Betta bloated, pale & laying on bottom, please help

I am on here out of pure desperation. I got my new Betta Garcia about two weeks ago. He is feisty, social, extremely active and extremely curious. within the last few days he has started acting differently. He started darting around the tank, rubbing up against things, bumping into things specifically the glass and whenever he did bump into things he would flip out and seemingly jump back a couple of inches almost like he was scared or hurt himself. In the last two days he seems to be taking a turn for the worst. He has gone so pale (which is saying something since his body is mostly white). He lays on the bottom of the tank, either at the front, behind his sponge filter, or he will hide between the roots of his plant. his tail is literally turning red, I think he's bloated but I really can't tell and his fins are clamped, sometimes he is breathing really hard and will dart to the surface for air but then starts exploring and swimming around for a bit before he end up at the bottom of the tank again. He is fairly young, and although it is obvious he is not well he still swims around from time to time, he is still eating, he still comes to say hello to me and he will follow my finger around. He is still himself and will even try and flare at his reflection but it takes all of his energy.

Within the last year I have had two other betta fish who both died within a month. The first one was inexperience and the second one was old and sick but similarly he become sick out of nowhere. As a result I ended up learning a lot about betta fish but apparently it hasn't really payed off...

I have NO idea what to do anymore, I have exhausted every single website and done enough research to make my head spin. The tank is cycled (unless I did this incorrectly which is a possibility) and the water perimeters are fine, I do not have exact numbers (I will be getting a testing kit soon if there are any ideas for a good brand) but I got it tested at a local fish store. He is in a 3 gallon tank with two nerite snails, I know this tank is not big enough and I have a 7.5 gallon tank I need to set up but it still needs to cycle and be deep cleaned. He sits on my dresser which is not by any windows, he has a sponge filter(this might also be the problem), a heater, a thermometer. I feed him bio gold pellets that I soak in water before I feed him so they don't expand in his stomach. I have only been feeding him one pellet a day for the last two days, I thought he was constipated so I fed him a pea which seemed to help and now here we are. I did a 10% water change today and siphoned the rocks a bit. The last time I changed the water I also cleaned the filter (I just squeezed it a bit in some of his old water and used his cleaning toothbrush to get some of the algae off of it. I don't know if this was a major problem) I also swished his moss ball around a bit.

I apologize that this is so long but I wanted to put down as much information as possible. I really need help, I just want to let this beautiful creature have the absolute best life I am able to give it. I am starting to feel like I should not be a betta owner after all of this. I don't want to rush to medication because I am afraid I will use it incorrectly, plus I am not sure what to do about the snails if I go that route. I have started him on betta fix. It has only been a day so I am not sure if it is helping. I just need some sort of validation or guidance or both...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!! I am agonizing over this...



This was him about a week ago, I finally got him to sit still long enough to take a photo




This was him two days ago



and this is him today, I can post a better picture of how he is today but he's been hiding in his plant for about an hour.
I have a couple videos showing his behavior changes and will have an updated photo of him at some point soon.

help

 

oh boy hes definitely not feeling too good is he

so first things first- take a deep breath. I know its scary and extremely upsetting when a fish gets so sick so fast but try your best to stay calm.

for a test kit I suggest the apI freshwater master kit. the sponge filter is actually a very good choice for a betta because there's nothing to suck in their fins and it doesn't move the water around too much.

the bumping into things and erratic swimming is usually called flashing which basically is the fish being itchy. I'm not entirely sure if that's the case with your betta right now but it could be. if he is flashing then that means there's likely an actual disease going on

for right now I suggest doing a 50% water change just in case there's a lot of nitrites or ammonia in it causing him to freak out. he might be feeling a bit stressed right now so it could be helpful to keep his light off. if he starts having trouble swimming around or seems to struggle at all I would suggest trying to find or make a breeder box or net. there are a few tutorials online on how to make them. this would help keep him near the surface so he doesn't have to go too far to breathe.

 

Thank you!

the breeder box/net is a good idea, I had a bit of a breakthrough. I think he may have velvet. He is been showing symptoms of it from what I have read thus far. I finally got a picture of him last night. it looks to me like he is covered in gold dust. He has been showing signs of it, and the fish I had before him showed really similar symptoms and he was initially in the same tank. So I think maybe he got sick as a result? He was 100% healthy when I got him.

I am going to the store today to get a test kit as well as getting the water tested by them. I'm going to get a breeder box as well.

