Concerned about my betta

[BirdOfPray]

Lately my little guy has seemed very lethargic. He mostly just lies around on the gravel, or the plants, or the driftwood. I've run liquid tests on the water parameters and everything is where it should be for a cycled tank -- no ammonia or nitrites, low nitrates (lowest color on the chart, I think 12.5 but I'd have to check). I've done water changes anyway, of course, just to make sure and for routine maintenance. The temperature in the tank is about 79 degrees F, and it's a 5-gallon filtered tank. I change about 30% of the water weekly, although I've changed more lately with the way he's been acting. I know I used dechlorinator, and I make sure the temperature of the new water is the same as what's in the tank.

He's still eating, and he'll occasionally swim up to the surface for some air, but otherwise he mostly just lies around. Honestly, there have been several times I've come into the room and thought he was dead, only to have him dart for the surface if I open the access door (door = food in his mind!).

He's still got good color, and I haven't been able to spot anything out of the ordinary that would indicate a disease -- no spots of fungus or anything like that. He just seems really lethargic, maybe even weak. I got him from PetCo in June, so no telling how old he is or what sort of genetic factors may come into play, but it seems a little early to assume old age might be a factor. I've waited a while to post anything, but I'm getting concerned.

I'm planning to change up his tank as soon as the LFS gets my order in... been waiting since Dec. 26 and every time I ask it'll be there "next week." It'll still be 5 gallons, but standard shaped rather than the hex, and I'm going to try to get it fairly heavily planted. I was already planning to do that, but now I'm hoping a change in environment might perk him up a little. Or I could try putting him in the 30-gallon hex... I don't think anything in there would bother him or vice versa (stocking's in my signature), but I don't know if the filtration would be too strong, or the tank might be too deep for him to be comfortable. The 30-gallon is in the living room so there would be more going on for him to see, if that might make a difference. The 5-gallon is in the office on my desk, and I'm not in there a lot during the day.

Any thoughts on what might be causing this and what I can do for him? I'm starting to worry that he's dying, but I can't think of any reason he would be.

[annageckos]

He may just be 'bored'. You can try moving him to the other tank and keep an eye to make sure everyone is getting along. Or try changing up his tank some.

[MCHRKiller]

Bettas especially as they age can get lazy, he could just be flat out bored living alone in that tank especially if there isnt alot of human activity outside of it. Try putting a mirror near his tank for a couple of hours each day, he will assume another male is in his turf and will display at the glass. Its kind of funny to watch, gives some pic opportunities and its good for the betta.

[BirdOfPray]

Ok, now I feel terrible...

I decided to try putting him in the larger tank to see if that would help, and when I removed him to a half-gallon container for acclimation I got a good look at him from above. His scales are pineconed. I couldn't see it looking at him in his tank for some reason... and I've been spending lots of time staring at him trying to find anything that would explain the lethargy. I'm not sure how I missed that. It was so obvious when I got him into the smaller container. I will say that he seems a lot worse this evening than he did this morning, or yesterday. He's hardly moving at all, and his color on his body isn't so good. He's not showing interest in food anymore, either. So maybe the pineconing is recent and that's why I hadn't seen it before. (Needless to say, he's back in his own tank).

I've done a lot of reading in the last few minutes, but having trouble figuring out what I can do for him. It seems like most of what I've read assumes the cause is poor water conditions or some sort of disease or parasite that's been introduced. I know his water conditions have been fine, and he lives by himself so there haven't been any new inhabitants to introduce anything nasty, and no live foods. Could poor breeding be a factor? I just hate to think I've done anything to cause him to suffer. If the cause isn't water conditions or any outside contagions, what can I do for him?

Obviously I can keep his water extra clean, the temperature up, and make sure he has comfortable places to rest near the surface. Is there anything else I can do? I can't go spend tons of money or spend my entire day watching over him, but anything reasonable that I can do... responsible pet ownership aside, I really like the little guy and want to give him whatever chance I can. Before this started, he had quite the personality.

It sounds like the outlook is pretty bleak for dropsy, so just to prepare for the worst... at what point should I consider euthanasia? I don't want to take away any chance he might have, but if it's too late I don't want to prolong his suffering.

[BirdOfPray]

Yeah, now when I look at him in the tank I can definitely see the pineconing, so it must be a new development since I gave him a careful looking-over just this morning and didn't see it.

[Northernguy]

I use a large magnifying glass to look at small fish.Stuff like that stands out better
I think there has been a bad run on betta breeding and the fish are not as hardy as they use to be.
It doesn't take long when a bad batch hits the shelves.If they breed they may be passing on bad genes.
Thats just my theory!I don't think bettas live as long as before.

I hope yours turns around for you!Have you tried some betta fix?

[BirdOfPray]

NG, thanks for the magnifying glass tip -- I'll definitely remember that in the future, as well as removing the fish to a smaller container where I can see them better.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize what was going on until after all the pet stores had closed last night, and this morning it looks like he's gone. :scry: Poor little Puck. I hope there wasn't anything I could have done... but at least I know his living conditions weren't the cause, and that while he was alive he hopefully had a good life. He had 5 gallons all to himself, and he always seemed happy to see me when I came into the room.

I did let myself get suckered into purchasing him at a chain store... their bettas all looked relatively healthy, but I'm sure they're mass produced without much attention to quality. Lesson learned, I guess.

[Northernguy]

I hope you get another soon!
Sorry to hear about yours!:22:

[Red]

How old was he? Bettas usually dont live more then a couple of years, and when they get old they get sick and etc. Chain store bettas are fin, but you just want to get the smaller bettas. Sorry for your loss.

[MCHRKiller]

Bettas are one of the more over bred fish species in the hobby, most of them do have alot of health issues and Im sure that his illness was nothing of your fault. Bettas especially those from mass production are not long lived fish, many of them will just randomly and sporatically die regardless to diet or water quality.

[geminidragn]

Sorry to hear that Bird of Pray. My condolences.

[CherrySparkles]

I'm so sorry that you lost your little betta. It sounds like you gave him a wonderful home while you had him, and that he didn't suffer long if at all.

I've never dealt with dropsy (pineconed scales, swollen abdomen) personally before, but I've done a lot of reading on it since having fish as it's quite serious. Also, as you may have learned from your own reasearch, dropsy isn't a disease itself, or a symptom of a particular disease, but rather it is the symptoms of kidney failure in the fish. As the kidneys fail, fluid begins to accumulate in the fish's abdominal cavity, causing the bloating and raised scales. Unfortunately, when a fish's body is in a state of kidney failure, they are often beyond help, even if you could know what disease, etc. caused it.

The one palliative measure I've heard of is using epsom salt. Please note NOT to use aquarium salt, or any salt other than epsom. While other salts will cause the fish to retain fluids (this will worsen the swelling and the discomfort) the epsom salt will actually draw the fluids out of the fish, lessening the swelling and pressure if nothing else.

Here's a link regarding dropsy and using/dosing epsom salt:

http://www.healthybetta.com/index.php

And here's another article detailing a method used to cure dropsy:

http://nippyfish.blogspot.com/2009/09/curing-dropsy-in-betta-fish.html

Hope this info is useful and again, so sorry for your loss. :scry:

[Pele]

I am very sorry for your loss birdofprey, I know how much losing fish sucks.