# HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sick and dying betta



## cmahan4576 (Apr 24, 2012)

Hi i have 2 bettas (a halfmoon and a veiltail) i keep them in seperate bowls i put the veiltail in my big tank with 4 goldfish 2 platies 2 minnows and a swordtail i have a filter that makes a strong current i took him out today because he didn't look to happy when he got in the bowl i saw that under his gills looked like some of his flesh was ripped out and also i think he has swim bladder diseas cause he can't swim to the bottom i am feeding him peeled peas for the swim bladder but i need help what do i do?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?! Any help would be appreciated!:-(


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

You don't want the flesh to get infected. Very clean water is necessary. It doesn't sound like your bowl is filtered, in that case do daily 100% waterchanges. Feeding a peeled pea is a good idea for swim bladder disorder. I would buy some aquarium salt and put one teaspoon per every 5g of water to also help with the flesh not getting infected. Feed sparingly so the water doesn't get dirty. Is there any white moldy stuf on his gills? Or anything else unusual that you haven't seen on your betta before?

For the future, I wouldn't recommend putting your betta back in that tank.


----------



## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Do not do 100 percent water changes. They're very stressful for fish. Try 50 percent. Also, methylene blue is a good preventative for fish disease. Try treating it with that.


----------



## Guest (Oct 18, 2012)

Betta man: Bettas are used to a lot of stress. Plus you have to do 100% water changes when you have no filter otherwise you risk ammonia going way up, and that is never good for the fish, it will die from too much ammonia in the tank or get sicker.

cmahan4576: if there is no filter on the tank, do 100% water change every few days, keep the water clean, it will help the illness that he has besides the swim bladder disorder from getting worse. You can do 100% water changes daily with bettas, as they can tolerate more stress than other fish.


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

I do agree that you want to remove as much stress as possible betta man but like angleclown said, in an unfiltered bowl amonia builds up way too quickley.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i am wondering why these fish are not properly cared for..placed in hostile environments.. switched back and forth..no heat..no filtration...it does not surprise me that there is sickness....
there are filters available for bowls ; but just not tiny bowls..the bettas need heat...78-82 degrees.they need clean filtered water...they need proper nutrition...
bettas do not belong with goldfish...


----------



## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

I am by no means an expert but have learned quite a bit about bettas the past couple of months dealing with a lot of issues with my bettas. Ive learned these facts...Not saying these facts are right or wrong lol, just things im picking up over and over again from different places and ppl. 

Feed peas carefully, bettas digestion isnt designes for much veggie matter
Epsom salt treatments help with internal infections
Aquarium salt helps with external problems (fin rot)
Meds can be harmful so becareful with those 
100% water changes can stress them 
They def need heat of 76-80 degrees 
They do best in 2+ gallons (smaller space = more chance for ammonia to build)
They dont do well with plastic plants (silk or real plants are best)
No filter is needed if proper water changes are kept up
At each water change they must have some kind of aquarium safe water conditioner added

As I said im no expert lol...with my limited experience this is what I would do

2-3 gallon bowl/tank
pre-set betta or small tank heater (pre set heaters dont need to be adjusted, they auto set on 78)
Treat with epsom salt (read below) 
75% water changes daily should be good as long as you use a turkey baster to remove the poop and left over food. 
If you do 100% a lot of times it stresses them more and can lead to further problems. 
I know in the below info it says 100%, that was in 2010, I recently talked with her about my bettas health issues and she no longer recommends 100%.
You only want to feed lightly. Bettas only need 2 pellets of quality food a day. I feed 2 Omega one betta pellets daily. 
You can soak them in garlic juice to make them soft before feeding them, this way they wont swell in the tummy which can also cause swim bladder. 

This is from a breeder Ive been communicating with who has done a lot of experimenting with betta health...shes kind of a betta fish dr lol..She been working with and breeding them for 30+ years...not saying the others on here dont have good info! they def do! I just thought id add some more info in hopes it may help 
Someone was asking her how to treat swimbladder and this was her response. Again I claim to be no expert, but ive been through a lot with my guys these past 2 months and have been gathering info left and right. 
Right now im dealing with fin rot issues and cosistant heat, water changes and doing a 10 day treatment with AQ salt...its working to help heal them up and keep them healthy. When they are done with the 10 day AQ salt treatment I will be continue doing 50% water changes a day til fully healed. Its A LOT of work lol. But its paying off. 

_"How and why I use Epsom salt:

Why-to treat symptoms of constipation, bloat, edema or swelling from injuries, swim bladder issues.
Epsom salt also has antibacterial/fungal properties just like aquarium salt that can be helpful when symptoms are caught early and treated

How I use it, Epsom salt 1tsp/gal up to 3tsp/gal for 10 days max

Anytime I am treating a fish I place them in a small QT container so that I can make 100% water changes, if not in small QT I make 50% daily water changes.
I like to treat in QT so that I can pre-mix the Epsom salt or aquarium salt so to give the correct dosage.
It is important to treat with correct dosage so not to cause bad side effect, both over and under treatment can cause problems.

Long term use of either Epsom salt or aquarium salt can be hard on the fish and can create resistant pathogens/parasites.