 

Sorry for the late reply the site went down when I tries to post last night. I had suspected your fish had ich from your description. Theres two common cures both documented on this site. One turn up the heater to 84 degrees. It will disrupt the reproductive cycle of the disease. The way it works is fish get the parasite it grows into white spots that you can see then falls off and reproduces to thousands of times more, free floats than reattaches to the fish. Its usually the second round that kills the fish. The second treatment is an ick med that 'does pretty much the same thing, it makes the eggs infertile. It used to be made from an old printers ink. Its like a poison that's too weak to kill a fish but enough to stop reproduction. Keep treating for 10-14 days as even if fish looks good there could be eggs in the gravel. If your tank was empty for more than 2 weeks before your new fish its probably not an issue with your tank. Fish often come from stores with ich but you can't see it yet. Your guy looks in bad shape, hope your not too late.

 

I don’t see any white spots, am I missing them? I talked to a pretty knowledgeable guy at my Local aquatic fish store and he said it didn’t really look like he had velvet or ich and to start on antibiotics for a couple days since it will most likely help regardless and if that doesn’t work switch to an antI parasitic medication. (Might be twisting words a bit) I’m wondering what thoughts you have on that?? I’m also curious if I should finish out the seven days of betta fix. I added the medication earlier, it’s called kanaplex and it’s for fungal and bacterial diseases. I gave him a dose earlier today and I think his tail is a little less red. I also added an Indian almond leaf.

on a whole other note I removed my snails and put them in a medium sized container. Apparently I don’t know how to pick up snails...

 

I was going by your description that he had velvet. The jerking movements are typical of ich/velvet. As far as what remedy to use if not sure of the issue my guess is to try the one with the shortest treatment time first. Your little guy probably doesn't have much time picking the correct med is probably crucial. From your description it sounded more like velvet than an antibiotic issue. Maybe putting him in a large plastic filled with tank water to the store with the experienced employee could pin this down?

 

Before reaching for medication the very first thing I do when something seems off is reach for the water changing equipment. How often are you doing water changes and how much are you changing each time? Things can go bad quickly in a tank this small.

 

I have API general cure that I have from my first fish. (It is not expired) I gave him. Would it hurt him to do that the day after the kanaflex? Or is there another brand I should go out and get? I’m in agreement that it doesn’t seem like a bacterial infection and I should go with my gut on this one. I feel like a trip would stress him out too much??? The kanaflex said 2 treatments every two days. The color in his tail is coming back a bit. I thought he might be developing Popeye but that’s gone today as well. He still does not look good.

I did a 50%water change last Monday involving vacuuming the gravel and a 10% change on Wednesday.

 

I have API general cure that I have from my first fish. (It is not expired) I gave him. Would it hurt him to do that the day after the kanaflex? Or is there another brand I should go out and get? I’m in agreement that it doesn’t seem like a bacterial infection and I should go with my gut on this one. I feel like a trip would stress him out too much??? The kanaflex said 2 treatments every two days. The color in his tail is coming back a bit. I thought he might be developing Popeye but that’s gone today as well. He still does not look good.

I did a 50%water change last Monday involving vacuuming the gravel and a 10% change on Wednesday.

Agree moving him will be stressful but he may not have much time left, getting him the right meds is crucial. Looking at that pic I really don't see anything obvious, maybe someone with better eyesite can see something. When doing water changes are you using a water conditioner that removes chlorine? Getting the temp of replacement water close to tanks?

 

Agree moving him will be stressful but he may not have much time left, getting him the right meds is crucial. Looking at that pic I really don't see anything obvious, maybe someone with better eyesite can see something. When doing water changes are you using a water conditioner that removes chlorine? Getting the temp of replacement water close to tanks?

I always use a clean cooking thermometer to test the temperature of the water and bring it to about 82 degrees because it usually cools off a little bit. I fill the bucket to 8 liters so I always put a correct amount of Dechloranater in the water and then test the temperature again before adding it into the tank. I live in a basement and it has windows, but the temperature might be fluctuating... I done have an adjustable heater either. I’ve read a few forums that say it’s better to have an adjustable heater. It’s an 100watt Aqueon heater. I hate them but it’s what I have at the moment.

I’m going to a different store today to get water tested and another opinion. I really hope I’m not to late... updates to come and thank you so much for helping!!

