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I have noticed that my betta buba has loose some of his fins (just a little part of it) and he is having hard time swimming and stay laying in the bottom of his tank like if he was resting, otherwise he is eating well and his colours are great any ideas what it could be??, no marks of fungus or fin rot or any bacterial disease, paramters ammonia & Nitrites =0, Nitrates about 10ppm

Thanks Hector

Last edited by hcelizondo at 05-Jan-2005 16:49

Hard to say...

Some old Bettas suffer from frayed/torn fins because of nitrates in the water.

Do a water change to reduce the nitrates even further. Try to keep them as low as possible.

--garyroland.

Are there other fish in the tank, or is it just a betta?

One betta that I inherited had a fin meltdown. His fins were literally shedding in pieces and the bottom of the tank was filling with it. I made sure the water was extra clean, and I added some freshwater aquarium salt that I predissolved (1 tsp/US gal) and I dribbled in a little of that salty solution into the water over a two day period.

It turned out to be a stubborn infection, but I would start with the salt if you don't have anyone in there that could be affected by it.

What temperature is the water? Is he older? The older bettas get, the warmer they need it, but never raise the temp abruptly. Constipated bettas will lay on the bottom too. If he hasn't pooped, placing him in warmer water will help speed things up there too. I would fast him if his belly looks bloated - don't give food for 24 hours, then use a deshelled frozen pea that has been thawed. By deshelling, I mean discard the round casing on the pea. Break the pea into tiny pieces - small enough for him to eat. Only feed him 2-3 small pieces. This will help him with constipation. If you don't have frozen, then canned peas will work too, but they are mushy. If all you have is fresh, then cook it for a few minutes, then deshell.

Ho Cori, He is not an older one, He's just 3 months old, and just made a 50% water change a couple days ago, about constipation I really doub it, he's at my office and I'm in vacation so I'm feeding him every other day, He's willing to eat everything gets into the tank , is just him in the tank and the tank size is 5g, temp is set at 25 Celcius (74 F, Added some salt in the tank with the water change, tomorrow I'll do aother one and let's see what happens. could it be stress from being alone a couple of weeks????, it started since I left the office for vacation, and he was alwas following me when I'm at the office, any other advice would be grately appreciated.

Regards
Hector

Thanks Gary for your post,I'll do a water change tomorrow, any other idea??

Hector

- A lonely betta.

You know, my sister swears that bettas require mental stimulation for optimal health. I think there is something to it. I know what you mean about how they follow you. Mind do it and i have to stop and pay attention to them.

Temp sounds good. Mine are thriving just under that temp (72/73) and it's not warm enough to promote columnaris bacteria, which grows fastest at 77F and warmer.

You can always add Melafix too. I believe that is available in Mexico. Just don't overdose. If anything, try a half dose and see how he tolerates it. This plus the salt may help.

After a couple of days his condition it's worst, He can "float", if he stays motionless woithout moving any fin He sinks. It could be Swim bladder??? any help would be appreciated

Does he look bloated at all?

Can you get erythromycin for fish in Mexico? If so, try that. An external infection can easily go inward as a secondary infection.

Really, any antibiotic you can find should be considered.

No he isn't bloated at all, I'll try to get erythromycin, if not what antibiotic do you recomend me???

Thanks
Hector

Tetracycline, or a sulfa blend. Usually one kind of sulfa alone isn't good enough. Sulfa with trimethoprim is a good combo. Be careful on dosing if he is in a tiny tank.

Hi Cory, Bought septrin (Trimethropim & Sulfamethoxazole) the capsule is 400mg sulfa and 80mg Trimethoprim, tank size is 5g so I took a 25% of a capsule dissolved in warm water and added to the tank let's see how it responds thanks for the help, I'm not sure if the dosage is the correct????

Hi Cory,
I used the drug for 5d and no improvement has ocurred. Should I try the tetraciclyne???

If tetracycline is all you have, then that is what I would try. I find erythromycin is the most effective for such things, but if you don't have it you have to make do with what you have.

It might be good if you can coat his food in some tetracycline powder. If you have pellets, coat them with a brush and some eggwhite, then dip it in the powder. Use in the water too.

Is this a small container - like a 1 or 2 gallon? If so, do 100% water changes every 3 days using same temp, conditioned water that has sat out for the three days (aged). Don't net him. Rather, use a cup or other wide mouth container and sneak up behind him, gently pressing down so he falls into the container. I do this all the time so that my bettas never experience a net. Nets are damaging to their fins and can create an opening for infection.

If you don't have him in a small container, consider it. Like Gary said above, clean water is first and foremost. I would also predissolve that 1tsp of freshwater aquarium salt per US gallon.

He's in a 5g, Right now I'm doing a water change, and I'll start the treatment today, thanks

Hector

If he is in a filtered tank, you need to monitor ammonia daily while on these meds. Anything with sulfa or tetracycline is really harsh on the good bacteria that keeps ammonia and nitrite under control. You may find yourself doing daily water changes of 50%+ to control it if a minicycle happens. I would have some New and Improved Cycle on hand or other bacterial starter. This is why I thought it would be best to have him in a container where 100% water changes could be done. Any exposure to ammonia at all right now, will only degrade his condition, even at 0.25.

Good luck Hector!