Often you will see bloat for no reason in a fish that aquarium salt has been used long term with some species of fish, this is most likely from kidney damage from the long term salt use.

Epsom salt is plant safe and aquarium salt can be harmful to some plants when used long term, some species of fish are really sensitive to aquarium salt and should never be used as a treatment or long term for that matter.

The Epsom salt that you have is fine and what I use."_

You can take it or leave it, or others can pick it apart lol, but everyone has something to offer as far as info and there a many ways to treat and manage fish illness, just go with what you feel will work best for you and your fishies, I just hope I was able to help somehow..its so frustrating sometimes! 

If your betta doesnt have swim bladder however, you might want to try what others suggested (aquarium salt) rather than the epsom salt to help heal that fleshy piece up. One of the other posters already said what to do for that above. 

As far as long term care goes...the others are right, bettas shouldnt be in with goldfish...goldfish are just too messy and probably raise the ammonia and leave a lot of waste and left over food in which the betta may eat in which wont help with the swim bladder. 

Sorry you have to go through all this! Hope theres a light at the end of the tunnel. 

p.s if you do keep your betta in his own home, look into adding live plants, it will help keep ammonia down and dont forget water changes.


----------



## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

Angelclown said:


> Betta man: Bettas are used to a lot of stress. Plus you have to do 100% water changes when you have no filter otherwise you risk ammonia going way up, and that is never good for the fish, it will die from too much ammonia in the tank or get sicker.
> 
> cmahan4576: if there is no filter on the tank, do 100% water change every few days, keep the water clean, it will help the illness that he has besides the swim bladder disorder from getting worse. You can do 100% water changes daily with bettas, as they can tolerate more stress than other fish.


Some bettas handle stress great...pho phan is handling life like every day is a party and hes in pretty bad shape with his fins et...then some bettas dont handle stress well at all...my other long fin with very minor rot is being treated the same as pho phan and he acts like hes going to flop over at every water change...very dramatic boy lol. He is fine...but the stress gets him breathing all heavy and worried for a good 15 minutes, same with my plakat, hes pretty sure im eventually going to eat him. Then I have my rescue who falls apart all the time, im always having to move him around and treat him, he acts like theres no worries in life and just goes with the flow...they all handle things differently..I wouldnt say they all handle stress well.


----------



## cmahan4576 (Apr 24, 2012)

he looks worse i think he is either getting cloud eye or pop eyehis gills are always away from his body i really hop he doesn't die


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

get him into a clean tank with a filter and a heater....about 80 degrees....treat with melafix..make sure there is good aeration for some surface agitation....


----------



## cmahan4576 (Apr 24, 2012)

sadly i only have one tank for goldfish


----------



## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Always avoid stress with fish period. I don't care what type of fish it is. Stress is too..... Stressful.... Melafix is snakeoil. Don't treat bettas with melafix. Melafix kills bettas. Same with pimafix and bettafix.


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

Betta man, I used bettafix on my betta for about a week and he didn't get hurt in the process. As long as you keep the surface agitated there shouldn't be a problem unless you overdose.


----------



## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

Sorry to say cmahan, but your betta really isnt going to do well in the goldfish tank  but who knows... Good luck just the same.


----------



## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

BettaGuy said:


> Betta man, I used bettafix on my betta for about a week and he didn't get hurt in the process. As long as you keep the surface agitated there shouldn't be a problem unless you overdose.


You can use it, its just a lot harder on their system then other meds...like loha said you can use it for short period of time with accurate dosage with an air stone there are safer meds for them like API tetracyline or maracyn 2. Aquarium salt is the best to start with...but if your really worried you can jump to meds with an air stone.

cmahan, if you decide to get a different tank for the betta if he lives, I can give you some links to some decent betta homes and equipment if youd like. Im sure others on here can too.


----------



## Guest (Oct 20, 2012)

cmahan: like loha said "get your betta in clean water with filter and heater, heat at 80 degrees.

Where are you located? I am in Bremerton, Washington. I have like three betta tanks that I can spare, if you are able to get to Bremerton or your close.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i disagree with you betta man.... melafix , pimafix and bettafix products are not snakeoil..
they are actulaay quality medications that work quite well...maybe it's because you use it incorrectly...maybe it is due to your lack of actual handson fishkeeping experience and good common sense about it that gives you that kind of opinion about these products....
but then again ; i could well be totally wrong...i am still a novice and still learning... and certainly not the "king of bettas" and world authority that you are.........
this ain't no pissin contest...i really do not feel the need to compete...but i would like to see the members of this forum get good reliable information from qualified experienced hobbyists...


----------



## cmahan4576 (Apr 24, 2012)

Angel clown i am located in Cheshire Mass and sadly i only have 4 betta bowls and an 18 gallon goldfish tank


----------



## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Betta bowls aren't bad as long as they have clean and warm (78-86) degree water.


----------



## Guest (Oct 21, 2012)

cmahan4576 said:


> Angel clown i am located in Cheshire Mass and sadly i only have 4 betta bowls and an 18 gallon goldfish tank


That is too bad. How many bettas do you have? If you have an empty betta bowl, you can use that to help your betta that is sick get better.


----------

