My betta have dropsy? how do i treat it? is it too late?
Usually when they're scales are sticking out, it's usually too late... No known cure. Keep water clean, keep him AWAY from any other bettas etc… On occasion, in the case of a very mild raised scales, I have seen bettas recover on their own. But I suspect that this is because those cases are NOT real dropsy. Real dropsy always kill. So I guess you have to wait and see what happens. Treating is pretty useless. It may take up to 15 days for betta to die, though usually about 5 days. Any betta with dropsy should be immediately ISOLATED!!!! Prayer may not hurt. You could try: The steps given below will help you in dealing with a case of Dropsy in your fish tank: Immediately change at least a quarter of the water in the aquarium. The water must be treated as mentioned in the step that follows and this water must not be re-used anywhere later on. Place the diseased fish into a quarantine tank. You need to treat the rest of the ‘unaffected’ fish too – just in case. Administer a prescribed antibiotic to arrest growth of the infection. Suitable medicines are Maracyn, Kanacyn, Neomycin, or tetracycline drugs and anti fungicides for treating the tank water etc. A medicated bath must be given to the fish at least two times a day with methylene blue, salt, Epsom salt, and electrolyte balancing salts to ensure removal of fluids from the fish and to keep electrolytes in balance. The proportion of medicines in this bath is clearly mentioned on the labels and one can still confirm the procedure either with the pet shop or the vast library base on the Internet. In conclusion, react at the very first signs of Dropsy in your Betta. Proper care and treatment of the infection will revive your Betta and other affected fish, allowing you to restore your aquarium to its original state. If you have just started keeping Betta fish it would be advisable to study their traits and health precautions so that you immediately recognize signs of upsets when these occur.
What is wrong with my betta fish and what can I do to treat him?
You are correct in your analysis that your betta is "ancient." 4 years is a long time for these fish and demonstrates the fact you have been taking good care of your friend. We'll done.Lymphocytosis is certainly a possibility as might be a tumor caused by any number of things, but often by viruses.There is little by way of direct treatment that you could do that would not also stress and possibly harm the fish further, so your best bet is to maintain a clean environment for your finny friend, and do what you have been all along. Avoid big changes in water chemistry, temperature, etc. and see if he can fight off the problem himself.
How do I treat the red dots on end of betta's fins?
I have had my betta for about two months now. I previously inquired about his active and visually agressive behavior but it turns out I was just over reacting. At the time he lived in a .5 gallon tank and began showing signs of fin rot. About a month ago I upgraded him to a 3 gallon Marineland Bio-filter tan and got him a small heater so he is warm. Soon after I treated him with Melafix for his fin rot. However his fins have not grown back and now I am seeing small red dots on the end of his fins. Please also note that I first treated him with Melafix in water at my home which is from a well. Now I am back in my dorm so the water quality is different; one of my friends who also has a betta did a water test and our water is safe but I'm thinking maybe the water change has something to do with this. So I guess what I'm asking is should I treat him again with Melafix or is there a better option? And just for my knowledge what are those red dots? Thank you in advance for your answers.
How do you heal a betta after a fight?
Don't Panic! They still have a chance. At most petstores they provide medicine for your fish for this instance. When I worked at petsmart fish fighting occured a lot. We used a product called Melafix. This is a antibacterial. This is going to prevent any infection they might get from open wounds. This will also help promote growth so that their scales will grow back. Since they are both being treated it's ok to keep them in the same tank. It normally comes in a pretty good sized bottle and you would only need like a couple of drops at a time. If you are wanting something maybe a little bit smaller in size, it doesn't work as well, but you can use something called, (I believe) Betta Fix. It too is an anitbacterial, it helps. You might also want to find something to replace their "Slime Coat". This is the fishes skin, and when they become stressed the shed the slime. This also makes them vulnerable for infection. I can't remember the name of one particular medication, but I'm sure if you go to your petstore they will help you find it. After the treatment is completely done, meaning your fish are ok, you will want to change the water to get the medication out of the tank. Just get the antibacterial as soon as possible and just keep an eye one them. I'd advise against putting salt in a betta tank- that is too difficult to control in that small of an environment and it could hurt them more than help them. An antibacterial is the best way to go. They have more of a chance of dying if you just let them sit in the tank to heal themselves. It is safer to treat with an antibacterial after they have been wounded because it is preventive. Think about it after surgery you are given antibiotics to prevent infection. This is a preventive measure. And again I would not recommend salt for such a small tank because it is to hard to measure and keep the the salinity levels in the water stable.
What is my betta fish's sickness and how can I treat it?
