Help! Candi might be sick!

CandI didn't want her betta pellets a few days ago, and that's very unusual for her. She usually goes after them with gusto, but she took a couple and spit out one. It appears she's having trouble chewing, taking longer than normal to chew the pellets and then not eating all three or four of them (Atison's Betta Pro). She even rejected a couple of soaked bloodworms today, although she ate a couple of unsoaked ones.

She's been very subdued, for her, and didn't come when I called her this morning. That's very unusual.

One perhaps magical thing that happened was that a bug -- I guess a moth -- flew into Candi's tank a few minutes later. Poor thing was drowning, but CandI got soooo excited about it before I could rescue it. She ate its wings off. I let it drown and let her grab it. She wrangled it. Poor bug, but CandI had a good meal.

I doubt this is the problem, but her tank's nitrates are at 20 ppm and I've been trying to reduce them. Long-ish story. Here's a link:



Any advice will be much appreciated. I'm very worried about her.

Edit: Added link to water quality post.

 

aww pamd!! I hope she gets better soon!!!! after my rafikkI took a flying leap off the table, a few ppl recommended vita-chem, garlic guard, and fish protector and he recovered!!!! try soakin her food in some fresh garlic juice and do some water changes with vita-chem n prime ....gosh I hope she recovers!! goodluck

 

I hope she's feeling better soon, let us know.
Darn little fish worry us so.

 

As long as the bug wasn't full of pesticides it is probably safe. They do get excited over live food, I had one that tried to jump to get a spider on the edge of the tank one day.

 

HI Pamd, they can get very moody the girls from time to time, I know Honey did, hopefully that is all. I'd just keep ontop of the water changes and vitamins. Maybe try a pea meal incase she is feeling bunged up and bloated, needs a clearing of the tummy.

I hope she will be ok....Michelle

 

She may be overfull. Perhaps a fasting day and going to meals of 3 tiny pellet sized pieces of thawed, peeled frozen peas will help.

A less likely, but possible cause is parasites and I would have some parasite clear on hand to start using if you feel like that's the cause. Lethargy and loss of appetite are often symptoms of parasites.

 

Thanks to all for the advice and well wishes. I hope I'm not jinxing myself and Candi, but I think those well wishes and prayers might be working. She has been her more outgoing self today. Ahhhhh, nothing like a bunch of friends sending good thoughts our way, plus a big juicy insect dropped from the heavens!

I don't know if she'll eat normally. I only gave her pea meals today, which she attacked enthusiastically. That was good to see. I was afraid she had overeaten on the insect last night. I should have mentioned I gave her peas right after the first sign of illness, thinking she might have been constipated. However, she didn't and still doesn't look bloated, in spite of her first-class live banquet last night.

BTW, I now think the insect was not a moth, but possibly a wasp. She attacked it so aggressively that I didn't get a good look at it, and couldn't get it away from her until she ate almost all of it. *It was kind of like trying to get a captured bird from a cat. When I looked at what was left of the poor bug, which I had saved in a bit of water, I think it was a wasp-like insect, rather than a moth.

Good point about possible pesticides, Joy, but my house, both inside and out, are pesticide-free. Hopefully the insect came from within the property and not from a neighbor's house, who may or may not use pesticides. I'd rather have a few spiders and tarantulas (yes, we have tarantulas, and I think they're dear) than use chemical pesticides.

Dave, at your suggestion, I went to Petco and bought some Parasite Clear to have handy, just in case. At present, I don't see any signs of parasites other than her appetite change and lethargy, but I wonder about the possibility of parasites, too.

Thanks again to all and your well wishes about Candi. I don't think she's yet "out of the woods." I'm still worried about her.

*(uhhhhm, the cat and bird incident happened at 5 a.m. this morning, which is another story, but it's a pretty good analogy. Eeeeeeek! I just scream! I'm not so squeemish about CandI enjoying a bug, but a dead bird with scattered feathers around my bedroom and a very proud cat providing dinner for me just makes me scream! And that's not with delight. Eeeeeeeek!)

 

Yea, she doesn't sounds like she would have parasites if she's now showing a healthy appetite. Perhaps, she just had an upset stomach from her bug meal and will be back to 100% herself in no time.

 

I try sooooooo hard not to hate spiders, well I don't hate them but I NEVER want them near me!!! I will never hurt or kill one.

 

The one thing about live food like a wasp or insect is that they do contain a toxin in their bodies that is why we swell up when we are stung. If she ate one of them she could have gotten a small dose of the toxin from the insect's body and since she is so small, it would have affected her and could have made her sluggish and sickly for a while. While it will not kill her, I would not encourage anymore live meals of this type as she is simply not large enough to be dealing with the toxins on a regular basis and it could affect the workings of her internal organs eventually. She more than likely will be fine this time but she should not do it again if possible. And pea meals for a couple days would not hurt since I am sure she has had enough protein for a couple days. LOL

I think I would definitely stay away from spider meals too.

Candi, you little stinker, why would you worry your mommy so?!?

Rose

 

Chickadee it is every Bettas role in life to turn our hair grey and to add extra worry lines to our heads !!!!!!!!

I'm sure CandI will be fine

 

Candi, you little stinker, why would you worry your mommy so?!?

Rose

Candi's accidental insect meal was a couple of nights ago, and her loss of appetite happened a couple of nights before that. She's still being less than enthusiastic for her regular betta pellets and even the bloodworms (other than the very exciting live insect, whose wings she devoured with gusto.) I'm still very worried about her. She does seem to go for the peas, but I've even seen her spit small pieces out as if she can't quite swallow them. She does, however, have a fondness for her Cory Cat's shrimp pellets, which I dissolve.

 

Ahhh....maybe she is getting a bit more of a nosh on the cories food than you know. Then she is not all that hungry for betta pellets when the time comes for regular food. The little sneak!

Rose

 

Ahhh....maybe she is getting a bit more of a nosh on the cories food than you know. Then she is not all that hungry for betta pellets when the time comes for regular food. The little sneak!

Rose

Rose, you called CandI a little sneak!

You might very well be right. She seems fine tonight, but I'm still very worried about her. She devoured some yummy bloodworms and didn't seem to have trouble eating them, plus two Atison's pellets. She did her betta dance for "more food, more food, more food." Seems more like her wonderful self, but I'm still worried about her. She's still been less active and hiding more than usual.

Would she attempt to eat the betta pellets and then spit them out after chewing them if she had enough other food? Actually that's how it looked. "Yuckkkk, Mom, I want some cory food or a live bug! This betta pellet is sooooo boring!"

 

CandI is so adorable I don't know how you couldn't give in! I'm glad she is feeling better..

 

They do go through phases at times and the bug meal probably does factor into it. She may need to have less food for a little while and nothing dry if possible.