PLS HELP betta in dire straights

Long story short: our day care lady of 4 year left her job, she gave us this female betta named spikette who was housed in the daycare. A parent (who I wish I could get my hands on after finding out how poorly treated this sweet precious fish was by her AND the ignorant day care provider!!!!)gave her this fish in a 1/2 gal vase, some dechlorinating drops and food. Told her to change the tank ONCE A WEEK and feed her.

I learned everything I could when I got this Betta. I started a 5.5 gal tank with heater,filter, air stone,live plants and a snail, which I'm I'm the process of cycling now (we got her a week ago).

I also think she's very sick. She's bloated with mild pineconing, and her fins have bad rot (from sitting in filthy water her whole life). No bug eyes tho. I got her in a clean 1/2 gal tank so I can give her aquarium salt treatment for her fins ( today is beginning of 3rd day, and no clear growth between fins yet) do 100% h20 changes daily.

She seems happy, no swimming problems or antisocial behavior. I know she may have dropsy, which is incurable, but we love Spikette with all we have and I can't let her parish!!!! I am pleading for any help. Her fins have been damaged like this from day one, and I refuse to let her suffer. This is breaking my heart cause she's amazing. Solid advice is what I seek. Thanks guys.

 

I just adopted a neglected betta with advanced fin rot too, poor guy The pineconing isn't a great sign as you know so I would just make sure the tank is pristine and heated, with no sharp decor that could catch on her fins. I'm currently dosing my guy with melafix, which I've had success with in the past; just make sure you pull out your carbon filtration if you have it since it removes the medicine from the water.

 

I would stop the sodium chloride treatment as that can worsen the water retention. Pristine water is her best bet right now! If you do any treatments I would choose Epsom salts over sodium chloride as it has the effect of removing water from the tissues.

Ultimately though, as Lchi87 said, pineconing is not a good sign. It is not in itself a disease but a symptom of something serious internally, probably bacterial in this case. Just keep doing water changes and if I were you get her into a larger tank so the water chemistry is easier to maintain.

 

Sorry to hear this. Glad you got her a larger heated/filtered tank! I have no advice on treating the illness other than what others have said... clean water is often the best remedy (I might change 30% of the water daily, using dechlorinator... Prime is most recommended here... until she is hopefully healed). I would feed her very lightly. Have you tried cooked shelled peas? If there is any chance she is bloated it might help - although it sounds more serious. One of the posters keeps the seal on the prime and I think pokes a hold in it to dose smaller tanks... so you can do 2 drops per gallon... is that right aliray?
Welcome to fishlore.. sorry it is under such circumstances.

 

Some of the smaller bottles of Prime come with flip caps so you can dose by drop. I just save the cap and move it from bottle to bottle because it fits all the sizes, not just the small ones Or you can scavenge the flip cap off another bottle of something, even shampoo but be sure to clean it extremely well!

 

I do poke a hole in the inner cover with a pin , or the tip of a bamboo shish ka bob stick. so I can just get out a drop at a time or it will come out faster with a gentle squeeze. Just opened a new bigger bottle 2 days ago, poked my hole in it, good to go. Alison

 

I was trying to get a cycle established in the 5.5 gal before putting her in it, is there a way to get it cycled lickety-split so I can move her from her QT to her long awaited new home? Also I'm worried about giving her new tank syndrome, tho I'm not entirely sure how to avoid it. Sheesh, fish are complicated!

 

Some of the members here have had success with tetra safe start. I have never used it, but it looks valid.

 

In this case I wouldn't wait. I would put her in the 5.5 right away and use Prime and water changes to keep the ammonia safe. Bettas are pretty low bioload fish anyway so you shouldn't have too much difficulty with that. If you can add some live plants it will be even easier!

 

Definetly put her in the 5.5 now. I wouldnt bother with safestart or other bacteria because your betta needs daily water changes anyway (id do 50%) and that will keep ammonia in check as long as you use prime. Also, most of the bottled bacteria brands need to be left without water changes for a period of time so they would have no effect

EDIT: also, when you do water changes id do an epsom salt bath.

