Hello all,
I recently acquired my second betta, Nero, after losing my first, Razzle to a suspected infection after he developed popeye and become extremely weak. He was a Petsmart purchase, and sadly did not respond to the antibiotics/water changes I gave him. I think my having been using the wrong products to treat him (Melafix) before consulting this forum may have put his body under too much stress as well.
I want to be sure I respond to Nero's illness correctly and promptly. I purchased him from a local shop about two weeks ago, where all the bettas looked healthy, per recommendation from this forum. When I first brought him home, I made sure my tank was cycled. However, within about three days, he became lethargic and was laying on the bottom of the tank. I performed an ~50% water change (I didn't want to stress him out too much by doing 100%), as well as removed two decorations that I had purchased on Amazon (I noticed the water had become cloudy very quickly, and wanted to rule out the decorations being the cause, though I had boiled them...I replaced them with a new silk plant). I used pre-conditioned water, as well as Seachem stability. After this, he perked up within 24 hours. The water completely cleared within about 2 days.
About two days ago, I noticed his stomach had become bloated, and that some poop was hanging. It didn't detach for over 24 hours. Previously, I had been feeding him what I thought was a recommended amount. His food is the Aqueon Pro Betta formula, which he seems to like/gobble down, and I hadn't been feeding him very much at all (only about 4 pellets once per day since that seemed to be how much he could eat within a few minutes).
Since then, I have been fasting him and monitoring him closely. Currently, there is a long, thinner, mostly transparent string of poop (?) still attached to him, I'm not sure if its the same one as before. I was think of trying to feed him a pea today since I read elsewhere that the fiber might be beneficial for constipation, but did also notice him hovering vertically close to the surface, which leads me to believe it might be more of. a swim bladder issue. Dropsy has also occurred to me, but thankfully his scales do not look like they are protruding. However, I have noticed he appears more gold on his stomach, and his face is discolored. (I attached a photo of him from when I first got him, as you can see he was completely black with a bit of silverish blue).
It was hard to get pictures of him, but would love some input on what he looks like, if possible. As you can see, he can swim to the top of the tank. Today, he has been inside of his hideout a lot, but did come out when I turned on my room lights. Apologies for the resolution, it is hard to get a proper photo due to his color. Also, if there are any higher -fiber foods you would recommend, I would love to hear them.
Thank you so much!
I recently acquired my second betta, Nero, after losing my first, Razzle to a suspected infection after he developed popeye and become extremely weak. He was a Petsmart purchase, and sadly did not respond to the antibiotics/water changes I gave him. I think my having been using the wrong products to treat him (Melafix) before consulting this forum may have put his body under too much stress as well.
I want to be sure I respond to Nero's illness correctly and promptly. I purchased him from a local shop about two weeks ago, where all the bettas looked healthy, per recommendation from this forum. When I first brought him home, I made sure my tank was cycled. However, within about three days, he became lethargic and was laying on the bottom of the tank. I performed an ~50% water change (I didn't want to stress him out too much by doing 100%), as well as removed two decorations that I had purchased on Amazon (I noticed the water had become cloudy very quickly, and wanted to rule out the decorations being the cause, though I had boiled them...I replaced them with a new silk plant). I used pre-conditioned water, as well as Seachem stability. After this, he perked up within 24 hours. The water completely cleared within about 2 days.
About two days ago, I noticed his stomach had become bloated, and that some poop was hanging. It didn't detach for over 24 hours. Previously, I had been feeding him what I thought was a recommended amount. His food is the Aqueon Pro Betta formula, which he seems to like/gobble down, and I hadn't been feeding him very much at all (only about 4 pellets once per day since that seemed to be how much he could eat within a few minutes).
Since then, I have been fasting him and monitoring him closely. Currently, there is a long, thinner, mostly transparent string of poop (?) still attached to him, I'm not sure if its the same one as before. I was think of trying to feed him a pea today since I read elsewhere that the fiber might be beneficial for constipation, but did also notice him hovering vertically close to the surface, which leads me to believe it might be more of. a swim bladder issue. Dropsy has also occurred to me, but thankfully his scales do not look like they are protruding. However, I have noticed he appears more gold on his stomach, and his face is discolored. (I attached a photo of him from when I first got him, as you can see he was completely black with a bit of silverish blue).
It was hard to get pictures of him, but would love some input on what he looks like, if possible. As you can see, he can swim to the top of the tank. Today, he has been inside of his hideout a lot, but did come out when I turned on my room lights. Apologies for the resolution, it is hard to get a proper photo due to his color. Also, if there are any higher -fiber foods you would recommend, I would love to hear them.
Thank you so much!
See the fighters poop, stringy, its worms. So a course of Levaminsole first then with Flubendanzole. 100%, I still have to treat my livebearers for wormies