Adopted A Sick Betta

Hello everyone! I adopted a sick betta 2 days ago. He didn't have any visible illness, but he was definitely lethargic and sitting on his side at the bottom of the tank. Since it was an unexpected adoption, I didn't get a chance to cycle a tank for him. I used filter media from my other betta tank and Safe Start. He's in a 5 gallon tank; I've been doing 40% water change daily, his tank is between 74 - 80 degrees. A new heater is coming today to stop the fluctuation.
When I first put him in, he was still laying on his side, barely breathing. Yesterday, I got him to eat two pellets but not the frozen bloodworms. Today he didn't want any pellets. He goes between periods of lethargy and energy. He will look almost dead, and then will swim around, and then look almost dead again. Honestly, I can't tell if he's just getting used to his environment or what.
Does anyone have any tips? My 2 other bettas have never been sick or overly stressed (knock on wood), so I am kind of in the dark here. Is he behaving normally? Is there anything I can do to get him to eat? He likes his indian almond leaf. I'll attach a photo; his name is Sebastian.

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• saalice729
• Jun 14, 2018

 

He was laying on his side before you got him, too, so I don't think him continuing to do that after adding him to the tank has anything to do with the tank. HI'm swimming around, then being lazy again, it's like he is indeed exploring and getting used to his new home, but at the same time he's still sick so he doesn't have the energy to be too curious.

His fins look pretty rough. I clearly see fin rot.

At this point, since he's new, I would do daily water changes, and see if his condition improves. Lots and lots of fresh clean water is the best general tonic for bettas. Change 50% to 75% of his water every day to promote healing. His fins will heal over time, and his temperament and energy level should improve after a few days.

How is his appetite?

 

He was laying on his side before you got him, too, so I don't think him continuing to do that after adding him to the tank has anything to do with the tank. HI'm swimming around, then being lazy again, it's like he is indeed exploring and getting used to his new home, but at the same time he's still sick so he doesn't have the energy to be too curious.

His fins look pretty rough. I clearly see fin rot.

At this point, since he's new, I would do daily water changes, and see if his condition improves. Lots and lots of fresh clean water is the best general tonic for bettas. Change 50% to 75% of his water every day to promote healing. His fins will heal over time, and his temperament and energy level should improve after a few days.

How is his appetite?

I was suspecting some fin rot. Besides water changes, is there any good medications or treatments out there?

His appetite is iffy. He didn't eat anything his first night. Yesterday, he didn't want the omega one pellets or the bloodworms, so I picked up some hikarI pellets and he did eat two of those. Today, he didn't want hikarI or omega one.

Thank you for your help!

 

Medications aren't really needed for fin rot most of the time, and although as humans we instinctively want to jump right to medication to fix every problem, that's really bad for fish. Don't jump to a medication unless a natural remedy isn't working. Fish don't always respond positively to medication, especially medication they don't really need. Fresh clean water via daily water changes will heal his fins better and faster than any medication will. I would only suggest medication if clean water daily isn't working.

Now, if you do daily water changes and his fins get worse, then his fins may be infected, and we would have to clear that up with medication. But the medication would not necessarily promote fin growth, it would just clear up the infection. Clean water will promote healing.

His appetite is a little concerning. Bettas are normally little piggies. Seriously, they don't stop eating when they're full. They will eat until they pop if you let them. So it's concerning that he's not interested in the array of food you are offering. Especially blood worms. My bettas can't resist blood worms.

His appetite and his energy level may return after a few daily water changes, as he starts to feel healthier, and also starts to feel more secure in his new home. If after a few days he's still not real interested in food, then we should probably look at what's wrong. But it's entirely possible that clean water will do the trick in a few days.

 

The way he is acting sounds fine for a new betta. They may not eat within the first week of being introduced because they are still getting used to their surroundings. His energetic and lethargic spasms could be because of being in a new home.
The fin rot doesn't look too bad, he looks like a crowntail so it may be a little harder to tell.
Just clean water daily and at good temp should heal him up.

 

The way he is acting sounds fine for a new betta. They may not eat within the first week of being introduced because they are still getting used to their surroundings. His energetic and lethargic spasms could be because of being in a new home.
The fin rot doesn't look too bad, he looks like a crowntail so it may be a little harder to tell.
Just clean water daily and at good temp should heal him up.

I agree while a betta not eating for the first day or two is not out of the normal, it definitely should not go for longer than that, if so it means something is wrong with the betta or the tank. Definitely try to get him to eat on the second day though. There's a thing called Seachem Garlic and it serves as a natural antI parasitic food additive, but it also serves as an appetite enchancer and most often is used to entince picky eaters to eat. It's made of just garlic and not even garlic flavored or anything except actual Garlic and idk about you but to me it smells really nice and I use it on my commericial and homemade foods. This may be used for trying to entice your betta and it can be used every day as it's natural and not a medication although it does have antI parasitical values.

 

I agree while a betta not eating for the first day or two is not out of the normal, it definitely should not go for longer than that, if so it means something is wrong with the betta or the tank. Definitely try to get him to eat on the second day though. There's a thing called Seachem Garlic and it serves as a natural antI parasitic food additive, but it also serves as an appetite enchancer and most often is used to entince picky eaters to eat. It's made of just garlic and not even garlic flavored or anything except actual Garlic and idk about you but to me it smells really nice and I use it on my commericial and homemade foods. This may be used for trying to entice your betta and it can be used every day as it's natural and not a medication although it does have antI parasitical values.

Thank you BettaNation! I did actually get him to eat yesterday. I used the omega one marine minI pellets, which admittedly is not a betta food, but is high-quality, high in protein, and has garlic! I saw the seachem garlic guard at my LFS, and didn't pick it up, but was wondering if it would be helpful. If I continue to have feeding trouble, I will definitely give it a try!
He was very lethargic again today after his water change, which I found odd since I matched the temperature and used the same dechlorinators I always do. Since I knew he ate yesterday, I decided to do a fast today. I will try again in the morning, and hopefully have some feeding success!