After Vacation Troubles

I went on vacation this past week and returned late on Tuesday night. Excited to see my fish and make sure they were all ok, I ran into my room and discovered issues in just about every tank. My 10 gallon had a clogged filter, my 30 gallon had not dissolved the vacation feeder and a shrimp had died (most of my grass was also uprooted), my 1.5g needed a good cleaning, my 9g grew mold on the driftwood and some decomposing indian almond leaves along with some portions of my plants that died, and my 5g.. my poor 5 gallon had green algae all over the driftwood and plants growing almost into the filter. My betta had a hole in his dorsal fin which was torn all the way through by the next day, his gills seem discolored and red around the gill plates, and the lone shrimp I had in there the keep the algae at bay had also died. The next day I was thankfully off from work which gave me a much needed opportunity to straighten things out as best I could. The 10 and 30 were easy fixes as was cleaning my 1.5, the 9 should get better in time with some cleanings and some amano shrimp I added (also considering snails too), but the 5 is still in distress.

I cleaned out as mush as I could with the vacuum and did a large water change but I'm not sure how the algae got so out of control seeing as how the tank was covered with a cardboard box only letting in light from the tank light set on a timer to 6 hours with no ferts for an entire week.. yesterday and today I will be continuing %20 water changes to help my betta improve over the course of the next week and keep the water as clean as possible but there is still algae left on the plants and driftwood. I bought an additional shrimp for his tank which immediately went to work on the algae but it will be a process and I don't want him to suffer the same fate as the one I found dead. Ultimately I'd like to stick to something natural to get rid of the algae but the shrimp destroyed my plants last time and I've never liked the idea of snails in a semI covered tank (the 9 has a full cover so I don't mind them there). The shrimp that died seemed like a slow process but I have no idea what caused it. He had zucchinI left to eat but he turned a cloudy rust color a week or 2 before I left, when I came back I discovered him dead. Hopefully the algae will clear up with a healthy hungry shrimp back in the tank but I was curious about using Flourish Excel as an algecide if necessary. I will be seeing how the new shrimp does and with daily water changes should have my betta feeling better. If anyone has any input or ideas that could help improve things for my betta it would be much appreciated, at this point I will be letting things go as natural as I can with clean water. I would also be curious is anyone has any thoughts on why the shrimp didn't make it. Stay posted to see how things go! Good vibes please. This isn't too fun to come back to after vacation. If you've read this far, thank you. I know it's a bunch to read through.

Here are some pics of the shrimp and as best I could get of his gills for consideration.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your tanks.

 

Wow, poor guys. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery!

 

You were away for a week? I had all my floating watetsprite die. I was gutted. Your betta will be fine with water changes and I'd pamper him with some frozen or live food. Mine love frozen mosquito larvae and it floats!

 

You were away for a week? I had all my floating watetsprite die. I was gutted. Your betta will be fine with water changes and I'd pamper him with some frozen or live food. Mine love frozen mosquito larvae and it floats!

Yes it was a short notice vacation to see family. I fed him brine shrimp the day I came home and some pellets the next morning with frozen daphnia that night for dinner. He is getting some good stuff and his dorsal already looks slightly healed. Or maybe it's just me..

 

That's really odd. Friend of mine has one in a 5gal tank. Feeds it daily (dunno what tho) and the tank is pretty horrid to say the least. She's had it for about 6-7 years. When I first saw the tank I asked "What the heck lives in there?" She replies " It's my betta fish I won at the fair". I had to really look through all the vegetation to see something swimming around. Sure enough it was a dark & light blue betta. I was amazed it still lived. That thing is bullet proof.

 

That's really odd. Friend of mine has one in a 5gal tank. Feeds it daily (dunno what tho) and the tank is pretty horrid to say the least. She's had it for about 6-7 years. When I first saw the tank I asked "What the heck lives in there?" She replies " It's my betta fish I won at the fair". I had to really look through all the vegetation to see something swimming around. Sure enough it was a dark & light blue betta. I was amazed it still lived. That thing is bullet proof.

