Allie

Felix isn't doing well.
Of course I go look at him a few minutes and he is pine coning. And he is being treated for bacterial infection plus the parasites. I think he'll be gone by morning.
I hope I can save Sunny...he does still have the worms but it's a month long treatment. He is looking good and the worms hanging out of his anus are thinning out. If he keeps looking this good he will probably be the lone survivor of 11 betta I have had in the past 6 months.
Pix of Sunny today

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Martinismommy

He looks fantastic in the photo.....Hard to even think he is sick...I sure hope he makes it Allie.....

Tazmiche

I have a friend that said to me today that when she owned a pet store and ran 28 tanks she never cleaned the betta tanks as much as i do. She said she respected my choice to do so BUT seeing my tears she had to jump in and say i try too hard! I upset their water and bacteria etc and i believe that!!

Do we over clean our betta tanks??!! i think we do!!!

voiceless_kat

Hey Mich...you could have a point - not just with bettas, but tanks in general.

This is such a stubborn and terrible thing Allie is dealing with. Man, I am almost afraid to even think new fish at this time.

Sunny looks wonderful, Allie, like Karen said, hard to believe he is dealing with anything icky. Poor Felix...your heart must be breaking.

Sending even more thoughts and hugs your way.

Val

Martinismommy

Since this subject is brought up I'm going to say what I do for my 9 Betta tanks..I want to knock on wood before I say this but I have to agree...I think we may be over doing it with the cleaning...

Here is my maintence shchedule....

50% water changes once every 2 weeks...Vita Chem garlic guard and fish protector 3 times a week..Complete gravel vacuum once a month...NOTHING in between!

When I 1st fire up a tank even though I have seeded filter sponges I do 50% water change daily for the 1st week...After that, they get on the same bi-monthly schedule....

I feed my boys 3 times a day....bloodworms in the AM, peas at lunch then for dinner they get either pellets or brine shrimp..I do NOT over feed...I take the time to drop in 1 at a time to make sure they eat it before offering another..This helps keep my tanks clean....

I feel strongly that the tail issues I encountered with Crush and Patron had more to do with the shipping and different water conditions that finrot..Both my boys I shipped in are much better now that they have adjusted to the pH and water conditions here in AZ....

My old man Will has been around a long time....I have not lost a Betta (yet) I pray they will all live a long happy healthy life with me....I feel I do everything in my power to make sure they are healthy....Disrupting their tank constantly isn't something I believe in....

This is my personal opinion and routine....It works for me....Someone else may disagree but that is why we are all here to compare, share and learn.....

Allie....Didn't mean to hijack the thread....I know we are all wanting to help out Betta kids so I elaborated a bit.....

MinxMermaid

sounds good karen....

i'm shocked that we havn't lost any bettas, being new to the hobby and all (as there's usually a learning curve).

we do about the same as you, but i feed twice a day.
pellets in the morning, bloodworms at nite.
a few drops of vitachem every day for now, garlic once a week.

water change and algae scrub every two weeks.

i'm terrified to go through what some of the other betta mommies have gone through lately and my heart goes out to them

i know they're good moms and hope their hearts heal up soon to be ready for some new betta boys

Lucy

Yikes, 11? Allie, I knew you lost a lot of them, I just didn't know it was that many. How heartbreaking.

I'm sorry Felix is feeling so badly, but glad Sunny show's signs of improvement.

shellbell4ever

Allie I hope that Sunny continues to improve,and very Sorry to hear that Felix doesn't seem to be improving I just love that Boy!
You may have a point...I do a weekly water changes and feed twice a day alternating between blood worms & pellets,peas & garlic bits,and I do Not overfeed in fact I feel guilty for not giving in to them for more ,I have not lost one of my boys But have lost 4 girls in as many months But never could figure out why...Except for Vasquez who was very Bloated,never knew if it was parasites or eggness it happened so fast And Newt for Jumping out of the tank (silly suicidal fishy)
I do hope this will all end for you very soon,I'm sending you a big virtual Hugg!!!

Allie

I think we do too. My betta who lived in a 1.5g unfiltered and unheated for 1/2 of life then to a 5g heated with the HOB to much filtration....but he still lasted longer than any of the betta I have gotten since. A whole year, compared to 9 month as the next longest. The rest I have been fiddling with their tanks too much, and looked what happened.

Allie

I am scared to wish that he does...every time I get hope with the Betta, they suddenly take a turn for the worse.

Allie

It's all good....I need to know your secrets for the future. I was/am changing their water too much. As of lately I kinda have to with the medication directions. After this I am following this advice.

Felix is still kicking but pine coney looking still.

Shawnie

aww allie..I hope he makes it..we have all said it time and time again how sorry we are....fight felix!!!!

and MM had another thread going about "are we doing too much" ...it does make you think sometimes doesnt it

Allie

It sure does...especially since the one I had last year wasn't taken care of properly. The ones I have fussed over....where are they now?
I am hoping he'll get pass this beginnings of dropsy, triple sulfa is in the tank...so if he can get thru the treatments he could make it. But I am not getting my hopes up.

Rainsong

I think it honestly depends. I used to have "Big red", whom I got when he was older (it was before you found the youngsters in stores). He lived in a 1g his whole life, and was LUCKY to get a once a month full water change. He thrived- I had him for 2 years at least, I think it may have been 3- and he was probably a good six months old when I got him.

That said, some of the new finnage (Halfmoons esp.) are thought to be MUCH more susceptible to fin rot and the like. I'm fighting fin rot with my boy Ghost, but I blame myself for that one.

I think, honestly, that the filtration (plus finnage) are really crucial- go ahead and yell at me, but Ghost and Delph don't have filters (yet). Even Holly's filter is just one of those cruddy discard-a-filters. I plan to get the boys better homes so I can put a filter on them. Awesome- he's never had a sick day in the time I've had him, but he's had a filter of one sort or another for 80% of his time with me. I do think we over clean sometimes, but depending on set up, you do need to clean a lot.

I admit, I don't follow the "rules" this forum loves But it does NOT make me some horrible person, either. And I love my fish as much as anyone else- and I know I'd be so upset if Ghost, Delph, Awesome, or Holly died- it was bad enough when Ghost got fin rot and the 10g got parasite attacks all at the same time!

I can't say I know exactly what you're going through, Allie, but I know I'd be in so much pain to have lost as many as you have. I just lost two of my three platy girls- add that with Ghost and the rest of what's going on, and I'm really not sure if I'll be keeping anything but the bettas once this group of fish pass.

I'm sorry this happened to you- I really do wish I could offer you an easy fix, and some way to make everything better now.

Allie

Felix is fading fast guys. He isn't even that pretty steel color...his drab grey. He'll be gone soon...I hope for his sake. He looks awful every passing hour. Poor fella.
He is being treated with something to help bacterial infections yet he is pine coining.
How frustrating!!
Sunny has a little fin rot happening and he is being treated with triple sulfa too. I really hope he doesn't die too. BUT this parasite has wipe out every Betta I have had since February...what is going to make him so different from the rest.

Red1313

<hugs Allie>
As for the fiddling with the tanks too much... has anyone here read the freshwater aquarium guide for dummies? It may not be the best resource but it has a couple of neat things and one of them is a list of the top ten ways to kill your fish fast (or something to that affect) and worrying with your tanks was one of them.
My boy gets a water change once a week (it's a 2.5 gal if it's working I try not to mess with it... temperamental bugger...) it may not be the best thing but it works for me.

Devon

Sending all my good thoughts and hopes to Sunny and Felix (and their mommy)!!!!!

COBettaCouple

I'm so sorry about Felix.