1 Gallon Tank Desperate for help saving my Betta after camallanus treatment

Hello everyone, I need help as fast as possible and will try to give you as much information as I can.

My breeder crown tail betta got camallanus from a female i mated him with. Over two weeks ago I fed him fenbendazole which got rid of the worms coming out of his anus.

Unfortunately Canada, where I live, took away all of the medicines to treat fish with all of the different diseases and problems.

Since he has gotten rid of the worms that I can see, he has slowly gone downhill day by day no matter what I do. I unfortunately had to take him out of his 5 gallon home
Once his fry were big enough to be on their own.

I have six tanks and not a lot of room in my house So I was temporary housing him in a 1 gallon vase with a heater and a bubbler and did regular water changes. I also add aquarium salt to all of my tanks and almond leaves for extra health. Bubs, my crown tail betta fish that’s dying Had an ammonia spike in his vase so I bought ammo lock and added it accordingly. That was four days ago.

Along the way I’m sure I made a mistake or two like adding Pimafix and Melafix when apparently it hurts Bettas but I don’t know everything and the bottles say they’re completely safe!

Each day he is getting worse and I’m afraid this is his last night alive. He’s losing his colour, he stopped eating today, he has badly clamped fins, fin rot, skinny and is lethargic with no energy. I took him out of his vase last night and put him in a small container so he can get air easier and I turned my air conditioner off so he doesn’t get too cold.

About 20 minutes ago when I picked him up in his container and started to sweet talk him he had about a 30 secomdenergy burst of excitement to see me and then went back into lethargy.

This is all of the information that I can think of so I will add some photos now of before and after. The photos are of him tonight in his bowl. Disregard the colour of the water it’s just from the almond leaves and the food on the bottom.

please get back to me at any time no matter how late or early it is if you think you have an answer as to what I can do to potential he save his life. I don’t know how to get notifications from Fishlore.

Thank you so much for any help you can give Bubs.
Tiffany

 

Aww, poor guy! I hope he will live, If you have Clove oil,(Or could get some at Walmart) You can Euthanize him, so he will die feeling almost no pain. Make sure to research how to do it properly though.

 

Can you access Levamisole HCl? It's used mainly as a bird dewormer as opposed to a fish dewormer, so maybe it's still available. Look in pet stores, online etc. I'm not in Canada so there isn't a specific brand I can recommend, sorry.

LEVAMISOLE HCL (HYDROCHLORIDE)

Here is a link to one I found, it actually is a fish dewormer, might not arrive in time though so your best bet may be a pet store in the bird section.

Otherwise, keep light levels low, keep up the IAL use and reduce stress levels as much as possible otherwise. Maybe add some plant clippings so it's not as barren and this could calm him down.

If you want to try an epsom salt bath, this can help them pass worms. It's a temporary fix and it will stress them out a little, but everything is worth a try at this point. ~14grams/1tablespoon per gallon, then put him back in the 1 gallon after about 15-20 minutes. Make sure you vacuum the bottom of the container as often as possible to get rid of worms and eggs.

Hoping the best for your fish

 

Aww, poor guy! I hope he will live, If you have Clove oil,(Or could get some at Walmart) You can Euthanize him, so he will die feeling almost no pain. Make sure to research how to do it properly though.

BigManAquatics PLEASE HELP!
Thanks I have clove oil and have had to do it a couple times before but this but my main concern is getting ahold of betta guru big man aquatics. He MAY be able to save him! Thank you for you’re care and reply!!

 

If you want to quote BigManAquatics you have to put a @ before their name, like SpottedKit329

 

Can you access Levamisole HCl? It's used mainly as a bird dewormer as opposed to a fish dewormer, so maybe it's still available. Look in pet stores, online etc. I'm not in Canada so there isn't a specific brand I can recommend, sorry.

LEVAMISOLE HCL (HYDROCHLORIDE)

Here is a link to one I found, it actually is a fish dewormer, might not arrive in time though so your best bet may be a pet store in the bird section.

Otherwise, keep light levels low, keep up the IAL use and reduce stress levels as much as possible otherwise. Maybe add some plant clippings so it's not as barren and this could calm him down.

If you want to try an epsom salt bath, this can help them pass worms. It's a temporary fix and it will stress them out a little, but everything is worth a try at this point. ~14grams/1tablespoon per gallon, then put him back in the 1 gallon after about 15-20 minutes. Make sure you vacuum the bottom of the container as often as possible to get rid of worms and eggs.

Hoping the best for your fish

Thank you so much I am awaiting to hear back from beta guru bigmanaquatics by tomorrow hopefully. Bubs is very strong willed and I know he will make it through the night at least I pray he will. He’s too lethargic and I don’t want to stress him out more giving him an Epson salt bath as stress is the number one killer of fish apparently. Thanks again so much for replying and giving your advice. Take care

If you want to quote BigManAquatics you have to put a @ before their name, like SpottedKit329

THANK YOU!!!
CrackerboxPalace I know it was a long post to read but I did mention in there that I live in Canada and they took all of those medication’s away from us. Jerks!

 

I will pray for your Betta

 

I will pray for your Betta

Thank you so much!!! God bless you!

 

Sadly i don't have much to add epsom salts as mentioned to help possibly pass worms that may still be inside. I haven't had to treat much personally besides finrot.