Wow, I hate there being an unhealthy looking leaf in my tank much less the algae! The Bettas are usually solid so I have faith but I have no clue how old he is. His eyes are a little cloudy and he's not very accurate with food anymore. He used to lunge at a dangling worm from my finger above the water but now he misses floating pellets sometimes until they sink.

 

Well I hope the little guy recovers. He sure is tough tho! With all your help I'm sure he'll bounce back.

 

Well I hope the little guy recovers. He sure is tough tho! With all your help I'm sure he'll bounce back.

Thank you!

 

Seems like food rot destroyed your water parameters. That is rough! ZucchinI in my tank needs to be removed after three days if not eaten as it starts to discolour.
I would concentrate on water parameters to stabilize the conditions for your fish first. After that I would start dealing with the algae problem, which will decrease once the water parameters are back to normal.....but like you said, a natural fix will take time.

I would take whatever ornaments I could out and scrub the algae off under running water with a brush. I used a soft small children's toothbrush on plant leaves when I had a similar problem.

 

Seems like food rot destroyed your water parameters. That is rough! ZucchinI in my tank needs to be removed after three days if not eaten as it starts to discolour.
I would concentrate on water parameters to stabilize the conditions for your fish first. After that I would start dealing with the algae problem, which will decrease once the water parameters are back to normal.....but like you said, a natural fix will take time.

I would take whatever ornaments I could out and scrub the algae off under running water with a brush. I used a soft small children's toothbrush on plant leaves when I had a similar problem.

The piece of the zucchinI was a very small piece maybe the size of your fingertip but certainly didn't help I'm sure. There really should be no left over food otherwise in the tank, my Betta usually gets everything before it sinks. Daily water changes are keeping things clear and I'll probably get more shrimp and divide them up after the algae is taken care of so they don't take out my plants again.

The only thing in my tank I could remove would be the driftwood which has plants rooted on it and is partially buried so it would be difficult. Everything else is just repens in the substrate. This would be the 4th time or so tearing down the tank if I did it and I'd rather avoid it if possible. Thanks for the info on the zucchini, I'll be sure to start removing it after a few days. I usually just leave it until the shrimp finish it off.

 

I don't think he's going to make it through the night or the next day. He's the most lethargic he's ever been, twice now he's simply been lying in the bottom of the tank nudged under the driftwood. I wasn't sure he was even alive.

His dorsal is hard to see clearly because he's clamped but looks like its continuing to deteriorate. This morning his scales looked raised and he was losing color around his belly area. Attached pictures are first 3 from this morning and the last 2 from tonight. I've added some reinforcements to take care of the algae while continuing daily water changes but it's difficult to stay hopeful seeing how miserable he is.

 

Oh no! I'll keep my fingers crossed for him!

 

To my surprise and slight relief he was still with us this morning. Laying almost sideways on the bottom of the tank the only way I knew he was alive was seeing his gills move. I tried to move him using a plastic cup to a shallow quarantine tank but he was nestled under the plants which made him difficult to reach.

His dorsal appears to be worsening still, perhaps spreading an infection to his back and body. At this rate I do not think a natural solution will be quick enough. I've always done things natural and it's always worked out but I owe it to him to try everything I have available. Again always doing things natural, I don't have any experience and little knowledge on medicine. If anyone has any suggestions I would be very appreciative. I'm prepared for the worst but will resist however I can. Attached are update pics from this morning.. I think the only reason hes moved is to keep the shrimp off.

 

Are you still doing the water changes to ensure that the water quality is good?

 

Aw man, so sorry for your experience, and your losses. I took a chance the last time I was a way for a week and didn't feed--and had excellent results. Those vacation feeders always seem so hit or miss, and if you're not there to do a water change, it's best if the fish don't have food either.

I recently had 2 shrimp turn cloudy about a month ago, and then they both died this week, a few days apart. If this one was cloudy before it died, it MAY have a bacterial infection causing muscular necrosis. Another fishlore member gave me this link, suggesting Baytril as an antibiotic treatment: Bacterial Infections
Muscular Necrosis: Shrimp Diseases and Diagnosis
Unfortunately I never got around to treating them because in the US, Baytril requires a vet prescription.

