Oh, my, I did it again...

[bazil323]

So a friend of mine had this betta that she didn't want anymore, and I offered to take him off her hands. I'd seen her put him in everything from a tiny little globe (yes, it was actually marketed for bettas, uck) that held perhaps 1-1/2 cups of water to a bowl with about a gallon of water. :barf:Throughout each bowl/container, she at least had a pothos plant, but I'd never seen a heater or filter. I'd given her advice on her fish, like making sure that the fish could get to the surface to take air and giving good food and at the very least weekly water changes. She just thought it was too much work, and she kept forgetting about him whenever she moved him to a place that she didn't see all the time, etc. :headshake2:

So anyway, I said I have a perfectly good 2.5g bowfront with nothing but plants that I could put him in. My plan was to take some of the filter media from my 75g community and bring him to the 2.5g tank that I have at work. Well, she brought him over today, and he has really bad fin rot and is sooooo emaciated! It's so bad that I'm not sure if he'll be able to recover. At least I see him able to get to the surface (he's in a 1g pitcher right now), and he was trying to take the Ocean Nutrition Atison's Betta Pro pellets I offered.

I've decided to keep him at home until he's recovered at least 50%. I want to be able to monitor him a little closer and make sure he gets fed every day until he fills out some. Unfortunately, I don't have a place to setup either my empty 20g long or my 16g tall right now while I'm treating him. I used to have a 1.5g hex, but hubby threw it out when we moved since I wasn't planning on using it any more. I don't want to keep him in that pitcher since I'm sure she wants it back, and if I have to resort to meds, then I'm not sure it would be safe. I'll have to poke around and see if I've got something else to use or maybe hit the thrift shops for a used 5g. We'll see.

[bazil323]

I apologize for the poor picture quality, but my camera batteries died, and I couldn't find the power cord to recharge them. So, I took the pics with my phone. Anyway, you can kind of see how skinny he is and this whitish bubble thing in his tailfin. He seems to also have something similar in his belly fin but not so exposed, more like there's something within the fin pushing it outwards.

I decided to setup the 16g (with 10g of water to make med dosing easier) on the floor in front of my 75g.

[rainbowcharmer]

Poor guy. Hope you can pull him through.

[onebyone]

Ahh you can really see how skinny he is! I hope he's not too far gone... good luck!

[bazil323]

Well, he's eating great, and he swims around okay. I think he's a fighter and might pull through. I'm debating about whether to start meds and which to use. I have Gel Tek Ultra Cure Bx for internal and external bacterial treatment as well as Jungle Labs Fungus Clear fizz tabs. If anybody has any advice, I'd surely appreciate it.

I'm leaning towards the Fungus Clear since I don't think he'd take the Ultra Cure Bx drops and soaking his food with it (they way I normally use this to ensure the fish eats it) might make the food sink and he won't eat it. I'm not sure.

EDIT: Oh, jeez, when I looked at the Ultra Cure for active ingredients, I noticed that the expiration date is 0207. It must've been expired when I bought it last year. No wonder it wasn't working on my diamond tetras! That's a lesson learned, look at the expiration dates!!

[onebyone]

That's a lesson learned, look at the expiration dates!!

Ha I was at my parents house last weekend helping them pack since they are selling the house and I found my dad's old fish supplies. I was so excited because I found this huge bottle of freeze-dried bloodworms and I thought I could feed them to my fish as a treat. I checked the date on the bottle and it was 1993!!!!! Holy crap!

That's great to hear he's a fighter - bettas are really tough fish!

[dtd87]

Hope it all goes good for the betta

[Michwol42795]

Good luck with him!

[furfinsfeathers]

He'll be a beauty if he makes it. Good luck! :)

[H2OGarden]

I hope he pulls through. Get well soon, buddy!

[bazil323]

Update: I decided to go ahead and start treatment with Fungus Clear. Those two bump/bulges in his tail fin and belly fin were worrying me too much. All his fins except the pectorals have spots and damage from finrot. His pectorals look fairly good, perhaps a little ragged on the edges but hard to see because of translucency.

He's still eating good, and he seems to like the extra room. :grinyes:I couldn't find my stash of fake plants, must've used 'em in the brackish tank. I'll have to see what I can rummage up for something for him to sit on or behind for some security. I'm taking it as a good sign that he's still somewhat active and is eating quite well. Now, if only his fins would start showing some progress...

[platytetrafan]

Good luck hope he pulls through you should keep him is sad that your friend neglected him thinking you might be a better fishkeeper since you have the experience to really take good care of the fish that your friend lacks. :)

[bazil323]

I made another thread in Freshwater Illness and Disease titled "A hard decision." I'm asking for some advice on what to use and how to treat and maybe some ID on what I might be facing in addition to simple finrot (because of the lumps). The poll also asks if I should put him out of his misery since he's not showing really any improvement except some slight weight gain in the past 2 weeks. I ordered Seachem's KanaPlex, NeoPlex and Focus (as mentioned in other thread), which should be here later this week/weekend.

[Tay690]

I'd try the Kanaplex first...that stuff works wonders on all sorts of issues

And even if it were my friend...I'm afraid I'd have to refuse giving them the fish back

I just can't stand to watch something be neglected like that...sure a couple days past a WC I can understand

but the fish is in terrible condition and even when you give advice...it seems to go in one ear and out the other

If she really wants it back that badly I would contemplate euthanizing the fish to prevent further suffering

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Kanaplex *crosses fingers*

Good for you for rescuing the fish

[bazil323]

Oh, she didn't want it back. She had been talking about killing it, so I said I'd take him instead. I hadn't realized the extent of his illness until she brought him over. She knows she couldn't take care of him properly, partly because she kept forgetting he was there.

I think I can use all three of the Seachem products I ordered together, but I'm not sure if I should or just use 1 at a time or 2 or what. My real concern now is that the bump on his belly seems more extensive than I'd originally thought (see thread in FW Illness & Disease/A hard decision).

[laurarichard]

Good luck!!

[bazil323]

Oh, I guess I didn't update this thread (had one in FW Illness and Disease too). The day after I got the Kanaplex, he died.

I decided to get a new betta after watching him fight this illness. I was amazed at how vigorous he seemed even with the extensive problems he had (still not sure exactly what it was), and I realized how much I like bettas. So, I got a new guy from coolbettas on UltimateBettas.com. He has a really nice setup, and I was able to go to his house and see them in person before making my choice. I've got a thread about him with some pics. Mine aren't very great, but coolbettas (Kia) posted one of his, and it's much nicer. You can't see the blue in the tail very well, but it glistens nicely when the light catches it. He's awesome.