Devon

Hey everyone...

My pride and joy, David Bowie the betta fish, is seriously ill, and nothing I do seems to help him. I noticed five or six days ago that he was acting a lot more lethargic than usual, resting in his plant on the bottom of the tank, but whenever I would come near he swam up to greet me as usual, plus he was eating like a pig, so I thought nothing of it. Then three days ago, I got up and went over to his tank, and he was laying face-first in the plant, his little body was discoloured and he didn't move. I thought for sure he was dead... when I reached in to the tank for him though, he swam up to my hand. But he is in really bad shape.

His face, which used to be a royal blue-black, is now mottled with greenish tan and brown. His colour is muddier all over -- he looks like a zombie fish. There are the tiniest, almost invisible white spots on his head, so I instantly thought, "ICH."

I put him in a 2-gallon quarantine bowl with his heater and mostly new water. Unfortunately, I don't have a way to aerate the bowl, so I *have* to do daily water changes even though I've read it's best not to when dealing with ich. I've been reading everything I can find on ich and I think it must be what he has, though I haven't read anywhere about ich changing the colour of the fish's actual scales to brown. I didn't know that it was so dire... he is REALLY sick.

Since he's been quarantined, I have been doing a 50% water change each day (I use spring water for him and test it regularly, there can't be anything wrong with the water), and adding a tablespoon of aquarium salt. He is up to almost 3 tablespoons now, I've heard that a short-term, high-salt content bath can cure ich faster than anything else. I dissolved a fizzy parasite tablet for him as well, hoping that it would help fight the ich... or whatever it is that he has. I used a tiny bit of cycle in the hopes that the bacteria would do him some good, and some BettaFix. Nothing works. It's been three days and every day I think I am going to wake up to a dead fish. He hides his face behind his heater and lays on the bottom of the tank with his fins clamped tightly... or he did, until the salt content got so high... now he lays at the top. He won't eat or play chase with me anymore, he barely moves.

Someone please help! How long will it take to cure him? Am I doing something wrong? I know that he's suffering and I just can't stand to see it... he is my favourite fish, I would be devastated if he died.

Lucy

I'm sorry your baby is feeling so poorly.

What else was in the tank with him?

Cycle contains the wrong kind of bacteria, not that it's hurting him at this point, but it won't cycle a tank.

For ick treatment, most here recommend increasing the temperature for a good two weeks as opposed to medications. Are you sure it's ick?

I heard mixed things about betta fix.

I can't comment on the salt treatments, I've never used it.
But 3 tablespoons in 2 gallons seems like a lot. (again, I don't have experience with it)

Is he bloated? Can you post a pic?

There are others who are much more knowledgeable than I am, hopefully they will see this soon and give you some suggestions.

Sorry, I can't help you further.

Shawnie

great advice lucy..!!! sorry for your sick boy

I wouldnt give him salt...but I would try to find some garlic guard or pieces of fresh garlic and a small piece of fresh pea, vita chem, and fish protector...

daily water changes are a must no matter where he is..I wouldnt use any of the other meds as they havent been reliable....

id keep him in the cycled tank and just turn up the temp to 83 ...

when my rafikki was on deaths door, the DAILY water changes and adding the above 3 chemicals only, saved his life goodluck!

COBettaCouple

Do you have a picture of him?

I would recommend simply keeping him in a tank at 83F for 2 weeks, use Prime to treat all the water and do 25-40% daily water changes (try to use replacement water at near the tank temp). Aeration is important, especially since the higher temp will mean lower oxygen, so I'd put in a little air stone and use a gang valve to control the flow rate. Shawnie's given good advice and I'd second it.

Good luck with your little guy, they're fighters and can definitely bounce back.

Fishies-for-me

You know velvet looks like ich but is very tiny..I could only get a good look at it on my betta Floyd with a magnifying glass . He did the same ...crashed face down in the gravel and wouldn't move. The only thing about Floyd that wasn't typical velvet was he never lost his appetite. He could hardly swim but would eat like he was starving. I fed him very frequent small meals all day long. ( one or two micro pellets 5-6 times a day.) I added garlic guard and stress coat at first then added coppersafe. My betta was in his own tank so I medicated him there. I did not expect for him to survive. He looks awesome now. This was just 2 weeks ago and it only took a few days for him to perk up. 3 tbsp of salt in 2 gallons imo is to much...1 tbsp per 5 gallons is the amount I use for most things and maybe in an extreme case I would use more but never more than 1 tbsp per gallon. ( again that is just imo) raise the heat up to 83 if you can ( my heater is not adjustable so I can't) keep his water extra clean. Make sure there are no water temp changes. and make sure you declor. Google velvet to get more info on it. I didn't know until Floyd got it that it is one of the number one killers of betta. ( next to fin rot) . It looks like ich only smaller and it is a rusty , tannish or golden color. On a betta fish it is hard to tell the color of it tho. On Floyd it looked off white. If you use coppersafe make sure you remove the carbon and do not over dose. It is only necessary to replace the amount you take out during water changes. ( if you do a 50% water change you replace a 50% dose of med.)...hope this helps...good luck

Edit: Some one else asked what else was in the tank with David....I also ask that as velvet( if that is what it is ) is highly contagious and the entire tank would need to be treated. Also velvet can survive without a host longer I think as it has chlorophyll in it so it only needs light . Some fish are very sensitive to copper so you would have to be very careful when treating a mixed tank of fish. Floyd tolerated it very well. Also the betta fix from what I hear is NOT a good med for betta. There is a sticky on the betta forum that tells about the "fix " meds and they have a tree oil in the that damages the labyrinth organ and can harm the labyrinth family of fishes....again good luck.

Devon

Thank you for all the great information, everyone!

I turned up the heat to 83F in David Bowie's tank and have been doing daily water changes (I use spring water for him, so I don't have to worry about treating it as much... spoiled boy my fish is.) He ate some blood worm treats yesterday (first time he's eaten in 5 days) and was more active than I have seen him all week. I'm so happy! The spots on his head are still there but some of them seem to be clearing off now. Seems the extra heat did the trick!

Fish Addict

#1. I think that it probably is because of this disease.
#2. I think something for hiding might be good to reduce the stress.
#3. It was actually very smart to move him so that you could treat him specially, and so the other fish were safer from being infected...
If you are still adding salt, I think you should prob. stop, since like you said short-term high-salt content bath can help. That means putting the fish in for about 5 minutes at most...
Also, to nanoman, try not to call people dumb. Its very rude...

Devon

Well... I don't have anything in the quarantine tank except a heater, spring water with aquarium salt, and a single sick fish. Everything that I have read says that moving your sick fish to a quarantine or "hospital" tank is step one... so I don't feel particularly dumb about moving him, especially considering how rapidly his condition is improving.

Lucy

I'm really glad to hear he's improving.

COBettaCouple

I'm glad to hear of his improvement.

I would recommend no more aquarium salt and reducing the salt in there with water changes. That's a really high level of salinity. It's really the warm water that is the ick cure. Meds and salt aren't needed. Just warm water, 25-50% daily water changes and cleaning the bottom at least once a week.

I usually recommend using Prime even with spring water or well water. Even those sources can contain heavy metals and at 1 drop per gallon, it's worth playing it safe, especially with a recovering fish. Prime also helps with slime coating.

peacemaker92

Hope he gets well soon! Good he's improving! Good luck!