Sickly Betta

**rcreamer** · 09-14-2012, 09:42 PM

HI, I have a veil tail betta fish.He is red/blue and I have had him for about 9 months. He lives in a 3 gallon tank with an bubble stone. i use tap water with a conditioner for his water. He eats betta flakes about once a day. He has a heater and gets a water change every two or three weeks (depending on water clarity) I noticed about a month ago he had a white bump on his head about the size of a end of a match. then went away after a couple days. Then noticed it came back three days ago, and now the bottom of his body has been turning a grey/white color next to his gills. He hasn't eaten or had any interest in food and is almost lifeless on the bottom of the tank. His beautiful long tail is almost gone, looks like they have been torn rather than fin rot. Yesterday his gills were really red and inflamed. Today his gills are normal color but still inflamed. Yesterday I did a complete water change and removed everything except the bubble stone and heater. Today I bought some aquarium salt and he seems to be moving a bit more, other than that his symptoms haven't changed. I have read everywhere and asked many of pet stores and they give me a varied answer; from being ich to a fungal disease, and gill hyplasia... I am in need of help, I dont want to buy a ton of medications to do guesswork or put him through any more stress.. no conditions have changed since I got him (same tap water, same conditioner, same food, same tank, same decorations, same gravel.) I am stumped and cant find any accurate information that looks or sounds like what he has. From what i am finding out is that he has a bunch of issues (gill disease, ich, body fungus, fin/ tail rot). If you could give me something and any information on how to treat him, it would be much helpful.. My husband is making me nurse this poor bugger like a child. please help

**ekfishlover2011** · 09-15-2012, 12:58 PM

I vote bacterial or fungal infection. In a 3 gallon tank you dont mention a filter, so water changes so far apart arent doing it for him. Even with a filter i have to change my 3 gal every week or else the nitrate buildup gets insane. Ive found when nitrates get too high and stay too high the fungal and bacterial infections come out to play. Had my share of dealing with that. X_X Its annoying. Do you test for ammonia nitrite and nitrates?

**Cliff** · 09-15-2012, 01:11 PM

Sounds like you are dealing with something related to water quality. With no filter a not enough waterchanges, I would guess the water quality has been slowly getting worse over time.

I would suggest daily 50% water changes until you can get a filter, a complete liquid test kit (for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH) and cycle this tank. There is a link below in my sig that explains how to cycle a tank with fish in it

Reguardless of what disease your fish may have, he will greatly benifit from large and daily water changes.

Can you post a pic of him ?

**kilyth** · 09-15-2012, 01:25 PM

I don't know where you got him, but generally if you buy a betta that's already full size then they have a life expectancy of about a year, two if you're lucky. This is because of the way they're bred, and the way they're housed in pet shops. My LFS (which is a reputable aquarium specialist) was surprised that mine lasted a year, and advised me to buy them as young as possible in future.

That said Elkfishlover is correct that if you don't have a filter then you need to get one, also you are not changing the water anywhere near often enough, especially for a 3g. Rememer: fish poo in their oxygen supply, we need to keep it as clean as humanly possible. If I were you I'd upgrade to a bigger tank; you could probably get a 10G with heater and filter quite cheaply at your local pet shop. Whatever size tank you get it's good husbandry to do a water change every 7 days.

**rcreamer** · 09-15-2012, 09:33 PM

Thank you all for your responses!!! I went to the pet store and bought him some Amquel conditioner ammonnia remover for the ammonia problem and some "bettafix" for the bacteria.. I am in the process of deciding whether to get a new tank or a filter (probably filter) to help with keeping it clean. the tank i have now is a pain and will never get a circular tank again. but anyways since i bought all this stuff ( husband made me buy new plants, "treats" and other silly stuff lol) Our betta is been doing a lot better. He is now eating!!!! Also he has been moving and a bit more like himself. The only think is that I'm hoping the grey patches on his body go away!!! I am sooo relieved that he is coming around. Thank you all soo sooo much!!!!! A heavy burden has been lifted and now I'm not going to be in trouble from my husband. I can't thank you all enough and the timing of the answer was perfect!!!!

**ekfishlover2011** · 09-16-2012, 08:04 PM

Glad to help. A good cheap filter you could get since its just a betta in there is an air powered sponge filter. Once a month or as needed you can just squeeze out the sponge in old dechlorinated tank water to get all the nastiness out and its only like $5 for the thing. Then u hook the air hose up to that instead of an airstone and you knock out two birds with one stone (aeration and filtration)! Between that and weekly 50% water changes he should be better in no time, and stay better. :D

**Azurescriber** · 09-17-2012, 12:07 AM

Try looking up velvet online and see if that matches the patches on your betta. Does he have a heater? They really need warmer water to thrive.

If it is velvet, keeping him in the dark will help.

It does sound like water quality issues, both the temp and the filth. Most betta actually live several years if they are kept in good conditions, even if they are store-bought.