HOWEVER, another thing I learned recently from watching Rachael O'Leary is that when you feed zucchinI or cucumber, make SURE to skin it first, even if you 100% know where it is grown etc. It reduces the odds that what you put into your aquariums came into contact with a pesticide or some other contaminate which might not be easily removed by rinsing. Mine turned cloudy right after feeding some zucchinI I got in a produce box--they claimed to be organic, but other things in the same box weren't, and I wasn't as careful as I should have been. Just sharing that because it's another lesson learned

 

Oh noes! He doesn't look good at all Bettas are resilient and tough fish. You're doing everything you can. It's up to him now to fight.
Fingers crossed and positive vibes for you.

 

Are you still doing the water changes to ensure that the water quality is good?

Absolutely, without a doubt. In addition to Prime and increased dosages of Stress Coat+.

 

Aw man, so sorry for your experience, and your losses. I took a chance the last time I was a way for a week and didn't feed--and had excellent results. Those vacation feeders always seem so hit or miss, and if you're not there to do a water change, it's best if the fish don't have food either.

I recently had 2 shrimp turn cloudy about a month ago, and then they both died this week, a few days apart. If this one was cloudy before it died, it MAY have a bacterial infection causing muscular necrosis. Another fishlore member gave me this link, suggesting Baytril as an antibiotic treatment: Bacterial Infections
Muscular Necrosis: Shrimp Diseases and Diagnosis
Unfortunately I never got around to treating them because in the US, Baytril requires a vet prescription.

HOWEVER, another thing I learned recently from watching Rachael O'Leary is that when you feed zucchinI or cucumber, make SURE to skin it first, even if you 100% know where it is grown etc. It reduces the odds that what you put into your aquariums came into contact with a pesticide or some other contaminate which might not be easily removed by rinsing. Mine turned cloudy right after feeding some zucchinI I got in a produce box--they claimed to be organic, but other things in the same box weren't, and I wasn't as careful as I should have been. Just sharing that because it's another lesson learned

Thanks, insight is always appreciated. Any time I've use cucumber or zucchinI it is skinned and de-seeded. This particular tank didn't have any of the time release feeders but the 30 which also had a shrimp die the same way did.. Maybe related. I'm sorry to hear for your loss as well, I will most certainly read into the infections to make sure I can avoid them as best as possible in the future. Thank you for sharing your experience, thankfully the rest of my shrimp appear healthy and normal.

 

Is there anything anyone can recommend as possible treatment for his fins and scales? Possibly ammonia burns too judging by his gills and previous water conditions during my time on vacation. I'm getting off work shortly and would like to treat him if possible as I'm not sure he will bounce back within the natural treatment.

 

Is there anything anyone can recommend as possible treatment for his fins and scales? Possibly ammonia burns too judging by his gills and previous water conditions during my time on vacation. I'm getting off work shortly and would like to treat him if possible as I'm not sure he will bounce back within the natural treatment.

Fresh water and an Indian Almond Leaf are the best treatments for ammonia burn. Best of luck!

 

Welling up as I type, I regret to say he has passed. I've been mentally preparing since leaving for work this morning but still not something I wanted to come home to.. I don't think I'll be going on vacation again any time soon.

On the bright side this will give me an opportunity to re-house another Betta of mine to a better and bigger tank once the algae has cleared up.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and kind words. Rest in peace Mitsu, my beautiful little crowntail. I don't think there's another quite like you.

 

Oh, I am so sorry to hear this Sometimes it just goes wrong so fast He was a beautiful fish--swI'm in peace, little one.

 

when you feed zucchinI or cucumber, make SURE to skin it first, even if you 100% know where it is grown etc. It reduces the odds that what you put into your aquariums came into contact with a pesticide or some other contaminate which might not be easily removed by rinsing.

That is a brilliant point!
I have never done this in the past, but I am going to from now on - especially since my fish don't eat the skin anyway!