HELP!!! Dying betta!

[jkkgron2]

I just finished planting my 10g betta tank and my betta Sparky isn’t looking to good. Parameters are perfect, tank is divided (a betta on each side), he has has swim bladder issues in the past but I thought those were gone. Now he is swimming upside down, barely responds to touch, and is breathing very slowly. He hasn’t been eating for the last few days either. I’ve had him for about 4 months but I’m not sure how long he was in the store or how old he was when we got him. I’m thinking he was around a year to a year and a half. I love him too much to euthanize him, I just hate to end his life, even if he’s suffering since this has happened once before (just less severe) and he made it. He’s currently in a net that is halfway underwater so he doesn’t get caught up in the filters flow. Here’s a picture of him. Is there anything I can do? I understand he may be far too gone, I just want to try everything I can to atleast get him through the night.

 

[Patriotthebetta]

Do you happen to know how old he was when you got him?

 

[jkkgron2]

Do you happen to know how old he was when you got him?

No but he was full grown and very active. I’m guessing he was around a year.

 

[Patriotthebetta]

No but he was full grown and very active. I’m guessing he was around a year.

Oh, weird. I don't know if this would affect him, but maybe he was eating at the gravel/ sand at the bottom of the tank on accident and that could be causing this. I have no clue though, i'm kind of new to this.

 

[jkkgron2]

Oh, weird. I don't know if this would affect him, but maybe he was eating at the gravel/ sand at the bottom of the tank on accident and that could be causing this. I have no clue though, i'm kind of new to this.

Maybe? I did just add in some new substrate and there are some floaty bits. I saw him bite one but he spit it out right away. This is my Second betta (Both are still alive) so I guess I don’t know what it looks like when a betta chokes or when it’s dying of old age.

 

[UnknownUser]

You can probably try an epsom salt bath but I’m not sure how well bettas tolerate salt. It will pull out excess fluids from his body and helps swim bladder issues.

“Perfect” parameters doesn’t mean much. We’ll need actual numbers for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. If you just messed with substrate to plant things, you may have caused a small ammonia spike.

 

[Patriotthebetta]

Maybe? I did just add in some new substrate and there are some floaty bits. I saw him bite one but he spit it out right away. This is my Second betta (Both are still alive) so I guess I don’t know what it looks like when a betta chokes or when it’s dying of old age.

Did you rinse out the substrate before you put it in the tank? I know if you don't do that then sometimes they can get diseases from that.

 

[jkkgron2]

You can probably try an epsom salt bath but I’m not sure how well bettas tolerate salt. It will pull out excess fluids from his body and helps swim bladder issues.

“Perfect” parameters doesn’t mean much. We’ll need actual numbers for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. If you just messed with substrate to plant things, you may have caused a small ammonia spike.

Ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 5

not sure how much stress the bath would cause, he barely can move and doesn’t even have the strength to float.

Did you rinse out the substrate before you put it in the tank? I know if you don't do that then sometimes they can get diseases from that.

Yes I did, I also have another betta on the other half of the tank (divided) and he’s fine so I doubt that’s the issue but it is possible. I used black diamond blasting sand for the substrate after doing some research and I just added some more, not a full replacement since some is already in there.

 

[Patriotthebetta]

Ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 5

not sure how much stress the bath would cause, he barely can move and doesn’t even have the strength to float.


Yes I did, I also have another betta on the other half of the tank (divided) and he’s fine so I doubt that’s the issue but it is possible. I used black diamond blasting sand for the substrate after doing some research and I just added some more, not a full replacement since some is already in there.

hmmm weird, I have no other ideas.

 

[jkkgron2]

hmmm weird, I have no other ideas.

Ok, he had managed to swim out of the net but then he went back to not being able to swim. For his own safety I adjusted the net so he can’t get out and be sucked into the filter

 

[NBettas83]

I really don't know either, but I feel like what the other respondents have said makes sense, they are very curious and like to pick at stuff. He seems too young for this to be old age. Sending good vibes.

I had an idea but it slipped away from me.

 

[jkkgron2]

I really don't know either, but I feel like what the other respondents have said makes sense, they are very curious and like to pick at stuff. He seems too young for this to be old age. Sending good vibes.

I had an idea but it slipped away from me.

Do you think this will pass or is that unlikely? He’s breathing fine and has nothing stuck in his gills.

Does anyone have any idea what I should do right now? I did rinse the substrate in tap water so I added enough dechlorinator To treat the tank just to be safe. This was extremely sudden and happened over the span of 10-15 minutes so I do doubt that it had something to do with the water quality or the substrate since the other betta is perfectly fine. It does sound like he probably ate something. Is there a way I could help it pass without doing anything that would be very stressful to him?

 

[LadfromLondon]

If you need him to pass anything lodged inside, getting him to flare up a couple times and feeding some daphnia will be your best bet. Do you have an air stone in your tank? I know Betta’s can breathe midwater but I think air stones help all aquariums almost.

 

[jkkgron2]

If you need him to pass anything lodged inside, getting him to flare up a couple times and feeding some daphnia will be your best bet. Do you have an air stone in your tank? I know Betta’s can breathe midwater but I think air stones help all aquariums almost.

How do I get him to flare? I don’t have any daphnia and my LFS is closed right now unfortunately.
I don’t have an air stone but I have a pretty strong filter (he’s a plakat betta and has never had any issues whatsoever) that does a pretty good job of oxygenating the tank. He hasn’t been eating over the past few days so I guess I don’t even know how to get him to eat something when he’s stressed.

 

[LadfromLondon]

What do you usually feed and what are you trying to feed him at the moment?

When he sees his own reflection Betta’s almost always flare, especially if they are aggressive Betta’s.

 

[jkkgron2]

What do you usually feed and what are you trying to feed him at the moment?

When he sees his own reflection Betta’s almost always flare, especially if they are aggressive Betta’s.

I usually feed the fluval tropical fish bug bites.

Well, he just flared and I think a little piece of sand did fall out! I didn’t notice it but maybe that was the problem? I’m going to take him out of the net and see if he does better. I’ll update or edit once I see the results.

Edit: He seemed to remain upright atleast but he still won’t swim. Any idea if he’ll get better now that the sand fell out?

 

[jkkgron2]

He’s dead I went downstairs to check up on him since he had been swimming a bit but when I found him he wasn’t moving at all, not even his gills. I’ve left him in there for a few minutes so that if he was alive he could still breath (not sure if he has super slow gill movement right now) but he’s too far gone to save. As he was recovering and beginning to swim he did attempt to eat some sand so I do think that was the issue. I’m always going to miss him

 

[NBettas83]

He’s dead I went downstairs to check up on him since he had been swimming a bit but when I found him he wasn’t moving at all, not even his gills. I’ve left him in there for a few minutes so that if he was alive he could still breath (not sure if he has super slow gill movement right now) but he’s too far gone to save. As he was recovering and beginning to swim he did attempt to eat some sand so I do think that was the issue. I’m always going to miss him

My condolences. Just don't beat yourself up too much, you tried your hardest and there was not much you could do.
May he SIP.

 

[DanielZebra32798]

I'm really sorry about your fish. it was nice that you tried your best, I'm sure he appreciated it