Examples in betta rehabilitation

[AmazingH]

Hi all. I stumbled upon a folder on my computer from 2008. I had been very involved with betta rescue, but also opened my home to other fish such as wedding decor goldfish and the odd convict or two. Please excuse my poor photography skills, I swear I have improved in the 6 years it has been! lol

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This betta was emaciated, as depicted by the concave appearance of the body. He also suffered from fin rot, this can be easily seen in the reflection. He was very stressed and as a result he was displaying horizontal bars across his body. His pale colour also suggested that has was not feeling so hot.
He was acclimated to a heated and fully cycled 5 gallon with gravel, fake plants (although silk are much better in terms of saving their fins from being shredded!) and eventually some java moss. He was started on quality pellets and his appetite quickly came back. Blood worms were a favourite for this guy :) After several great years, he peacefully passed away at the age of 5+.


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Yes, this is the same fish! This little girl came to me with her sister. They were nearly identical. I never expected them to blossom like this. All it took was a few nights swimming around in something other than a cup, a good meal or two and a source of heat! One of the sisters passed away last year.

Please post stories or photos of any rescues you have done. I love to see happy endings! :1luvu:

[AmazingH]

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Here is a screen shot from a video I took of her a year ago. The difference is astonishing!

[noteworthy]

Wow, that's such a fantastic thing to do. I'd love to do it for bettas. It's a never-ending problem - all these companies stylize little half gallon plastic bowls with no filter for kids to keep bettas in. I'd love to get a female sometime, I think they're just as beautiful as the males!

[kit000003]

My second tank finally finished cycling. After putting in a Synodontis Cat from the bigger tank, I headed to the LFS to look at Bettas. What did I find when I got there? A sales associate putting out a brand new shipment of Bettas (the farm/shipper ships them in tiny 3 in by 3 in bags half full of water, by the way). I must be psychic the way that timing worked. I looked at most of the newly inhabited cups and brought home a pretty blue, grey and red boy, Twin Tail Half-moon. I'll have pics tomorrow probably.

He's so active. He'll swim to one end of the tank, then meander to the other end of the tank. He comes up to look at me and ate his first meal. So far he is not bothered by Spot (the syno), who is bigger than him, or the 3 juli cories I got to keep him company (nicked-named Julius, Augustus and Nero until they earn their own monikers).

Highly tempted to name him Beta (original right?), or Rover (to go with Spot), or Bellissimo.

My Betta will never know the degradation of slowly dying in a 3 by 5 inch cup. He will soon forget the horrors of packaging and shipping, I hope. 20 Gallon Long tank (sand substrate) w/ heater, filter, hideyholes and a real plant.

[kit000003]

And Pictures.

You can see glare, but this is the best one I've got so far.
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I've discovered a good way to find water spots on the glass.
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His Tank. There will be more plants soon. The LED fixture should arrive on Monday.
Will have PlexiGlass Cover. Currently using plastic project board.
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[bethyMT]

Kit, keep your new betta's water very clean...although I can't be sure, it looks like you might have some fin damage/rot on that tail fin. With fins that voluminous, it's bound to happen from time to time, esp. during shipping.

If it gets worse, check for nipping from the other fish. You want to see a nice smooth or regularly serrated edge to the fins, anything ragged looking or uneven can be damage. But note, I said can be. Maybe your fish is just unique. Just keep an eye out. Never hurts to be careful.

Good luck!

[kit000003]

Yeah, I think he is biting his tail. I'll go see him in the morning and more little bits will be missing. I haven't actually seen him do it, but his tail had naturally black edges with just those two large v's when I got him. Now he's got very little black and ragged chunks missing. No black in those spots, or any color film on the edges. Just missing fin bits.

He is in a tank with 3 juli cories and one syno catfish. I don't think they would be nipping him, which is why I think he is doing it himself.

I'm looking for things he can play in, and more plants arrive on Monday. I've added a bit of AQ salt in case it is fin rot (and if it isn't, to keep it from setting in). I'm keeping an eye on him.