antisen

Dory has been very listless, unhappy, and plagued with fin rot for probably months now. I had to leave last week for a wedding, and when I got back Dory seemed to be doing about the same as when I left. I used a 7-day feeder but when I came back the majority of it seemed to still be in a gross pile in the bottom of the tank (which I cleaned up). This morning he wouldn't come to the front of the tank for food, he was just resting in his plants in the center of the tank. He seemed to be lacking even more energy than usual and was having even more trouble swimming than usual. Because I can't tell whether he was eating from the feeder when I was gone (and because he was barely eating before I left) I can't tell if he's constipated or starved, so I didn't know whether to try to get him to eat more or not.

I came home tonight and he's lying half sideways at the bottom of the tank not moving. I was scared to death he wasn't alive but his gills are moving and he's breathing. This is obviously really serious and I don't know what to do. To be honest I'm afraid to try to prod or move him so I don't know if he's capable of swimming to the top for air or not. I am worried he won't be alive when I wake up. (to be fair I worry that often and am wrong, but this seems rather worse than usual)

I also noticed this morning that those stupid white little bugs are back. I dropped Parasite Clear into his tank, but like an idiot forgot to switch out the carbon filter because I was running late, and didn't notice until I got home tonight (at least 14 hours later).

Please someone help me. I don't think just keeping his tank clean is going to solve this problem anymore...

COBettaCouple

Hey.. poor little guy. How is he doing now? I think this is a case where I'd take him out of the tank into a container and totally clean out the tank, put fresh water in and acclimate him back. Use Prime and Fish Protector with Vita-Chem on the new water. Try to keep him in a spot where he'll stay warm while you do the cleaning if possible. I would rarely recommend a total water change and cleaning, but in this case I think it's advisable and maybe the thing that will help him pull through this.

If he has trouble getting to the surface, you may want to float him in a small container with some of the new tank water in it.

I think the feeder thing caused the bugs to come back and affected Dory with the effects it had on the water. Hopefully totally cleaning the tank out will let him get completely clean water through his system and perk him back up.

I'd probably try to feed him a few pellet-sized pieces of pea if he's bloated, then fast him for a day and feed him the pea meal 2x a day for a few days.

antisen

I think that's probably a good idea. I'm not sure where to keep him for the time being though, I have no hospital talk or anything. And is there anything I can do to keep the cycle from having to start all over again?

He's not doing any better today, though he is alive. He is apparently able to swim because he's in a different place than yesterday, but I've yet to see him try. Again he ignored me when I tried to feed him.

nmwierman1977

Do you have a cup or something that you can just scoop him up in and keep him in until you can do 100% wc and scrub the tank clean? I can tell you one thing doing a 100% wc and cleaning that tank will do the job as far as getting rid of those annoying white parasites. I had to do that with RJ's tank when he was acting sluggish and boy did it do wonders. It's been about a month since I did that and there hadn't been any parasites.

As far as the cycle it will just go through a little mini cycle since you already have an established filter media. It should be back to normal in a couple days, mine was.

I hope he makes it through. The 100% wc may help him. If not you may want to consider medicating him again with a gram negative and gram postive type medicine like maracyn 1 or 2 or even plus if you have it. Keeping him in my thoughts. Natalie

antisen

I have a Zephyrhills 3 Q jug I think I'll cut the top off and use because it's the only thing I have around that I haven't used soap on. I wish the water here wasn't soooo awful (I can't even drink it, nevermind live in it!), I am sure it doesn't help. I wish I could afford to keep enough bottled water around to change his tank but I don't think I can.

