Xhilrian

I've had my betta for a while, maybe a year or so, and he's just stopped eating all of the sudden. I usually feed him pellets, with occasional freeze-dried blood worms, but he isn't showing interest in any of it.

There's very small hard-to-see white dots on his head and the front half of his body around the edges of his scales, but I've read that fish with ICH swim frantically around and try to rub the ich off. He just sits in his silk plant all day and does nothing. There's also black stuff on the tips of his fins. He was rescued from a tank with rosy barbs who ate most of his fins right after we got him, the webbing between the longer parts hasn't grown back. It's on the tips of that.

I really don't know what to do, please help him.

Edit; I forgot to add that it's a 1 gallon tank and that once a week or so I fill up the death bowl he came in, put him in it, then do a 100% water change. Probably not the best method, but it's worked just fine for quite a while.

Lucy

I'm sorry your betta isn't feeling well.
Can you post a pic? Not all fish will flash when they have ich.

Xhilrian

I can't, the camera software isn't installed and I can't find it.

iloveengl

I'm sorry about your little betta. Do you use a heater in his tank? If he's cold from winter temperatures, that may be making him ill.

IF it's ich (hard to say without pics), the natural ich cure recommended is to slowly raise the temp to 82 and leave it there for two weeks. Also swish the gravel around when you clean the tank so you get those ich spores. If you can invest in a mini-heater for smaller tanks (if you don't already have one) it will make your betta healthier.

Pristine water is the best cure for fin nips. My crowntail got beat up from zebra danios when I first got him, but clean water kept it from getting worse. You may need twice per week cleanings in a littler tank like that.

A mini-heater and clean water are always a good thing for bettas and will help the healing process. Best wishes!

Xhilrian

Thanks. ^^
I put "ich and protozoan" treatment in just a little bit ago, the poor baby's floating on top a little lopsidedly. But I'll see if I can get a ride to petco to get a mini heater tomorrow.

Lucy

It's going to be hard to find a heater for 1g. He really needs a nice warm consistant temperature. Is there anyway you can upgrade his tank?
I have to repectfully disagree with ilove, I think the prefered temp for treating ich is 84F.

Xhilrian

I dunno. They're either really puny or more than 5 gallons.

uprightandlocked

Walmart sells 5g kits ... I have two of them, myself. Are you able to look into those?

fishtroy

This sounds strange, I'm so sorry he isn't his usual self. Have you changed or altered anything that could be making him mopey? His tank location, view or perhaps a favourites ornament or plant? Poor little guy, I hope he feels better soon.

Xhilrian

Can't afford that right now.
But they have a 50-Watt tank heater, I'm sure it would work if I kept it low and watched the temperature.

I haven't, the only thing her really cares about is his silk plant. XD

fishtroy

It is a shame you can't give us a pic, his symptoms sound a little odd.
If he's stopped eating perhaps try to swat a mosquito for him and drop it in the top of his water, sometimes the fresh meat makes sulky bettas cheer up & it might get him to eat something.

Xhilrian

Hmm, maybe. I might be able to find an ant or something outside, since it's getting too cold for things to be flying around.
I also found a 2-5 gallon tank heater. I could get that and a temperature strip, or just put him closer to the turtle's heating lamp somehow.

iloveengl

@Lucy and OP: If you say 84, I'd definitely trust ya; I'm only going off what I googled and not personal experience - certainly that higher temp is better in the case of ich.

@OP 50 watt sounds like much too high for 1 gallon. The mini-heaters that I've seen are closer to 5 watts - more like a heater pad. You may not be able to keep the water temp stable with that many watts in 1 gallon. You don't want to fry your fishy.... Keeping him by the turtle lamp may be the best temporary solution to keep him warm but not biol the water.

If you can't afford a whole kit (about $32 for a 5g kit at my walmart, so definitely understandable if that's too pricey), a plain old 5g tank costs about $8 and you could use it with that 50w heater and maintain a more stable temp. Regular partial water changes would keep the ammonia from building up until you can afford a filter.

Lucy

If you have the heater, how about using 5g plastic tote?
Large Kritter keepers are about 3-4g and relativly cheap.

Tony G.

Sorry for your troubles. Lucy beat me to that one. Great minds think alike

You can get a plastic rubbermaid tub, add a sponge filter (theyre very cheap) and the heater, that way he can be warm and have a good sized house in the meantime.

iloveengl

Oh duh - I forgot, I used a 5g bucket (like they sell in the home improvement section of stores) as a temporary quarantine tank when I first got started. Those only cost a few dollars and the 50w heater would keep that nicely stable. I had an air stone in my bucket, too, which helps especially when the temps are high.

Xhilrian

Thanks for all the suggestions. ^^ We found a spare heater, but it was too big for his tank so we moved him to our "sick fish jar" and put it in. It's huge, but we have a 5-gallon tank. If we can figure out how to stop it from leaking (the corner leaks a bit) he could live in that with the heater. And eventually a filter. Though I'd worry about him getting stressed out in such a big tank.

When I moved him over to the jar I noticed that it looks like his fins are falling apart at the tips, could that be fin rot? Though it doesn't explain the white dots. :/ But he's getting warmed up, thats good.

Lucy

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but you had him in a jar?
Bettas are tropical fish. Unless you live in a climate that stays very warm or you keep your house close to 80F, he's going to need a heater.
Fluctuating temps and cramped quarters are very stressful. Stress weakens their immune system and leaves them open to illness and disease.

Xhilrian

No, I wasn't keeping him in a jar. He has an actual 1-gallon fish tank, but the spare heater we have is too big. It's really tall and the lid can't be on while it's in, and I don't want him to jump out. I moved him to the jar when I saw that he needs a heater so that I could get it in there. The jar's only temporary until I find a small enough heater for his 1-gallon, or a bigger tank.

And I didn't know the heater was necessary. We've had a beta before, and he lived in a large vase with a live plant for about 2 years. No heater or filtration system, just weekly water changes. So I thought that Cobalt would be the same way.

Edit; I should also add that it isn't a little canning jar. It holds about a gallon of water, maybe a gallon and a half. So he isn't stuffed into a tiny little jelly jar or anything.

fishtroy

Ok, not sure about the ant? Don't they have poisons and things. Pity you can't get a mozzie, he would have loved it!