peacemaker92

Kal, my betta recently died (I'm not sure from what) and now I think Sherbert, my betta has the same disease that Kal had.

The symptoms are:
swolen gills, doesn't swim much, stays at the bottom corners of the tank and breathes heavily.

I'm not so good on treating fish diseases so someone please help quick! I don't want Sherbert to die too!

I'm afraid and guessing the cause is from the water. But I tested the water and everything is fine. Ammonia, nitrates and nitrites are all 0.

Shawnie

sorry your baby is sick...but nitrates shouldnt be 0 on a cycled tank...unless you recently did a total cleaning...your tank says no filter or heater...which he really really needs to be healthy ..has that changed?

a good 50% water change with some fresh garlic juice would help alot..and if you can get some fish protector and vita chem that will boost him up also ..goodluck!

peacemaker92

Thanks Shawnie! I just did a water change the moment I saw his symptoms. I cleaned his tank and cleared everything. Now I'm staring at him and he's just floating on a corner next to my air pump. Garlic juice? OK, I'll try that. Thanks!

Shawnie

He will need daily water changes as I dont think his tank is cycled..and with no filter thats a must! just a couple drops will do him..but he really needs that filter and heater

peacemaker92

OK... I don't have enough cash to buy a filter AND a heater. I can't believe he's sick!

Lucy

I'm sorry Sherbert isn't feeling well.

Follow Shawnie's advice about the water changes and meds.

27C is about 80F, is that a consistent temperature ? If so, you can get a filter first then save up for a heater.

Is your 15g cycled? If it is you can cut a piece of filter media and put it in Sherbert's tank, held down with a decoration. It would contain some bacteria to help process the ammonia.

Good luck, I hope he's feeling better soon.

Fishies-for-me

gee if you can only get one...and the temp is warm where you live I would say get the filter 1st then as soon as you get more cash get the heater...but water changes are your best friend now.

Martinismommy

I'm sorry your little man isn't feeling well....It is so hard to watch them suffer.....Have you tried giving him the baby peas?

chickadee

If there is no filter in the tank then it cannot be considered cycled as there is nothing to be cycled. They are probably dying of ammonia poisoning. What are you using to test for the ammonia. If it is test strips, I am so sorry to say that they are notorious for being inaccurate. They can say that there is not any ammonia or nitrates or nitrites present and they can be in the toxic levels. It is sad but true that the only really accurate tests are the ones that are liquid based. If he is not in a cycled tank then he needs daily water changes at the least to keep his ammonia and nitrite levels down as they build up very quickly in water. Also are you using dechlorinator in your water when you change it or what type of water do you use when you change the water. Is it water from a city water supply? or well water? Since you are not from the US it is hard for us to know what to ask as conditions do vary in foreign countries as to water supplies and the things used in them to decontaminate them.

peacemaker92

He did have a small filter in the tank but it broke a few weeks ago and he was doing fine without it. I DID use the liquid tester. They all said 0. Sorry for troubling you guys. I know how hard it is to help when you're in a different country. Thanks anyways. I'll just try some ideas the other members gave me and see whether it'll work out.

chickadee

No we want to help but we need to know if possible what the chemicals used in the water are if you know and if you use anything to dechlorinate the water you use. The test kit may read no ammonia or nitrites or nitrates but what kind of food is he getting and how much? We know this is a lot of questioning but it really helps to know the answers. There are other things that could be in the water that could be bothering him if it is not treated with dechlorinator. Is there any way you could answer our questions about the water?

Rose

peacemaker92

I'm not sure whether there are chemicals in the water but i DO put anti-chlorine. I feed him mediaquafish food, made from Japan. He eats them but sometimes very slowly.

chickadee

That is good and the dechlorinator should be removing the harmful heavy metals and chlorine and chloramine then. The food should be okay. What temperature is the tank usually? You said it does not have a heater, but I know where you are is tropical so perhaps it is warm enough you do not need one. It needs to stay like in the range of around 26 to 28 degrees Celsius for them to do really well in a tank. If it gets much above that then the problem could be that the oxygen level in the tank water is low. Warm water does not hold oxygen very well and since a tank water is stable and not getting oxygen from running over rock and stone he could be low on oxygen in his water.
It is an easy fix but not a sure one. Do you have an airpump and airstone in your tank? It adds oxygen to the water by bubbling and adding air to the water. Sometimes the movement of the water through the filter is enough but if you are quite warm there, it may not be. That is why I kind of need to know about what temperature he is?

Rose

peacemaker92

Well, the water temperature is only around 28 to 30 degrees celcius. It changes everyday. He has plenty of oxygen when I turn on the air pump everyday. The temperature here is so hot, the water in all my tanks evaporate so fast in just a week.

Anyways, thanks so much for your concern Rose! Sherbert is doing well now. He's making progress and is starting to move around more often. I turned on my air pump for him more frequently than usual. He looks happy but sometimes stays in one corner looking bored.

chickadee

I am so glad that he is doing some better and please do not ever think that we do not care about the bettas from far away places. It is just that we may have to bother you with more questions to make ourselves more familiar with your conditions. We want to help you and with the temperatures that you have I am still thinking the oxygen may be getting a little bit low in the water sometimes. So if he gets kind of droopy and slow just try turning on the bubbling air for a while and see if that helps him. It is worth a try. But as I said I am glad he seems to be more active. But never hesitate to come for help if you want to. We will be glad to try.

Rose

peacemaker92

Thanks so much Rose! Your advices really work and have been helping me and Sherbert out these past few days!

chickadee

You are most welcome and that is what we are here for. Sometimes we do not know what to do to help unfortunately, but I am so happy that something seems to be helping Sherbert to feel better.

Rose

COBettaCouple

How is he doing? I'd recommend leaving the air pump on always. They like the bubbles usually and with the warmer water, it's good to have more aeration than you typically would.