Karilynn

Hey- I just bought a male betta from Wal-mart that someone had placed in the same container as another male betta... needless to say- my fish is quite torn up! Can anyone give me some hints as to what I should do for him? Does he need special food, medicine...?
Thanks! - K

lilsoccakid

i would suggest warmer then usual water, around 84 * and would also suggest a product called vitachem, this is used a lot from users on this website. good luck!

Tazmiche

Def agree with the water temp wacked up. I'm in the UK and can't get all the same products as you guys but have ( as many will know) learnt that Aquarium tonic salt helps ALOT!!! I was reluctant to use it but i have had great results. Also love Seachem Paraguard it has helped my guppies that developed finrot after my last 2 oto's moved in!!

DO treat him. As for food mine have their food soaked in a crushed garlic segment as i have never been able to get garlic guard. Try Hikari betta pellets with garlic guard. I can't comment on vitachem but it is recommended on here.

One of my males was torn up when i got him from tetras in his tank, the above is how i treated him. He's a star now. His bubble nests are in the betta pics to prove he is well and happy!! I hope my wittering helped!!..........Michelle

Barbrella

Change his water a lot to keep it pristine, and each time add some Prime to it.

If you can keep infection away, he should be okay. I would also feed him something like frozen bloodworms to stimulate appetite.


Idiots. I just got a female from there who was nearly dead from ammonia poisoning.

sirdarksol

Good suggestions, all...
In case you can't get ahold of Prime, what you're looking for is any water conditioner that helps the fish build their slime coat.
Any fish food that doesn't have fish meal as the first or second ingredient is probably a good choice. Fish meal is a good filler, but doesn't have much in the way of nutrients.

COBettaCouple

welcome to Fishlore.. Bettas can heal up well from something like that, just as the previous posts suggest, you want to protect him from infection and help his system be strong and regrow the fins.

Here are the products you'd want:

Vitachem (unless you're lucky, you'll have to order this online):
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...8&N=2004+22763
It will help regrow fins better than anything i've tried.

Prime:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+112994
This is a favorite water conditioner that also helps lock up toxins and enhance slime coating.

Fish Protector:
http://www.novalek.com/kordon/fish_protector/index.htm
This is a super product for healing up a fish! It'll probably have to be ordered online too.

Triple Sulfa:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113021
Just in case he shows signs of finrot, you'll want to have a box of this.

Rid-Fungus:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113021
When we treat for finrot, we use this with the triple sulfa. It's another "just in case" item.

Just keep his water around 82 and extra clean with water changes and make sure the current isn't too strong for him. As soon as you can get the vitachem and fish protector, start that for him. Make sure nothing in his tank could snag his fins. We use flat glass marbles instead of gravel. (more cleaning maybe, but smooth on those long fins) and check decorations to see if anywhere inside or out could snag pantyhose (ie: betta fins).

That's about all the basic advice we can think of.. we brought home a betta pretty torn up and now she has the most beautiful fins.. so your guy has got a great chance at total regrowth!

Karilynn

Thanks All! I really appreciate your help! He is still living and I am keeping his tank warm and clean. I plan to pick up aquarium salt and vitachem ASAP... Have any of you ever used Melafix? I read somewhere that it was good for healing fins...?
Thanks again!

nmwierman1977

Never ever use melafix on a betta or any labrynth breathing fish for that matter. It has melaleuka in it which damages the labrynth organ. he could die from it. Myself and a couple others on here had Bettas that was on that and the result was a very long slow death, but by the time we found out what was causing them to get sick it was too late.They already had too much of it in their system and the result was death.

If you have to medicate there are other meds out there that will work just as good.

Read this sticky.

Sticky: ALL BETTA OWNERS READ!!!!! MELAFIX ALERT!!!!!! READ!!!! READ!!!! DANGER!!!!

Natalie

Barbrella

Try not to use chemicals if you don't really need them. Keep a close eye on him for red streaks, rotting fins etc and treat if the issue comes up.

My half dead female really turned around and is doing very well with just many water changes - done with Prime - and good food.

Good luck!!

chickadee

He needs protein foods like freeze dried bloodworms or daphnia and try to stay away from flake or pellet foods as they contain a lot of starches that are not digestible and do not help the healing process and can cause constipation. The protein foods will help to regenerate the fins faster especially with the use of VitaChem vitamins like Dave said.

Rose

COBettaCouple

i'd not use the aquarium salt either.. there are conditions that it can help, but it could also cause him some real health problems and for his current condition, i'm not sure it would really help any.

If your LFS/LPS has the hikari frozen bloodworm cubes, those are what we use when feeding our bettas bloodworms - our wild bettas get them 5 days a week. The easiest way that we've found to get the most out of a cube is to drop the cube in a small container that has just enough clean treated water in it to cover the cube. Put the lid on it and shake it up. The water will thaw it and you can feed your betta 2-3 worms in the AM and PM, then put the sealed container back in the fridge. We keep it for up to a week, then discard any that are left. Hikari also has freeze-dried daphnia that you can find in the regular fish foods area of your LFS/LPS. We've found the Hikari foods to be worth the extra cost, particularly the frozen cubes.