What is my betta sick with?

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SaraLee

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Mar 16, 2012
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The last week or so my betta has seemed sick. At first we thought it was swimbladder as he was pretty bloated, we separated him and he seemed to be doing a little better so we let him out into the tank again. At this point the bloating had gone down, but he still wasn't acting normal. Before he got whatever he has he was a very active fish; he would stay near the top near his plants, eat enthusiastically, and follow your finger around the sides of the tank. Now he only eats occasionally, and doesn't seem interested in any of his foods at all (we'vetried everything: bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, tubifex worms, mysisshrimp,and beefheart;we havetried both freeze dried and frozen types). Normally he would be excited for any and all of these, especially the frozen variations. But recently he hasn't shown much interest in any of them.

Last night around 11:00pm as my boyfriend and I were getting ready for bed we noticed the betta laying at the bottom of the tank hiding in one of our plants. Again, he normally does not behave like this and we watched him fora few minutes to make sure he was alright. While we were watching him he went crazy. It was like he was possessed. He was darting around the tank what seemed likeout of hiscontrol, hethen started darting in circles in the center of the tank and appeared to be "chasing his tail", at one point it looked like he folded in half and started twitching. This lasted only a couple minutes but really startled us. When it was over he went back to the bottom of the tank and lieddown on thegravel/back in the plant. We didn't know what to do, so we immediately moved him into a 3 gallon tank by himself (he normally resides in a 29 gallon community tank).

Since the episode last night we have not witnessed any more of the weird spinning behavior, but he still is not acting normal. He mopes around the tank as if he is depressed and rarely comes to the surface. He seems to be eating a little bit, but not as much as he would before.

We looked up seizures in fish as that is exactly what it looked like, but could not find anything. All that came up was "whirling disease". We spent about three hours googling and researching last night and still cannot figure out what it could possibly be.

We fear that he may have "whirling disease" but unfortunately there is not much information about whirling disease in aquarium fish (as it is apparently only most common in the salmonid family). Would whirling disease cause an "episode" like this or is it constant? Are there other symptoms to look for in whirling disease? Is there any possibility this could be anything else that is treatable?

We had fed him live black worms that we got at a small pet shop about a week or so ago. We have read that the disease can be transmitted through live black worms or other types or worms being mixed up in the black worms. We contacted the pet store we got them from this morning and were pretty much told we were crazy because the manager had "never heard of them causing ANY disease" and "never heard of whirling disease" (therefore it must not exist? ugh).

If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated. We don't really know what else to do at this point and we cannot find this behavior linked to anything except whirling disease. We have come to a block and need help. We are trying to find anything anywhere that can help. Thank you.

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loveclaywell

AC Members
Dec 1, 2011
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Victoria.(:
I'm definitely Not an expert,but from what i've read that sounds like "whirling disease" symptoms.Does he have any discoloration? I don't mean to be a "let down" but if it is "whirling disease" there is probably little you can do. Again, I'm definitely Not an expert,But could it be that he has common "Ich"?:huh: I wish you the best of luck with your betta friend!:thm:
 

vwill279

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Oct 7, 2011
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Vanessa
Have you noticed any irregularities in his poop? White stringy poop or no pooping are symptoms in digestive issues that usually come before the more severe symptoms like the bloating and crazy behavior.

My initial guess is an internal parasite from the live blackworms. I've heard good things about Jungle Parasite Clear, though I've never yet had an issue with internal parasites myself (*fingers crossed*). Live blackworms CAN transmit parasites, which is why lots of hobbyists dont feed live foods. But to me the risk is worth it since they get to live more like real fish and stimulate their hunting instincts and I like my animals to have as enriched a life as possible while they are in my care. However, I also keep a careful watch on my fish to notice any irregularities in their condition which might signal some sort of parasite or disease.

It could also be constipation, with the weird behavior being caused by his discomfort. A high protein diet consisting only of live worms can cause that if precautions arent taken. A general rule for betta care is to fast them (do not feed) at least one day a week. This gives them the opportunity to clear out their digestive system. I feed my girl live worms every other day, with every 2nd day being a betta pellet with vitamins and every 4th day being a fast day. Bettas can go a long time without eating and be fine (though I wouldnt recommend starving them for extended periods of time as a rule), so having one or two days a week where they dont get fed will definitely not harm them and will be very beneficial to their digestive health.

Lastly, I would recommend not feeding him frozen, freezedried, or live food exclusively (not sure if you are, you didnt mention). Most of those foods dont eat the stuff that they would be in the wild that would give them the vitamins and nutrients to pass on to the fish. Supplementing his diet with a high quality pellet will give him those missing nutrients and keep him healthier overall.
 
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