Thanks for the advice, I'll be doing the water change in an hour or two so if anyone has more suggestions before then it'd be much appreciated.

chickadee

My only suggestion would be to go get a 1 gallon jug of Spring water and use it for a temporary aquarium. Pour part of it out and cut a small hole in the top and make a hole big enough to put him into. and take a bit of the water out and put it in a cup to heat it in the microwave to help to bring the rest of it up to a temperature that is warm enough for him to tolerate if it is too cool or else sit it in the sink in lukewarm water. (the whole gallon container) to help warm it a bit. Be sure to test the warmth of it to make sure the temperature is okay before you put him in there. If it is bottled Spring water you do not need to add dechlorinator or anything to this but you can if it makes you feel better but no chemicals may be better for him at this point. Then just let him stay in this water until you get the tank cleaned and ready for him. He can even stay in there until you decide to float him to get him ready to put him back into the tank. Just be sure the hole you cut in the side of the gallon container is big enough to get him back out of without difficulty. He can stay in there with as little as half the gallon of water for as long as you need to clean the tank and perhaps not having to deal with the large amount of water in the tank will relax him a bit for a change and that will be absolutely pure water for him to get a bit detoxed from the chemicals and all.
You can even pour this water into your tank with him in it when you get him acclimated to the temperature because by then the water temperature will be the same in both containers and the Spring water will be clean and pure.

Rose

antisen

He is now sitting in about a half gallon of zephyrhills spring water around 79-82 degrees (my thermometer is not terribly accurate). Should I add Fish Protector or VitaChem or anything? He is lying sideways at the bottom, breathing but not doing much else. I tried dropping two small pieces of pea near him but he entirely ignored me, even when I tried moving them closer to him.

chickadee

You can add those two things if you wish they will not hurt him and they MAY help him but I would not add anything else. I do not know of anything else to tell you to help him at this point. I am sending good thoughts and prayers to you and to Dory and I do hope that all this comes out right for you both. I am so sorry this is happening to you both. I do hope you are okay or as okay as you can be. My thoughts will be with you.

Rose

LuvaBetta

It's always scary when they get sick, mostly it's hard to tell what the problem is. Gram neg or pos bacteria? Fungus? Worse? They just can't tell you where it hurts.

I'll be sending positive thoughts and energy Dory's way..

nmwierman1977

How is Dory doing? Were you able to get his tank cleaned and get in him back in there? Let us know. Natalie

antisen

I cleaned everything out completely and put him back in, but was concerned about his ability to swim to the top on his own so he's still floating in the bottom portion of a water jug within the tank. There's not really any improvement in his behavior unfortunately. I tried to drop in a piece of food for him earlier but he has continued to ignore it

The tank looks nice though.

PrettyPink08

It may take some time for him to get over it
are you giving him any medicine or vitachem?

nmwierman1977

Hopefully in a couple days he'll feel a little better. You may need to medicate him. Are there physical visible signs of any kind of illness he may have? Natalie

antisen

Update!!!! Just after I made that last post saying he refused to eat anything, I tried dropping another pellet in for him and he wobbled up and lunged for it! ...but missed, so I pushed it around in front of him for a while until he could actually get it.

I think it's a good sign. It also gave me a better idea about what's wrong with him... when he tried to swim, the back half of his body seemed to just sink. I think he's not swimming because it's stressful and difficult for him, but as for why he's sinking like that I don't know. Usually my gut on that is constipation, but he looks far too thin to be having that problem. I tried to feed him some pea anyway since I saw he had an appetite... he went for the first piece but couldn't get to it before it sank. He apparently gave up after that as he showed no interest in any other bits I put in there, even when I tried putting another pellet in. Small victories I guess.

Anyone know what could be causing his swimming problem, and what I can do to fix it?

Edit: I've been using Fish Protector and Vitachem.

PrettyPink08

does he show any sign or parasites or fin rot or anything like that?

chickadee

If it is constipation, which if he was eating from one of the blocks it could be, since they do not control their eating with those. They pig out. betta have no self control and will eat until they make themselves sick. He could have tried to eat every piece of food as soon as it became available. Now he is paying dearly for it. It will not hurt him to not eat and may be what he really needs for a bit. He will probably be feeling better just absorbing the things he needs from the VitaChem and Fish Protector for a couple days and eating maybe a small snack like you gave him. If you drop in a piece and he gets it and you cannot get him a second piece do not worry, they can get by on surprisingly very little food and actually really do much better on very little food. We really all do tend to overfeed our fish.