Sorry for the late reply the site went down when I tries to post last night. I had suspected your fish had ich from your description. Theres two common cures both documented on this site. One turn up the heater to 84 degrees. It will disrupt the reproductive cycle of the disease. The way it works is fish get the parasite it grows into white spots that you can see then falls off and reproduces to thousands of times more, free floats than reattaches to the fish. Its usually the second round that kills the fish. The second treatment is an ick med that 'does pretty much the same thing, it makes the eggs infertile. It used to be made from an old printers ink. Its like a poison that's too weak to kill a fish but enough to stop reproduction. Keep treating for 10-14 days as even if fish looks good there could be eggs in the gravel. If your tank was empty for more than 2 weeks before your new fish its probably not an issue with your tank. Fish often come from stores with ich but you can't see it yet. Your guy looks in bad shape, hope your not too late.

Would treatment for ich and velvet be the same?? I think I made the wrong choice with medication...

 

Would treatment for ich and velvet be the same?? I think I made the wrong choice with medication...
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Yes. Both belong to a class of parasites called 'protozoans', the same treatment methods and meds apply to both. Velvet is harder to see and kills much faster though.

I just wanted to say, please don't blame yourself. Your care sounds good. Betta are genetically weak fish, it is entirely possible to just grab the short end of the stick a couple times in a row, don't beat yourself up over it.

 

Would treatment for ich and velvet be the same?? I think I made the wrong choice with medication...
[/QUOTE]
Like Pascal said same treatment. Tho only difference I think is ich is easy to see white dots and velvet is dots so small they can appear as white patches, Similar symptoms fish appear nervous , moving I sudden bursts, scratching against tank decor. The way they operate is you may see dots on fish they may disappear for a few days multiply like mad when they fall from fish to gravel them reattach to fish. Most meds don't treat the fish but keep the parasite from reproducing. Their cycle is about 2 weeks so that's the time treatment is required. Some fish seem immune from others not. Keep us informed on his condition, we're all pulling for him.

 

Thank you all so much for those kind words, I’ve taken all of this really hard. I just hate being the reason a living creature is stuffing. I know it’s not my fault it’s just hard to shake. I’m doing the best I can

however Garcia took another turn... about one minute ago he swam to the surface and this is where he has ended up... is this the end... I feel like I shocked his system with the cure all. Can I do anything else??

Would treatment for ich and velvet be the same?? I think I made the wrong choice with medication...

Yes. Both belong to a class of parasites called 'protozoans', the same treatment methods and meds apply to both. Velvet is harder to see and kills much faster though.

I just wanted to say, please don't blame yourself. Your care sounds good. Betta are genetically weak fish, it is entirely possible to just grab the short end of the stick a couple times in a row, don't beat yourself up over it.
Thank you for this, I really really needed someone to say this.

 

The meds if dosed properly shouldnt harm the fish. If concerned do a small water change. HI'm going to the top is probably just to ger air, not indictative of his condition. Fish not swimming normally is always bad though.

 

however Garcia took another turn... about one minute ago he swam to the surface and this is where he has ended up... is this the end... I feel like I shocked his system with the cure all. Can I do anything else??

Don't panic just yet. The extreme clamping doesn't have to mean your fish is on its way out (if it makes you feel better, I had a betta look exactly like this due to an oops on my part (what you are seeing is extreme discomfort/distress, not necessarily 'deathly ill') and he pulled around just fine.

His colour is still vibrant and he shows no sign of bloating, lesions or pineconing, all of which are really good signs. Not that there isn't any risk but just don't hand him a death sentence yet. With some luck this isn't at all irreversible.

What ingredients are in this 'cure-all'?
Are you doing daily water changes? Do at least 30%. This is the best medication for fish feeling vaguely ill without specific enough symptoms to point it down with a lot of certainty.

 

HI all... sad news. Garcia passed last night, it turns out there was a huge ammonia spike and my nitrogen cycle had somehow been completely messed up between water testing. As well as something else in the tank. Which could explain the death of my last betta although ammonia read 0 after my last fish passed. The owner of my local fish store is extremely well versed in bettas and I trust his opinions. He advised me To do an 100% water change, cleaned everything and used stress zyme paired with fritz turbo, it wasn’t ideal for so many reasons but after doing a water test he would have been fine. I had to leave him out of the tank and I also had to leave for work. When I came back he was gone, I guess I was too late... taking it pretty hard just because looking back I see all of the huge mistakes I made. It was definitely reversible... but I’ve learned so much, thank you all so much. Your kind words have really helped me through this.