voiceless_kat

Ok, I did it. Meet Storm everyone! He is kind of a red/orange colour, and I don't think completely healthy. There are either a few small tears in his beautiful long fins, or fin rot, so he is now in the clean 1.66g with Vita Chem and AmQuel+ and I will watch him closely. The cup he was in was so dirty you could hardly see him, so much poop it was like a litter box - just disgusting. So he could be in shock at being in a clean, warm place. It will be interesting to see if his colour changes.


He is just lying at the bottom of the tank, kinda tipped just a titch; however, for this picture he swam to the top of the tank and down. Hopefully help hasn't come to late for him. I gave him a Strong name, even though he has a very sad face & his kinda long & skinny........unlike Neptune whose face changes with his mood & is a nice healthy weight.

Yay...I now have joined the MTS'ers. Won't my hubby be surprised when he comes home!!

Attached Images

STORM MAY 25 005.jpg (172.4 KB, 85 views)

heatmisr

He's beautiful. I'm sure he'll be fine. He will need a little time to adjust before you can see if he has any serious problems.

Welcome Storm!

Bonochick

Aww, total cutie! I hope things work out.

Sparkling Diamonds

He is very handsome. I'm sure help has come before anything serious has occurred. You're doing a fine job Kat.

nmwierman1977

Aw. He is so cute. Welcome Storm. I'm sure he'll be fine. He's in good hands. Natalie

Jendayi

His color is absolutely gorgeous! I bet he will be full of personality once he realizes he's out of his nasty cup. I want one just like him lol... I have to wait a bit longer till Cujo's tank is cycled, tho. I can't have anymore tanks on my desk, there just insn't any more room!

Noob question - what is MTS'er?

COBettaCouple

He's a great looking betta. we love his red! after his time at walmart, i'd understand if he took the day or 2 they sometimes need to realize they have a new home & loving betta parent.

nmwierman1977

MTS= multiple tank syndrome natalie

Jendayi

LOL then I guess I am well on my way since I am already making plans for the hospital tank and Cujo's not even out of it yet hehe

cherryrose

COBettaCouple

LOL.. well, you could leave it as a quarantine/hospital tank and go with a whole new tank..

chickadee

Welcome Storm! All of us at my home welcome you and send our congratulations to you both. Alex and Marty Jr. are looking and liking what they see. Damon is yelling from the dining room that he wants to see too and JT and Nate are already in bed but will see tomorrow. We all want you to feel right at home here. You are a very handsome young gentleman and we want to get to know you.

Congratulations. He is very nice and I think he has a very fine looking face and will make a great friend.

Rose

voiceless_kat

Thanks ,everyone! If anyone told me in Jan that I would have entered the betta fish world, I would have laughed!

Storm is swimming around the little tank, cautious, but has found a leaf to lay under and sleep. I will try to feed him in the morning. He isn't skinny really, now that I look at him, his fins are just so long that it made him look that way. As in "does this dress make me look fat??" I have gotten used to not seeing long fins..LOL.

I feel so good about the rescue, and no guilt for having him in the small tank (until Neptune moves back to his 6g tank) especially since after what Rose said about the smaller hospital tanks - I know it is only for a week or so.

Storm looks more red to me tonight, pretty & bright..but his eyes look so sad and small. Hopefully he'll have a good rest and be ready to eat in the a.m.

Oh ya, husband said he kinda knew I would be getting another one........sweet. LOL

COBettaCouple

Funny, how quickly these little fish can give us the betta bug.

capekate

Hello Storm! What a wonderful thing you did in rescuing your betta. Yes, he does look so sad in the photo.. but Im sure that once he adjusts to his environment he will be soooo happy. Sometimes its like a bird in a cage that forgets how to fly. The betta is in such little space, that he forgets that he can swim around. Like my betta who looks alot like yours, when he came home and was introduced to the 29g He stayed in a small area, then eventually he started using those muscles again and swam around the whole tank. LIBERATION!!.... Now he is in a 10g and still doing great! I wont put him in anything smaller.
Good luck with your new baby... and hope that he will prosper with your loving care!

voiceless_kat

Thanks Capekate...I hope you are right. He moves around the bottom of the tank pretty slowly - likes to lay under a leaf on a smooth stone. I tried to temp him with a pea treat this morning, but it just fell past him - he either watched it go & wasn't interested, or didn't see it. Hopefully I can catch him coming to the top and tempt him with a pellet or bloodworm. Poor thing. His one eye doesn't look right too me, sort of too small, or beady or something - poor baby!!

Hope all of this is normal - when I brought Neptune home he practically took my finger off when I tried to feed him - but he was goofy in his cup also. Storm was just kinda lying there still - hiw water too poopy to swim.

COBettaCouple

some of our bettas ate right away, others took a day or 2 to show interest in food.

voiceless_kat

Day 3, my heart is breaking for this little fish. He won't eat, comes to the top of the tank just for air, then back down to sit on the bottom. Funny thing is he "looks" healthy, nothing outwards I can see. I can never catch him swimming, I turn around to look and he is in a different spot ..it seems he is treating the tank same as he would his cup!! Hope he perks up soon....I don't think he realizes he has been rescued.

COBettaCouple

Try a thawed frozen pea that's been dipped in the juice of one of those wet minced garlic jars from the produce section, then minced. And if you have any daphnia, he might go for that. Also a few bloodworms from a thawed cube of frozen bloodworms may spark his appetite. I think he just had a rough time at wallyworld and once he gets the idea that things are better now, he'll start eating and perk up.

