Please help, sick betta =(

HI everyone,

I've been keeping bettas for a few years now, but this is the first time I've had a sick betta. I noticed this morning that overnight he developed a white film over his eye and on the front of his face. He was laying on his side and then will frantically dart to the surface to poke his head up above the water like he's trying to itch himself. I just got him on Friday, so I immediately quarantined him from the tank back to his betta bowl. I added some bettafix but now he's just losing control of his ability to swim and is lying at a 80 degree vertical angle. What's wrong with this fish? =( He was fine last night!!!


I have added bettafix to his jar in hopes it will help. I'm adding a picture now

 

It could be water quality issues. Ensure that you have treated the water correctly and the temperature is appropriate. Make sure the betta has time to acclimate to the water and keep up on your water changes.

I had a betta die from shock to new water after a long move. It was just too hard on him.

If these aren't water quality issues, then it could be a fungal issue. Bettafix is antibacterial.

My opinion is that that water quality is the issue. You may have forgotten to add water conditioner. This happens more often when you use many different conditioners and additives (i.e.: stress coat, plant food, buffers, etc.).

*EDIT: Due to bad grammar.*

 

I'm really sorry.

You might want to do some research on columaris.
Or the neons may have been too much for him.

 

Yeah, I'm leaning towards water quality.

I think you are doing too much too fast with the tank, not allowing things to reach a balance.

 

Well, I know it's not water quality because the tank has been established for 4 months now and it has always been stable. Water params are perfect. My other fish are doing great! I don't know what happened, but I think that he came with the Columnaris but when he got changed to a new environment, he just got stressed out and succumbed to it much quicker.

Regardless, he entered fish immortality tonight. I tried to save him with bettafix but it was like the bettafix almost made him die faster! I'm going to stop buying fish from the big box stores here, because every time I walk in, dead fish are floating about in the tanks. Also, the betta jars at this PetSmart were absolutely FILTHY, with rotted food and poop clouding the water. It was horrible. PetSmart dyes the water blue hoping that you won't notice how inhumanely kept the fish are.

 

I'm sorry about your betta

The blue is not dye.
It's Methylene Blue. It is an antI fungal med.
Many stores add it ad a preventative.

 

:'( So sorry. He was really pretty too. The only places I buy from now are the local mom and pop places that I know take care of their fish and have quality stock. I even interview with them and try to find out how the treat their stock, what breeders they do business with, returns and guarantees policy, do they provide some sort of re-homing program. I even try to get on a first name basis.

There are online options too.

 

Methylene Blue actually helps protect a fish from ammonia and nitrite toxicity and can also be used to treat fish suffering from ammonia and nitrite toxicity. The fact they use it for bettas that are housed in the little containers is a good thing considering how fast the levels of toxins that could otherwise really harm them build up.