mollysmommy

My 4 year old daughter 'rescued' a male betta from a Wal*Mart. I'm sure you all know how lavishly they treat their fish. Anyway, she adamantly stated that the aforementioned betta was to be christened "Molly" despite his obvious male gender. So just a few hours ago, he started going all lopsided and not really swimming upright. Kind of like he's stuck on a varying 45-90 degree roll over. His back is kind of bent, and he's not moving his tail. His front fins are working fine it seems. He's not eating either. What's going on with him? Also, can he be helped? I hate to see him suffer. Any help would be much appreciated!

COBettaCouple

welcome to fishlore.. i wish it were under better circumstances.. sounds like the little guy's had a rough time at wallyworld.. what kind of tank is he in now? what's the water temp, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? what is the tap water treated with?

as far as if he's not eating you may try frozen peas, thawed, peeled and then cut into tiny, tiny pieces and drop a piece where he could see it.. also freeze-dried daphnia or frozen bloodworm cubes thawed in room temp. treated tap water or distilled water.. soaking food pieces in garlic juice may increase the chance of him wanting to eat it. it's not uncommon for them to not eat for 1-3 days after coming home from the store.

His back being bent is unfortunately a high chance of fish Fish Tuberculosis (not a guarantee of it though) but Flipover, Swim Bladder Disease or Constipation. Let's hope for constipation as that is the easiest for you to treat and for him to survive. Please check http://www.klsnet.com/files/fishchart.htm for those 4 conditions and see which (if any) sound like what your little Molly is experiencing.

mollysmommy

Thank you for your reply. I am afraid Molly is not doing well at all. He is in a 2 gallon bowl, with gravel at the bottom, and a plastic plant that takes up about 1/4 of the space. I used lukewarm tap water and treated it with a solution I purchased in the fish dept. that removes chlorine, chemicals etc. and is supposed to make the water safe for fish. We have had Molly a little while, and he has been perfectly fine until now. I cleaned his bowl the same way I have ever since we rescued him, but this time when I put him back in the clean bowl, he started acting really strange. At this point, he is not swimming upright at all. His back is bent, and he looks like he is laying down. His fins are moving very fast for short periods of time, and then he doesn't move at all. I am afraid we are losing him.
I didn't know about ammonia, nitrates, etc. I assumed that all I needed to do was add the solution to remove the chemicals from the tap water. He won't eat anything at all. Occasionally he surfaces and takes a breath, but that is the extent of his activity. Is he suffering? Can he be nursed back to health?
I read the symptoms on the link you suggested, and I think swim bladder might be the closest match. I am not 100% certain.
Any advice would be very much appreciated! Thanks

COBettaCouple

unfortunately, the only course i could recommend for him would be a move to a small filtered & heated tank, like a 2.5g minibow.. with some silk plants for him to lie on. we have a betta with a sick or defective swim bladder and that's how we have him living. as you saw on the link, the treatment options are limited. how long have you had "molly"? if he's struggling to get to the top for air, you could try lowering the water level IF that works for his setup.

i can't say for sure if he's suffering or not, but he's probably stressed. If you can add novaqua+ to his water using the recommended dosage that could help with the stress levels, as well as:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...pc=1&N=0&Nty=1
(which can dye some things blue but may help him)

were you able to try daphnia or frozen & thawed bloodworms and/or peas with him for eating? or soaking his food in a little garlic juice before putting it in?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...30&N=2004+6130 - this food is supposed to be excellent for bettas and stimulating to their appetite. getting him to eat is the first step to helping him. They can go a few weeks without eating so hopefully he'll respond to a food stimulation and start recovering.

mollysmommy

Thank you again for your help. I am glad to know this site exists and that knowledgeable people care and are willing to help us 'newbies'.

Sadly, Molly died yesterday.

I have learned much from this experience, and will be better prepared the next time we 'rescue' another fish.

COBettaCouple

i'm sorry that Molly didn't make it.. we've lost 'rescue' bettas too and at least you know he had a happy home for a little while and i think about 75% of the cupped bettas don't. you did your best against a condition that's pretty much untreatable.