Phloxface

If he's lethargic then he probably has an internal infection. You should begin treatment with Maracyn AND Maracyn-Two if you haven't already. Don't wait even one day. These infections can kill them pretty quickly. If the meds help him you should notice a difference in about three days. Don't worry too much if he won't eat. They can go a while without eating. No one feels much like eating when they are sick.
I hope he makes it. He has such a sad face. I want to see him healthy and smiling.

voiceless_kat

This little boy actually did some swimming today, not that much, but enough that I would notice - then I would sit beside him and cheer him on like a loony person - good thing no one can see how I am with my critters when they aren't watching. ( so relative to yesterday - it was a lot - every little improvement is one step closer) I tried the garlic pea thing, he wasn't interested just yet, but I will try again in the future.. He sometimes stops to rest on the suction cup that holds the thermometer...it's pathetically cute really.

I know not many will agree, but I decided to use some Bettafix at a very low dose when I put him in. 1/8 tsp...so really much less than directed. As I said he has that little tear in his pelvic fin and some a slight black outline on the tips of his beautiful long tail. I do think his eyes look better tonight, not as beady, and just larger -- it was like they were half closed when I brought him home. I have used every other medication out there to treat Neptune, so thought I would try bettafix and see if there was any difference. I also used AmQuel+ in his treated water to start, the temp is 80 with just the light and there was no ammonia when I tested this morning. Course there are bits of pea in the gravel now.

Hopefully tomorrow will see a little more improvement. Val

COBettaCouple

i hope tommorrow sees him eating as well.

voiceless_kat

Well, my heart continues to break for this little rescued betta. He may just have been in that dirty cup too long, and given up on life. He looks perfect, other than the tiny tear and the tiny black on the tip of his tail both of which he had when I got him. I don't even know if that is anything. I have watched him swim up for air, he doesn't struggle, he just swims up, swims down, finds a smooth stone, or on top of or under a leaf, or just sits on the gravel. He is breathing right ( well from what I can tell). He has little if any reaction if you tap the glass or put something up close to it. He has no interest in food. His colour is very bright red, and his face has more colour in it now. No body would look at him and say he is sick.

Sadly, I suppose all I can do is keep him warm and clean, watch him, and pray for a miracle.

Has anyone else had a betta act like this?

COBettaCouple

Storm may have blood flagellates (fish sleeping sickness). The treatment recommendation is: Methylene Blue at 5 drops per gallon for 5 days.

You're doing your best for him and at least he has a good home now. Giving him attention & talking to him probably does make him happier, he's just got to get past the probable internal problems developed in the cup. I hope his story has a happy ending with him recovering. we pray he gets better.

EDIT: Petsmart sells Kordon's Methylene Blue online. Perhaps it's at the nearest Petsmart. Your local store might also have a fish med that contains methylene blue that you could use. Best of luck to you both.. i know how you feel, we want our rescue bettas to pull thru.

Phloxface

The best thing for him would be Maracyn and Maracyn-Two. He must have an internal infection. There is no point in trying to guess what he has. He should be treated right away. BettaFix does nothing for internal infections. The two Maracyns will cover all gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Please get him started on antibiotics right away. I really think that is his only chance.

voiceless_kat

Well, I changed Storm's water 100%, when I quickly netted him and put him into his cup he was pretty active. He was more active in the cup than he had been for a while. I set his cup down beside Neptune's tank, absentmindedly, and Neptune came straight over and was flaring and darting at the glass and saying " I knew there was another fish here...make him get away to his own side of the house!!". Storm quickly turned his back on Neptune, but didn't flare.

We had a power outage for five hours today, so Storm was returned to his Qtank, with Maracyn Plus and VitaChem. ( Also some AmQeul + in there). He swam around a bit, then sat on a rock, then a while later a leaf, then the plant, then on the gravel.). I thought about not turning the filter back on, but I did, and am thinking I might keep the lamp all allnight, since it heats his water, and it goes down to 70d by the morning. Would there be a problem with that??

I didn't have enought Maracyn 1 & 2 to start a tx cycle, so I should have it by the time the Maracyn Plus is done, on Thursday if he hangs on that long.

If prayers and good wishes can help him recover, he will, but if he just gives up the will to live, it will be so sad. I don't know if it is better for them to linger or to pass quickly if they are going to. I feel so helpless.

I am wondering what it is like to have a betta that isn't sick or being treated for something?? Well at least Neptune doesn't allow his fin rot to stand in the way of his personality...he is spunky!! When Storm wasn't interested in the garlic juice soaked pea, I gave the pieces to Neptune, who I am sure swallowed them whole. Just a little piggy. So now the tank water smells like garlic? Even after a 30% water change yesterday.....ewwwwww...I don't think I will do that again...

COBettaCouple

I don't think leaving the light on would hurt, although if possible, put in a cave or something where he could have a dark spot to sleep.

Phloxface

I'd leave the light on. He needs heat and it is stressful to have the temp fluctuating so much each day. If you have a cave or something he can hide under put it in if he wants dark. My Bettas often sleep with the lights on when I fall asleep and forget to turn them off.
The Maracyn Plus should be fine. As long as he is getting some kind of good antibiotic.

voiceless_kat

Thanks guys. He can scoot under the leaves of the low plant, he seems to like it there anyway. I will leave the light on tonight and keep the temp up .

Keeping fingers crossed.

cherryrose