I have read articles about how a fish can easily become very overfed and unhealthy so the problem is not so much him not getting enough to eat as perhaps overeating. It does sound like he may have gotten overstuffed and cannot get unstuffed. I like the fact that you have kept him near the top of the tank where he does not have to do all the swimming and he can get to the top easier. Hopefully he will get his "sea legs" again soon and be his old self again.

I bet the tank does look nice and I am sure that he will be back in there doing his little buddy swim again soon. Just give him time to get back to eating slowly. A piece at a time and he will not starve. Also keeping him in the bottom of the container like you are doing will help you be able to watch for his poo and make sure that he is pooing and not constipated. If you let him out into the tank it will be harder to tell.

Rose

COBettaCouple

I'm glad to hear of a little progress with him and hope it's just the first step in him fully getting better.

antisen

Seven steps backwards today. He hasn't eaten since my last post... he'll try to go for the food once and then get discouraged when it's tough for him to swim. Then he'll ignore me and food for the rest of the day.

The worst news is that when I was trying to goad him into eating today, I noticed MORE STUPID FREAKING BUGS in the jug bottom I've been floating him in. So after all I did there are still more parasites in the water. I have no idea what to do. He's not eating, he can't swim, and there's apparently parasites again. I'm pretty sure I failed this time.

nmwierman1977

I am so sorry antisen. I thought for sure cleaning that tank and scrubbing it would've worked. Try putting some parasite clear tabs in the jug to see if you can kill them off before they spread more. I wonder if its caused by his constipation. Did you try googling any info about these parasites? Maybe see if we canget some answers about what they are and what causes them to return all the time. Natalie

antisen

I tried googling for them, but I haven't been able to find a match. I also don't know how I'd dose the jug since it's so small... I could dose the tank and put the tank water into the jug I guess. I know meds will probably just stress him out more, and he has so many other problems that he's dealing with besides the parasites that I'm not sure which is the most urgent to medicate... There's also the advancing fin rot, his swim bladder problems, and now his gills look red....

COBettaCouple

for you and little Dory. He's been such a tough little fighter and we really hope he pulls through this to be a healthy Betta again.

chickadee

I would say that the Parasites are with him and not in the tank. This may be a lot of the problem. It seems to be that the fish they infest are carriers of them and their eggs and will continue to be infested with them until they and all the eggs are killed with treatments. Unfortunately, I really did not get totally rid of them until I had treated several times. They are very hard to deal with.

I am sending all my good thoughts and hopes for you and for Dory. You both certainly deserve a break and some relief from all this. I wish I knew what else to tell you.

Rose

antisen

Dory passed away Monday night.

chickadee

I am so sorry, antisen. It is always so hard to lose a fish that we love. I know you fought as hard as you could to save him and he was loved every minute you had him. You can comfort yourself that you did everything that was humanly possible to make his life better from the moment you got him. He had a much better life than he would have had without you.

I am sure that he loved you and struggled to stay with you and is now covorting with the bettas who have gone on before and being able to play with them as he was never able to do before.

I do hope that you will be able to stay with us and contribute what you can to help others as you have gotten a knowledge of bettas and their care that will help others and hopefully someday you will feel able to welcome another into your life. It will never replace Dory but perhaps be a living memorial to him in a way.

We extend our deepest sympathies as we do know how you feel.

Rose

kra-z-fishmumm

I am so sorry, you both gave such a fight. Ditto to what Rose said.

Debbie

pamd

I'm so sorry Dory passed away.

antisen

Thanks Rose and everyone. It's been really tough. Tonight I sang the song I wrote about him at an open mic night and started crying onstage. On Tuesday I made a little box for him, put some pretty marbles in with him, and buried him under a shady cypress tree by a lake. It was the least I could do I guess. I still haven't brought myself to take his tank down... it's just so strange without him.

COBettaCouple

We're so sorry to hear that Dory's passed on. You both fought so hard and really did everything possible. We know how you feel.. we still miss our little Bettas that we've lost. our friend.

pamd

This post made me cry right along with you. What a suitable and dignified burial Dory received.

antisen, can you be strong enough to post the lyrics of the song here? It would be an extra memorial to Dory.

COBettaCouple

It's a beautiful song - Dory's Song.