 

Ok guys, cross your fingers, I'm gonna move Spikette to the big tank. I did a 50% water change, to make sure it was ready. I have one small plant held down under h2o by the gravel and a larger plant that has leaves in and above the waterline. Should I turn off the filter for a day or so, she's never been in a large or filtered tank?

 

Ok guys, cross your fingers, I'm gonna move Spikette to the big tank. I did a 50% water change, to make sure it was ready. I have one small plant held down under h2o by the gravel and a larger plant that has leaves in and above the waterline. Should I turn off the filter for a day or so, she's never been in a large or filtered tank?

I'd keep the filter on but lights off. Crossing my fingers and toes for you!

 

+1 for lights off. How exciting for her to have so much space, even if she is sick. This is probably the best care she has ever received. Good for you. 50% water changes daily on a 5.5 gallon tank shouldn't be too bad. I forget, do you have a dechlorinator (Prime or other) already?

 

Having a heated tank will help as well. Immune function improves at higher temperatures

 

Yes, I was using Top Fin Betta water conditioner. I used the rest in this last water change, so now I'm going to get this "prime"(?) You all speak so highly of. We're going to PetSmart later to get the Prime, an at home water test kit, and some sort of rounded edges house with hidey holes- the plants are good but I know Bettas like to hide and such (anything to help her feel safe). And also maybe some fin rot meds (in case she needs more help then the clean water and extra space can give her)?

??Any product suggestions on the water conditioner (is this "prime" the best?) Water test kit, and Fin rot meds? Thank you all again, for helping educate me so that I can give this fish the best, most humane care possible. Even if this sickness does claim Spikette's life, I can feel good that we gave her the best life possible before that happend.

 

Ugh, I types out a whole big reply and my computer erased it when I tried to post!

Try again...

Prime is also good because it's concentrated and a bottle will last forever for you! The Betta versions are the same stuff but diluted.

Plants are also good because aside from offering hiding places and helping to keep the water clean, they make great resting spots for sleepy bettas

 

Prime is by Seachem. You won't need a big bottle at all.

Most here use the liquid API Master Test Kit freshwater. This is more accurate than the strips and will last you way longer, although it is a bit more upfront.

Good luck. Do not be suckered into burying everything you see and do not purchase any more fish! No matter how "sad" they look.

 

I put her in, and the filter current was just too strong for her. She was unable to find a place to settle, and of course the filter I was sold in unadjustable. Once I unplugged it, Spikette's been a happy fish, lazily swimming around looking at everything (including her new tank mate"Gary" the snail- so named by my 4 yr old lol). I'm baffled by this filter thing tho. PetSmart associate sold me the TopFin 10 filtration system (carbon filter), said it would work good on the 5.5 gal tank she also sold me. But at the time I didn't know I had a sick Betta on my hands, who isn't a strong swimmer at the moment.

What should I do about this, I know the filters a must but this is an issue (will I ever get this right?)

 

You can buy a sponge filter on amazon for like $5. That and an air filter and she'll be ready to go.
Start cycling the tank and and put her in another container while keeping up with water changes.
Live plants will also help her feel secure and keep water quality good

 

You can "baffle" the filter by putting lots of leafy plants in front of the output. There are other ways to do this and different option will come up if you google it.

 

Is your filter a HOB or an internal filter? I googled it but got both options. There are easy ways to baffle both types with household items.

 

Hob

 

I'm terrible at finding stuff on this site but the prettiest version of a baffle I saw was done by one of the members. She removed a few leaves from an aquarium plant that had long, narrow willow-like leaves. Tucked the stem ends up under the lid of the filter and left the leaf tips trailing in the outflow. Worked great and looked good, too!

 

I have also seen people use an old water bottle to create a baffle. This is a fixable problem! Flowingfins any resources for creating a baffle for a sick Betta?

 

"Spikette's bright blue!!! Look mommy, she changed colors!" Even a child noticed she looks better! Her fins are vibrant, even the pineconing has lessened... I'm guessing her move made her happy. She is hanging out near the bottom, but shes got a lot of change to adjust to, so I won't worry just yet. Now just water changes and waiting to see if further work is needed on the fins.