I'll discuss the symptoms you've named. 1. Swimming sporadically to the top for air-- Bettas do this. It's normal behavior for any anabatoid (labyrinth) fish to sip air off of the surface if there isn't enough oxygen in their water. It is not a symptom of illness, so don't worry about it. 2. Developing silver belly-- You'd have to include a picture, because I don't know what you're talking about here. Are his scales suddenly silver in color? Or is he bloated? What are you trying to describe? 3. Lethargic -- Bettas are often lethargic, especially if they are separated from their friend or moved to a new, less interesting or possibly colder tank. He'll perk up if you put his tank next to another betta's. 4. No appetite -- See lethargic. He's bored, and not swimming around and exploring, because there's nothing to see, so he doesn't use much energy and as a result eats less food. He'll, again, perk up if you put him next to another betta. 5. Lowered heart rate-- His heart rate is lowered because he's bored and sitting on the bottom wondering when he'll meet a hot chick. Put a female in a tank next to him and he'll perk up in no time. So stop treating your fish for an illness he doesn't have. Randomly adding tetracycline was a bad idea. When you medicate and there's no infection, the only thing you're doing is creating tetracycline-resistant bacteria strains. Stop it. And I'd like to correct your germophobic belief that bacteria is bad. Bacteria, especially the bacteria that is responisble for the nitrogen cycle, is often good for your aquarium. Without the bactera that converts the poisonous fish waste, all of your fish would die. So don't be quite so hard on your little bacteria. As Luigi counselled Mario in the live-action Mario movie, "Trust the fungus." In your case, it would be "trust the bacteria." The bacteria in your tank is your friend. Don't use tetracycline or other medication unless you're absolutely sure of a diagnosis and you know what you're treating. Trust the fungus, trust the fungus....
What will happen to my betta if i don't treat fin rot?
i dont know if my betta has fin rot or not. So, what happens if i don't do anything to cure the possible fin rot?? What will happen to my betta if i don't treat the possible fin rot? MANY POINTS GIVEN!
What should i do for my betta who has velvet?
Does sound like velvet. Good job on the research. Sounds like you're doing good with the treatment. Bettas are pretty good with their salt tolerance, and keeping the tank dark is a good idea. There are a few things to keep in mind. When you raise the temp of the tank, be sure to increase aeration. A bubble stone or additional filtration. Warm water holds less oxygen, and in warmer temps, fish need more oxygen. What you're doing should be enough to cure velvet, however, if you want to do more you can head over to walmart or petco and pick up some Quick Cure. It's malachite green / formalin combination that works pretty well against external parasites. If you do add this stuff be sure to increase aeration. Need to have good oxygen content in the water for this stuff to be fully effective. You also have to remove any carbon from the filter before you add this or it will be removed. Keep treating for at least 7 days after all the symptoms have cleared up to make sure you got all the parasites. I would also do 25% water changes every few days while treating as well. Added: As far as I can tell with my bettas, they handle dark conditions just fine. They may get a bit upset with change until they get used to it... I would let enough light in so they can still see where they're going. Since velvet is a photosynthetic parasite, lowering the amount of light will reduce the amount of damage it can do to the fish, and even kill it if it's dark enough for a long enough time. But since you are using salt and heat as well, it doesn't have to be totally dark, but lowering the light available to the parasites will do a lot of good.
How do you treat a Betta fish whose fins are falling off?
That depends what you mean by 'falling off.' Are they rotting or simply disappearing? Either way you need to find the root of the problem. Fin rot - blackened edges on the fins/tail. Obvious and steady deterioration. Caused by poor water quality. Get your aquarium water tested for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Ammonia should be 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates under 40. If they're above that do a water change right away. Most tanks should have water changes at least once a week (heavily planted tanks can be an exception sometimes), multiple times a week for tanks under 5 gallons. To treat fin rot do daily water changes and dose with API Tetracycline, API Fungus Cure, API Triple Sulfa, OR API Erythromycin. You can also add AQUARIUM salt (not table salt or marine salt) with a dose of 1 tsp/gallon to prevent the rot from returning. Fin biting - some bettas bite off their own fins/tail. You will likely not see the actual biting happening, but notice the fins disappearing by chunks. There are many, many reasons for this. Most often it is related to stress. Evaluate your betta's tank environment: What is the water temperature? It should be between 78 and 82 degrees - bettas are tropical fish. Does your betta have plant cover and places to hide? Bettas are not open-water fish. In the wild they live in densely planted rice paddies. Without many silk or live plants to hide in they will become stressed. Are the water parameters where they should be? Are you doing enough water changes? Sometimes the reason for the biting is not something you can control (such as the betta's tail being too heavy and it trying to unburden itself) and in that case all you can do is keep the water clean and warm to avoid any risk of infection. Fin tearing - Usually thin shreds or hole/puncture marks in the fins and tail. Caused by a sharp object in the tank. Bettas have very delicate fins and because of that can't have plastic plants - only silk or live. Plastic will rip their fins. Check all caves/hides/rocks/driftwood/etc. for sharp spots. You can run a pair of pantyhose over the decorations to check - if the pantyhose snag it's too sharp for a betta! Good luck :)