Is something wrong with my betta?

[AverageAquarist22]

So I’ve had my betta Pisces in her very own 10 gallon for about a month now (I got her in February and had her in a 30 gallon for a bit.) She’s usually super active and a little piggy, always used to beg for food any time anyone passed the tank and gobbled it up whenever I fed her. Lately though I’ve noticed her colors are faded, she hasn’t been as active, and she’s not eating as much. When I tried to feed her some peas last night, she just spit them out and ignored them, and she usually loves peas! (Her two favorite foods are peas and bloodworms.) When I went to check on her this morning, I noticed her eyes were a strange silvery color, and she didn’t react to me at all. She’s still alive, I can see her gills moving, but I think something is definitely up. I’m going to keep her lights off for today and see if that helps. I just don’t know what to do anymore, I’m so frustrated and I can never seem to keep bettas alive, I lost my other one a month ago to really bad fin rot. What am I doing wrong?

 

[BigManAquatics]

How often on the water changes and how often do you feed peas?

 

[fishbreeeder]

And what are the testings?

 

[AverageAquarist22]

I do water changes once a week on Sundays, those are the days I feed peas as well. Other than peas, I feed freeze dried bloodworms, frozen baby brine shrimp, and every once in a while TetraMin flakes. i tested the water on Saturday and ended up with 0ppm nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia. Last I checked the pH was at about 7.5.

 

[AIvinn]

Hello there!

You may want to fill out the emergency template. It will help others help you better.

 

[darkcat]

Can you send a picture of the eyes? Maybe it has cloudy eyes? Also, fill out the emergency template please. You should be feeding pellets/flakes normally. Bloodworms, brine shrimps, peas and etc. Should be fed once or twice a week. Did you cycle your tank? Lastly, what test kit are you using?

 

[AverageAquarist22]

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 10 us gallons
How long has the tank been running? About a month
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 75 degrees Fahrenheit
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 1 female betta and about 5 pest snails

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Once a week
How much of the water do you change? 15-25 percent
What do you use to treat your water? Tetra water conditioner, every once in a while Flourish Potassium but I haven’t used that for a couple weeks
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? I vacuum the substrate as well

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water? API Master Test Kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.5

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Once every day
How much do you feed your fish? A few flakes if it’s TetraMin day, about 5 bloodworms if it’s bloodworm day, 1/8 cube of frozen brine shrimp if it’s brine shrimp day, and 1/4 pea (mashed up) if it’s Sunday
What brand of food do you feed your fish? TetraMin, Aqueon bloodworms, Hikari brine shrimp
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? Both

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? Since February, so about 3 months
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? Saturday, May 22
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Colors faded, won’t eat, lays on bottom of tank, silvery eyes looks kind of bloated
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No, because I‘m not sure what to treat for
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Doesn’t move as much, faded colors, etc. (all symptoms listed above)

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now) Saturday evening I noticed she wasn’t as active as before, and looked paleish and a bit bloated. Yesterday (Sunday), I tried feeding her some peas and she spat them out and just sat there looking at them. This morning I noticed her eyes were a strange silvery color (but just the irises.)
I’ll try to get pictures in a bit, when Zoom class is over.

 

[AIvinn]

Do you have any live plants in your tank?

 

[AverageAquarist22]

Yeah I do, I have x1 Java fern, x2 Anacharis, x2 banana lilies, and x 1 cryptocoryne wendtii

 

[AIvinn]

Yeah I do, I have x1 Java fern, x2 Anacharis, x2 banana lilies, and x 1 cryptocoryne wendtii

Oh okay. I was just wondering because you said 0 nitrates and I was like whaaat? lol.

Edit: Also, I'm not sure what's wrong with your betta but I really hope someone comes up with a diagnosis soon. = (

 

[AverageAquarist22]

Thank you, I really hope she recovers, I would feel so awful if I lost two bettas in two months...

 

[AverageAquarist22]

So, i just noticed her scales are starting to pinecone... Could it possibly be dropsy? Let me get a picture, she’s not in a very good spot to get a pic rn but I’ll do my best
I got a photo, it’s not very good bc she’s at the back of the tank and I don’t want to stress her out and make her move. She looks pretty dead but I can see her gills moving and every once in a while she’ll twitch a bit and adjust her position

 

[darkcat]

I think she has cloudy eyes. Does it still look cloudy even with the lights off?

 

[AverageAquarist22]

A little.. I mostly can see the reflection of my bedroom lights in her eyes, but it’s always been that way

 

[flopperfrog]

A little.. I mostly can see the reflection of my bedroom lights in her eyes, but it’s always been that way

she might have dropsy- faded colors, loss of appetite, bloated, pineconed scales, lethargic

another thing, someone correct me if im wrong, but im think the best temp for bettas is between 78-80
you could try epsom salt

 

[AIvinn]

Oh no. I feel so sorry for your betta. = (

Like the post above says, there's a high chance that it might be dropsy because of the pine coning. I really recommend thoroughly reading up on this article ---> Dropsy Treatment

Dropsy is basically the cancer for fish. Hard to cure/treat but not impossible. You're basically treating a symptom.

I wish you and your betta the best of luck..

 

[AverageAquarist22]

I thought it might be dropsy.. thanks for the article, I’ll make sure to read through it.

another thing, someone correct me if im wrong, but im think the best temp for bettas is between 78-80

I thought 78-80is too high for them and shortens their lifespan?

 

[AIvinn]

I thought it might be dropsy.. thanks for the article, I’ll make sure to read through it.

I thought 78-80is too high for them and shortens their lifespan?

Not at all. Bettas are tropical fish, meaning warm waters. Their ideal range for temp is between 75 degrees - 82 degrees Fahrenheit. I wouldn't want to go past 85 degrees though or lower than 75.

 

[AverageAquarist22]

I’m not sure if we have any unscented epsom salt to treat her, would aquarium salt work instead?

 

[darkcat]

I never experienced dropsy so I'm not sure but I think aquarium salt would do. NEVER USE KITCHEN SALT tho.

 

[AIvinn]

I'm not 100% sure because I've NEVER treated dropsy and I pray to God that I don't, but I don't really see any reasons why aquarium salt wouldn't work.

 

[AverageAquarist22]

Yeah, I would never use kitchen salt! BAD idea, lol. I‘ll just use my aquarium salt, it has to be better than nothing... I’ll start setting everything up after class, should I move her to my quarantine tank so the salt doesn’t kill my plants and snails?

 

[darkcat]

Yes.

 

[AverageAquarist22]

I went to give her a salt bath just now and found that she had passed away... I was too late. I feel like such a failure.

 

[darkcat]

Oh no... I'm so sorry to hear that. Don't worry, we all made failure. I really feel disappointed in myself when a fish dies. I know how you feel. Again, I'm sorry to hear that.

 

[AverageAquarist22]

Thank you.. I’m glad that at least she seemed to go quickly, but I really wish I’d had longer to figure out how to treat her. I’ll really miss her <3

 

[Debbie1986]

Very sorry for your loss.