 

Sadly i don't have much to add epsom salts as mentioned to help possibly pass worms that may still be inside. I haven't had to treat much personally besides finrot.

I’m sorry I assumed bc I sought you out it upset you! His fin rot is horrible but he’s at a point where’s he’s so Sick he’s mostly lethargic. I guess I’ll give him one last go with an epsom salt bath. Do you happen to know the measurements of water to salt ratio and for how long?
Photo of him last night. The yellow water is just from almond leaves nothing to worry about.

I’m sorry I assumed bc I sought you out it upset you! His fin rot is horrible but he’s at a point where’s he’s so Sick he’s mostly lethargic. I guess I’ll give him one last go with an epsom salt bath. Do you happen to know the measurements of water to salt ratio and for how long?

 

Not sure the ratios, but 15-20 mins a day in the bath. And not upset, was asleep when you posted and work has been super hectic today.

Edit: also haven't had a chance to try researching the issue more and tried to contact a longtime, fishkeeper friend of mine in Canada to find out availability of meds

 

Not sure the ratios, but 15-20 mins a day in the bath. And not upset, was asleep when you posted and work has been super hectic today.

Edit: also haven't had a chance to try researching the issue more and tried to contact a longtime, fishkeeper friend of mine in Canada to find out availability of meds

Thanks! The only med available in Canada is Fenben but you need fluben to kill the eggs when adding to your water column. Also the fenben is for horses so extremely dangerous when trying to treat. If Bubs hangs on a little longer I have someone from the states that offered to ship me some. Im just extremely broke from COVID!

 

Sending healing wishes to Bubs so he can hang in there for that help to get to you. : (

 

Did you contact Patrick? I sent you multiple links to get the meds in Canada!

 

I’m sorry I assumed bc I sought you out it upset you! His fin rot is horrible but he’s at a point where’s he’s so Sick he’s mostly lethargic. I guess I’ll give him one last go with an epsom salt bath. Do you happen to know the measurements of water to salt ratio and for how long?
Photo of him last night. The yellow water is just from almond leaves nothing to worry about.

The ratio is 1 tablespoon per gallon or ~14g per 3.8 litres

 

Did you contact Patrick? I sent you multiple links to get the meds in Canada!

Did you contact Patrick? I sent you multiple links to get the meds in Canada!

Bubs camallanus was taken care of with fenbendazole. He hasn’t had any worms for quite some time but is still sick with something else. Epsom salt baths every second day and 25% water changes daily. If I don’t see any improvement within a week I’ll have to put him to sleep with clove oil because I cannot see him suffer like this much longer. I have also been dealing with some extremely personal life problems and have been ridiculously busy. I will order from Patrick for future possible cases of camallanus as soon as I can. Thank you.

 

Bacterial infections often follow after the worms are gone. The image you posted shows symptoms of such ailments.

I think a large chunk of the problem is he’s in that tiny, unfiltered vase. Keeping fish in such volatile conditions is only bad for them, as the smallest changes can cause huge swings in water parameters, hence all the ammonia spikes. Ammolock is never your friend.

There is likely very little beneficial bacteria (nitrosomonas and nitrobacter/nitrospira) that’s able to develop in there. While the bubbler oxygenates the water, in such a small area it also makes it turbulent, especially for a long-finned betta variety. Not the sort of environment to be treating fish in. It’s impossible to keep a 1 gallon with fish clean.

Betta splendens is not a hardy species. Linebred bettas have become very feeble over time. Getting them to last more than a few months even with basic husbandry is an achievement. I always urge people who have had repeated failure to keep bettas to move on to keeping different fish. Betta deaths are often not the fault of the keeper.

I hate to say it, but I don’t suppose he’ll make it. My instinct would tell me to put him out of his misery. Sorry.

 

Bacterial infections often follow after the worms are gone. The image you posted shows symptoms of such ailments.

I think a large chunk of the problem is he’s in that tiny, unfiltered vase. Keeping fish in such volatile conditions is only bad for them, as the smallest changes can cause huge swings in water parameters, hence all the ammonia spikes. Ammolock is never your friend.

There is likely very little beneficial bacteria (nitrosomonas and nitrobacter/nitrospira) that’s able to develop in there. While the bubbler oxygenates the water, in such a small area it also makes it turbulent, especially for a long-finned betta variety. Not the sort of environment to be treating fish in. It’s impossible to keep a 1 gallon with fish clean.

Betta splendens is not a hardy species. Linebred bettas have become very feeble over time. Getting them to last more than a few months even with basic husbandry is an achievement. I always urge people who have had repeated failure to keep bettas to move on to keeping different fish. Betta deaths are often not the fault of the keeper.

I hate to say it, but I don’t suppose he’ll make it. My instinct would tell me to put him out of his misery. Sorry.

I’ll write you later or tomorrow when I have more time as I have some things to say. In the meantime, Thank you for your advice

 

Bubs camallanus was taken care of with fenbendazole. He hasn’t had any worms for quite some time but is still sick with something else. Epsom salt baths every second day and 25% water changes daily. If I don’t see any improvement within a week I’ll have to put him to sleep with clove oil because I cannot see him suffer like this much longer. I have also been dealing with some extremely personal life problems and have been ridiculously busy. I will order from Patrick for future possible cases of camallanus as soon as I can. Thank you.

Also the site deleted the links