? Both of my bettas have that. ^_^'


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

now i think this poor thing has fin rot. he has holes in his tail that werent there before. i want to take him back because they sold me a sick fish, but i dont want to give up on him because he will die in the store...they wont treat it.


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## BlackArchFish (Apr 29, 2005)

Awwwe I'm sorry. Don't take him back, bettas are tough little guys. I seriously would only take him back if he does die. Wal Mart has a 14 day guarentee on their fish, so just try to get through it with the little guy. Mine had torn fins, they were really nasty looking, and now he's beautiful (Hence he is name Fabio). Just give the guy some time, now that he has a good owner he will be better at fighting off diseases.


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

My boyfriend convinced me to take him back. His tail was getting pretty bad and I read on a site not to give them more than one medicine at a time. I was changing his water every day to give him his medicine for the ick. I was afraid he was going to die from not getting his tail fixed or from too many medicines. I feel really bad about taking him back. I did the whole time I was taking him but my boyfriend convinced me. He was like it's just a fish. I think he was jealous because I was spending more time taking care of the fish than him. lol. I dont know if they put the fish back on the shelf after people return them or not. I might try to get him back or I will go get another one from somewhere else today.


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

I am looking right now for a healthy betta. Nowhere around me has any. Meijer has some but their tails look like they have rot. I feel so bad about leaving him there. I hate that I did that. But, he would have died from the rot or overmedication anyway and I guess I was being a wimp about it. I didnt want to see him dead because then I would have felt even worse because it would have been because i didnt take care of him well enough (even though i did everything i could) but now he will die because i didnt do enough and i abandoned him...oh i am a terrible person...i have never had fish before and it was kind of a lot to deal with. I didnt know what to do with a fish with two diseases. I am going this weekend or tomorrow to look for some healthy fish in some pet stores. no more supermarket pets for me...wish me luck in findingone


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## BlackArchFish (Apr 29, 2005)

Don't feel bad ! It's all cool you did what you had to do, no heat from me !


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

i am finding a lot of helpful information all over this forum. It is giving me a lot of insight on what to do for my next betta. which i will hopefully buy in the next few days


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## mel&ned (Jul 26, 2005)

aw you poor thing, we just bought another betta too cause i was sold a sick one which died the day after we got it!
i can't believe how different this fish is to the first one - not having betta's or indeed any fish before i didn't realise that the first one was sick, now looking at this one it was so obvious.
good luck with your new fish, it's scary isn't it, i'm living in dread that this little guy will die and am checking the tank frequently.
cheers
mel


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

It is obvious after you had a sick one. I had one that I kept alive for almost 6 months just purely out of love, and he couldn't survive. The new little guy I have is really tough, and really healthy, so I'm happy to know that not all of them are ill when you buy them.


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

i was in a similar situation tha ti didnt know he was sick until later. the new one i just got is doing great. I posted a new thread about him "I just got a new betta"


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## Im totally me (Aug 5, 2005)

:sad: Sooo sad about your fishy. Hopfully you won't have as much trouble with this one!

I had a Betta for 3 months, who was sick the whole time and finally died of dropsy (somthing you don't want to tangle with!). I now have 3 Bettas, who I have had for seven months. The one had fin rot, which is clearing up. I keep finding little diseases in them though, easy to clear fortunatley. The problem with the Pet Store Bettas, is even if you do clear up the first sickness, it weakens there imune system, so they are more vulnarable to catch other diseases later. 

When I first had my Bettas, I found white stringy things on them, which went away when I cleaned there bowls, dunno, maybe it was from dirty water?

I still buy male Bettas from the stores, but I no longer buy females. They usually die in 2 weeks, and the last few I got had internal parasites. Plus the store people said they don't even keep Bettas cause they are to much work (Now I wonder why? Could it be cause they don't know how to take care of them?) And, according ot the other store person I talked to, most female Bettas are returned before the 14 days, because they were either extremley sick, or dead. I buy off the internet now. Its way more expensive, but you never loose a Betta freind.

:chair: I would like to do that to the dumb Pet Store people!


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## lwstinkinsweet (Aug 2, 2005)

this new betta seems to be healthy. he eats a good amount and has blown a bubble nest. his color is very bright, his fins look good. he has one little spot of turquise on his purple body that looked like ich at first but i have been watching and nothing new has shown up and i can clearly tell now that it is turuise not white. his fins are full and spread out, he is active about half of the time and rests every so often. he flares if i give him a mirror next to his tank. the other one would flare, then stop as soon as i took the mirror away like he didnt really care too much and since the "other fish" was gone he was just gone lazily swim around. This one keeps looking all over for his reflection for a few minutes like "where is that fish, i am gonna get him" i am still terrified i will wake up to or come home to a fishy floating upside down. i am checking every single day like every half hour to make sure he is okay. so far so good, but i am still keeping my fingers crossed.


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