So here is what is going on.. I noticed the other day that my betta was looking a little swollen on his belly and what not i didnt thik to much of it.. just figured he was getting fat from eating.. Then last night i saw that he is now WAY swollen to the point where his scales are all sticking out he wasnt swimming very well either.. i also noticed a weird thing hanging off his tummy. I made my husband look at it and he said it might be a parasite of something but we both dont know much about sick bettas.. i moved him to clean water and my husband actually removed the weird thing hanging off.. The betta has been doing better since it has been removed but i dont know what else to do.. PLease help me someone.. I love my betta very much.. his name is blaze and i've had him for about 6 months or so now.. I moved him from washington all the way to cali and he survived that.. although i was extreamly careful.. ive been here for a little over 2 weeks now so i dont think i was the moved that caused it...
Please help me before my Betta dies!!!
- Thread starter YourMyLullaby
- Start date
I don't know what's wrong, but chances are you are going to get asked for your water parameters, if you can test it it would be good to post those. Pictures are also very useful; you will get asked for pictures to help diagnose. Also the water change schedule you have been following, any changes in diet, etc. Good luck!
I dont have any tests i can do ive never done any.. everything has been the same diet wise i feed him top fin brand betta bits and i feed the other 2 fish in the tank top fin tropical flakes both have color enhancers.. the other 2 fish seem perfectly fine.. but i removed them from the tank as well just in case it was a parasite.. i'm going to clean the tank out and throw away the rocks... i have more.. the tank is kinda small but all all i have room for at the moment its a 2.5 gal tank and it was one of those bubble things and a platform you put the rocks on all the gross stuff always ends up under the platform and it atually keeps the tank cleaner somehowmy fish have always seemed happy in the tank always swimming around and what not.. i've never had any problems intil now.. i only clean the tank when the water starts to look gross and i i clean it compleatly i take out all the water and wash everything with really hot water. right now he seems better then this morning at 6am i changed the water he was in and added a small drop of stress coat to help... i dont know what else to say but ask questions if you need to.. i'll try my best to answer
oh and he is doing better with swimming and everything but he is still fat his scales are still sticking out.. and sorry about my lack of knowledge and lingo when it comes to this stuff i am new to this all and never knew all the stuff you should do to take care of a betta.. ive alwasy asked the pet store people and they always said i didnt need to do anything.. and that keeping in the small cup thingy or bowl would be fine but i always thought it was wrong..
Well, I NEVER diagnose, however, I will with you, if you promise to NOT get angry if I am wrong ... (here I go, again!)
Are you familiar with Camelanus? It is a nematode which can virtually pack the fishes intestines, under certain conditions and provide visual symptoms, such as you describe.
Also, the nematode(s) end up protruding from the fishes' anus, perhaps fulfilling the "parasite thing" you describe.
However, there are worms/nematodes in rare situations I am aware of, which end up protruding from the fish at various points.
Just my two cents ...
Regards,
TA
I agree with you tech. Here is a thread that will help you determine if that is what it is and what steps to take. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1657392&postcount=11
It's ok. Everyone is here to help. There are lot's of things that you need to be doing differently to help your fish; we all go thru the learning curve of it and come out better fish-mommies!
You said 3 fish in a 2.5 gallon? there should only be the one betta in a 2.5 gallon. A 5 gallon would be even better for one betta. what are the other two fish?
The best thing to do is invest in a liquid test kit. There are different things to keep track of in your water, ESPECIALLY in small tanks, such as nitrite (which is poisonous) and ammonia (which will kill your fish too) and other paremeters.
If you don't already know about it, learn about the cycling process and good bacteria and how that helps your tank. If you wait until your water is "gross" and then completly tear down and clean the tank, you are removing all the good bacteria and starting your tank thru the cycling process again and again and this causes alot of stress to your tank.
Along with hopefully getting help for your betta today, I strongly advise you to do alot of research on the threads here (search threads, top of page) on small tank care, cycling process and testing the water. And don't feel bad; you love your betta and want the best for him or you wouldn't be here! Good luck and keep us posted!
You said 3 fish in a 2.5 gallon? there should only be the one betta in a 2.5 gallon. A 5 gallon would be even better for one betta. what are the other two fish?
The best thing to do is invest in a liquid test kit. There are different things to keep track of in your water, ESPECIALLY in small tanks, such as nitrite (which is poisonous) and ammonia (which will kill your fish too) and other paremeters.
If you don't already know about it, learn about the cycling process and good bacteria and how that helps your tank. If you wait until your water is "gross" and then completly tear down and clean the tank, you are removing all the good bacteria and starting your tank thru the cycling process again and again and this causes alot of stress to your tank.
Along with hopefully getting help for your betta today, I strongly advise you to do alot of research on the threads here (search threads, top of page) on small tank care, cycling process and testing the water. And don't feel bad; you love your betta and want the best for him or you wouldn't be here! Good luck and keep us posted!
Here is our list of diseases. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169765 It could also be dropsy or something else. Welcome to AC. Hopefully we will be able to figure this out together.
thank you for your help.. i'm going to look at those forums and see what there is i can do.. I am going to go do the pet store to get what i need for the water when my husband comes home from work.. ans for the 3 fish in one tank it is now 2.. my betta is doing ok but on of the little fish which i honestly dont remember the name of(I got them because i was told they get along with bettas) jumped out of the container i was keeping it in and as i was about to tell my husband that we needed to find the fin out of water i heard a crunch and felt grossness under the heal of my foot.. so i screamed my husband came running in and i was pretty much in tears seeing that i just killed my fish... so he cleaned my foot and the floor and tried to reasure me by saying it was probably already dead.. which may be true since i didnt notice anything flopping on my kitchen floor... but who knows i hear fish can actually live quite awhile out of water.. to make matters worse.. not even 20 mins later i walk into the kitchen to see the other small fish flopping on the ground.. i picked him up and put him back in the water and covered the top.. Ive left the top of the tank undone and they never jumped out even when tey were in a small container.. my husband thinks they are trying to kill themselves since they are sick as well and i just dont know it yet.. i think they are jusy spazzy and jumped out and missed the water..
I think of dropsy as a symptom and not a "real" disease. I cannot ever remember having dropsy without a "real" underlying cause.
In looking back, I just didn't have enough experience to diagnose the "real" disease when I was new to the hobby (first 10 years or so ... <grin>)
Many fish are now pushing up anacharis (or is that daisys?) because of my ignorance(s.) <frown>
Regards,
TA