Does anyone know Betta Fish?

[SweetErika]

We've had a betta named Frosty for about a year now. In May, I started noticing he was showing some signs of stress, like periodic paleness and odd swimming/floating. I took out the bubbler in our 10 gallon tank (where he lives with a small Clown Pleco), and he seemed better. But throughout the summer, he was getting bloated in a couple of spots along his digestive tract and pale pretty much weekly. We've tried all sorts of different foods (apparently constipation is a known issue with Bettas), feeding schedules and preparations, yet he's still declined over the past couple of months.

Now his body is almost colorless (his fins still have color, but don't look super healthy) 100% of the time, he spends probably 90% of his life on his side at the top of the tank, and he gets bloated with each small feeding (although he still eats like he's been starving to death). We've checked and changed the water a bunch of times, treated him with a few medicines, and he still doesn't seem to be improving.

I'm inclined to think he has some sort of digestive disease, or perhaps he's just at the end of his lifespan, due to this long-term decline in his health. I'm also thinking that he doesn't have much quality of life at this point, and it's probably time to humanely euthanize him (which our 4yo son is OK with, BTW). My husband seems to think Frosty's health might improve, but then he wasn't home for most of the decline.

Does this set of symptoms sound familiar?

After this long of an illness and all we've tried so far, is Frosty likely to get better without taking him to a vet?

 

[simplegirl]

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/fish_palace/tropicalfish_disease_identification.html#Dropsy

Look up Dropsy. Are his scales sticking out? From a quick read, your Betta could be nearing the end of his life. A four year life span is pretty good for them. Water quality is an important factor, so make sure you change the water at least weekly. You could give him peas (take the outer skin off the pea), if you suspect constipation. Plecos are notoriously heavy poopers and a 10 gallon tank is small. Can you move the pleco to another tank? Do you have a water testing kit? I'm wondering if your ammonia or nitrate levels are high.

Maybe even up your water changes to twice a week with the pleco in there. Best of luck.

That website was priceless to me when I had a tank.

 

[SweetErika]

No scales sticking out and he has an appetite, so I don't think it's Dropsy. And we've tested the ammonia, pH and nitrate level many times over the past 6 months (that was the first thing I checked when this started); they're always just fine.

i suspect it's chronic constipation/SBD, based on what we've read. We've gone through that whole treatment many times, so I'm guessing Frosty has a congenital defect or long-term disease process w/ an unknown cause.

I'd venture Frosty's approaching 2 years old. Our last Betta might have been around the same age, perhaps a bit older, when he died. Both fish came from Petco, so it's not like either had a great start in life or was bred from exceptional stock.

 

[Que]

All I know is do not feed them fried chicken.

My then 4 year old decided they looked hungry and gave them a drumstick.

I chanced to water immediately upon noticing and they both died. In hindsight I wonder if my quick possible over-reaction was the problem. I had to use unfiltered untreated tap water and did not consider temperature.

I thought betas don't need bubblers, could it be too much oxygen? I don't see how it could hurt, though.


I never put them in with anything else. I did set the first one next to the other fish tank so he could see movement and fishies. Are fish social? do they get lonely?

The first one we had faired poorly by himself, one of the kids did something like tipped it over or something. don't remember. When we got a pair with a glass divider with a removable privacy screen between the two sides, they seemed lively and healthy until the chicken leg incident.

I am assuming you have a male? I seem to remember that males mostly flare when other males are present (kind of like the general board) I wonder if they are better off socially with something social to rowdy them up?

 

[MsAmative]

Do you have a thermometer in there at all? Is it possible that your temp is off and uping the stress?

I would consider removing him from the tank as well if you have a smaller one or two gal you can use. Would give you a chance to see if the cleaner water or lack of a filter makes a difference. Since it does sound like possible age, the calmer still water might be preferable. Could be why he perked up without the bubbler. Its been a while since I have had bettas, but in my experience some thrive in a large tank and others really prefer a bowl. I wouldn't rush out to buy one but if you happen to have one on hand it could be worth a shot.

 

[Harold_Hill]

Male Bettas don't do well to living alone. They are very aggressive, and need competition to thrive. You can't put two males together because they will continually a attacked each other; however, you can put a small mirror in the tank so he can see his reflection. He will think his reflection is a another male Betta and focus his aggressiveness on his reflection. You can buy these little floating mirrors, (made for this purpose), in most fish stores. Also putting a female in a tank might help.

Another thing you might try is dividing the tank with a clear plastic divider, (with small holes to maintain circulation), and put a male on each side. They will spend their time displaying at each other. In the wild, Bettas spend their time defending their territory, and they need the aggressiveness to be healthy. You can also buy these dividers at fish stores. Although dividing the tank may make it too small for the Pleco.

 

[sunandshadow]

Male Bettas don't do well to living alone. They are very aggressive, and need competition to thrive. You can't put two males together because they will continually a attacked each other; however, you can put a small mirror in the tank so he can see his reflection. He will think his reflection is a another male Betta and focus his aggressiveness on his reflection. You can buy these little floating mirrors, (made for this purpose), in most fish stores. Also putting a female in a tank might help.

Another thing you might try is dividing the tank with a clear plastic divider, (with small holes to maintain circulation), and put a male on each side. They will spend their time displaying at each other. In the wild, Bettas spend their time defending their territory, and they need the aggressiveness to be healthy. You can also buy these dividers at fish stores. Although dividing the tank may make it too small for the Pleco.

The ideal ratio is 2 or three females per male, as if there's only one the male will harass the female obsessively.

 

[SweetErika]

Ok, well maybe the next time around (assuming we go betta again), we'll try a females-male combo. Live and learn, I guess! Both Frosty and Michael (Betta #1) have had various tankmates, although we had several fish massacres last year for unknown causes, so we stuck with Frosty and Payaso the Pleco after enduring those losses.

 

[Que]

The ideal ratio is 2 or three females per male, as if there's only one the male will harass the female obsessively.

Kind of like lit?