What's Going On?

[Cyberra]

My boss female betta, Mercury, is doing something strange. There is absolutely no physical sign of anything being wrong as far as I can tell, but she can't swim in a straight line or keep level. She's rolling over and over, corkscrewing through the water. I removed her from the big tank and put her in quarantine, both for her safety and the sake of the other female bettas. What could be causing this?

[escamosa]

That sounds like whirling disease. Myxospora. :scry: I hope with all my heart it's not, but that's what it sounds like. That will cause the fish to swim like that, with absolutely no other visible symptoms. Some visible symptoms of really bad whirling disease are the whirling behavior, blackened tails and head, and skeletal problems. Unfortunately, there's no cure for it, if it turns out that that's what she's got.

I think I asked you before about whether you feed you fishes live foods before? Especially tubifex worms? Tubifex worms can be terrible carriers of the parasite that creates the spores that whirling disease comes from.

[Cyberra]

You asked me about live foods when I was wondering what killed Midnight. I don't feed any live foods. I feed Nutrafin Max floating betta pellets and warmed peas, on occasion freeze-dried bloodworms and once in a while frozen brine shrimp. The only live anything they get is the occasional fruit fly that blunders into their tank and drowns itself.

There's no black on her. No sign of anything. Just the barrel-rolling and the inability to swim a straight line.

Is this contagious? Mercury was in a sorority tank with other females.

[escamosa]

It could be, but from what I've read about it, it seems rare for the fish to be able to release the spores while they're alive. But according to some people, research has found that it can happen from time to time. The main way that it can be passed on from fish to fish, is if the infected fish dies and is eaten by other fish, or the fish is left to decompose in the tank, therefore releasing more of the parasite/spores into the water.

It could also be a swim bladder problem too, but fish don't usually tumble around like that with swim bladder problems.

[Cyberra]

She'd only just started the spinning when I fished her out of the tank. Hopefully I got her out before any spores got released. Tomorrow I'll fish out the other girls and take apart the tank for a thorough cleaning.

She just went from rolling over onto her back to spinning in a circle like she was chasing her tail. I'm taking that as a bad sign. And I'm assuming that this is fatal?

[escamosa]

It's a disease that moves along fairly slowly. It can take months to kill its host. Most of the time, if it kills its host quickly, it will be when the fish is young, and its skeleton hasn't formed properly yet. The parasite actually feeds on cartilage, and there is far more cartilage in young fish. Eventually it attacks the nervous system. In older fish, yes, it can be fatal, or possibly leave them with lasting problems. :scry: I really hope it's not this, Cyberra.

[Cyberra]

Mercury is the oldest female betta I have no; had her for over a year. She became boss female after Dark Lady died. None of the other females show any signs of being sick. Now Mercury is just laying on the bottom of the QT; when she tries to swim she eds up either rolling over and over on her back or going in a tight little circle after her tail. Am starting to think it would be more humane to euthanize her.

[escamosa]

What a shame. You're losing all your favorites, and that's just horrible. I'm really sorry. It's a tough call, Cyberra. You could give her until morning, just to see if she improves, and I know that's hard to do too.

[Cyberra]

I think I got a video of her trying to swim, rolling over and over onto her back. I can upload it to Rapidshare if you want a look

[escamosa]

Yeah, sure. Link me, and I'll take a look.

[Cyberra]

https://rapidshare.com/files/557787125/Picture%204466.avi This is what I'm seeing. One of her milder fits... the tail-chasing circles seem to have subsided a bit

[Tiari]

Sadly I'm not able to view the AVI, and will be away for the weekend. I too suspect Myxospora, although, it could be other things. I find it very strange that this fish being this old and in an established tank would gain this parasite without being fed live foods. Due to the lack of this, I am suspecting it may be something else mimicking Myxospora. Have you checked for Velvet? My Betta was doing corkscrew spins and very hectic tail chasing spins and when I checked for velvet it was all over him. Turn the lights off and flash a flashlight on your baby, see if you see any gold or bronze splotches of dust on the body or fins.

[escamosa]

I'm really sorry that I vanished lastnight, Cyberra. I started to download the video, got nearly half way, then my internet crashed! Grrrr. Having another go now.

A couple of things that you could do, since you've had some trouble lately.
Explain your situation, and ask whoever you're getting your Bettas from, what they're feeding their fishes. Try and get some info about their suppliers too.

And, have a quick look on your Betta pellets, and see if they have vitamin C in them. Apparently vitamin C deficiency can cause similar problems. I just found that in another report on the whirling disease.

I'll get back too you shortly.

[escamosa]

I watched the video. The poor little thing. She doesn't appear to be puffed out on one side and not the other, I don't think. That kind of shape can sometimes be a sign of a swim bladder problem. But they don't usually tumble like that with a swim bladder problem. It's usually head up, head down, or constantly upside down. Does she look to be a little bloated looking on her right side to you? Her right side, if you're looking at her tail. I'm undecided if she looks bloated now. That tumbling and tail chasing kind of behaviour are very much whirling disease symtoms though. :scry:

[Cyberra]

There is indeed Vitamin C in the betta pellets I feed.

Her condition worsened overnight. She couldn't even surface for air. When she tried she'd spin a couple of times and then sink tail-first back to the bottom, and the harder she tried the more she went nowhere. She was barely breathing at all. I had no choice but to euthanize her.

[escamosa]

That's a shame. Sorry about that. You did the right thing though. At least she's not suffering anymore. :scry: I wish there was something to treat that with.

[Gogi]

Im so sorry about your girl.