I would love to post a pic but can't figure out how to lol guess I'm just "fish fried"

Thank you all again. I'm sure Spikette appreciates your help as well!!

 

The brightened colours are a good sign! It means your betta is less stressed Hopefully this will help her to heal form her ordeal

 

Hey! I actually used the old water bottle method with my old betta tank a few years ago and it worked perfectly! I think I made a thread a few years back about how I had done it. Gonna try to find it, but definitely give it a try! It's worth it! You'll need your filter running, and the heater will be very important too to help your betta recover.

EDIT: Here it is! Someone further down that thread mentioned how they used a foam cup instead of the plastic bottle in case the betta gets near it and rips its fin. I never had that problem but it wouldn't be bad to consider that instead since your baby has fin rot. Either way, same method with whichever you choose. Good luck!

 

Any chance we could see a picture of this suddenly blue fish?

 

Spikette's update**

Went to PetSmart and got some things; API water testing kit (full set not the strips, as advised), Prime, bacteria additive (water was hard and bacterialess when I got it tested, so using this to help get cycle up) and of course a cave for her to hide.

The guy was PUSHING melafix on me, for the fin rot but I have heard several bad things about the stuff...is it worth trying?

Bad pic with a bad phone, but after her water change and lil tank redecorating I'll post a good one!!!

 

Gosh, she doesn't look bad at all! I wouldn't worry about fin rot, her fins look normal length for a female betta as is. Hard to tell from the photo but she may actually be a crowntail

 

Well hello there Spikette I've used Melafix for fin rot with success in the past, you just have to make sure you remove your carbon filtration before you dose. I agree with Aquaphobia though, her fins look okay from the picture!

 

I think with Melafix you just have to be extra careful and use a half dose so as not to risk damage to the labyrinth organ.

 

thank you all, it's very reassuring to hear that she looks better to you pro's then I seem to think she does. I am not sure which breed of betta she is but if you look closely you can see the boning (cartilage?) of her fins protrude further than the flesh on them, especially on her tail hence the name "Spikette" ...the kids in the daycare named her that cause the first thing the kida all noticed was the "spikes" that stick out on her fins. it's super heartbreaking to me that even her name reflects the poor condition she had been in.

Question about the feeding: she's bloated (prob a sign of something worse) but I'm hoping it's just that, food related. Her care was inadequate in all areas, including food. The food type was appropriate, but I know they were over feeding her. I now feed her 2x/day, and fast her on Sundays. Shelled peas were mentioned as something to help, but I would like a little more guidance on what will work well and how to do it correctly (and I know the fish Yoda wouldn't give me a bum steer)!

 

Cooked a few frozen peas. Let cool slightly. Remove the shell/casing. Smash slightly and toss into the tank in place of a meal. . Are you sure this was a girl to start with? Did the fish have much longer find before? Maybe she is a he.

 

Those spikes are actually normal in a crowntail betta, even the females have them

 

Omg I found a pic of a crown tail that could be her (skinnier) twin. I feel so relieved, and silly lol my heart feels 100 lbs lighter knowing her fins are healthy.

I found her little whitish lady organ poking out, so she IS a she, not a he with severely damaged fins. Phew!

Going to try the peas. Will update with higher quality pic and how it goes!

 

Bettas are good at making me feel horrible. They can still flash their puppydog eyes at me and convince me that I didn't just feed them 5 seconds ago! LOL

 

LATEST ***
So, after reading some more posts around here I found that I didn't want to have to feed the aquarium bacteria supplements weekly, so returned that one. I also got a new, way better filter after finding out petsmart sold me that piece of death trap (top fin 10 that got recalled by petsmart for electrifying the water, shocking both fish and their owners). I retested Spikette's water after a change and some prime, and..... hallelujah it's perfection! I also got some plant food cause her awesome live plants are starting to get holes and the tips are browning. All in all, happy Spikette, happy owners!!! Posting pic momentarily

 

Great! Glad things are going better! Good for you & welcome again to the fish keeping hobby! Sounds like your family is off to an excellent start!

 

Yay! Well done Happy fish, happy fishlorians

If you want any help with the plants, just ask! Or check out the plant section, there are lots of questions about holes in leaves;D