We need help for a Betta we just rescued.

Hey everyone,

We got our 1st rescue Betta about 30 min ago.

We were at Petco yesterday and saw this little guy, went back today and just didn't have the heart to leave him there to die, which wouldn't be much longer with how close he is .. We don't know what's wrong with him, but his head seems normal size about to the flaring gills, but the rest of him is super thin. I took a pic, but the curve of the cup distorts him a lot. I know at this petco, all they feed the Bettas is freeze-dried brine shrimp.. he lies on his side but will get up & swim around occasionally. When he swims, he at times twirls around and has trouble staying upright & darts around. I'm attaching a couple pics - does anyone know what he has & what we need to nurse him back to health? I put some pea in his cup to see if he'd eat in case he was constipated so bad he hasn't been able to eat, but no interest yet in any food.

Can you believe the cold-hearted manager wouldn't even give the slightest discount on him? > Just said to pick a livelier one.. Heartless and stupid - a dead betta = $0.00, so we went and bought him anyway.. I tell you, if we had another pet store, we'd never go back to that Petco.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

 

He looks super thin. I bet they never even fed him. I never liked petco. I hope someone can help you. I don't know if live brine shrimp would work and if you had any.

 

I use the betta pellets. Don't give in to over feeding, It will only make your betta more sick. 2 times a day-- very small amts. He'll fatten up in no time. You can also use any tropical flake, FD blood worms or live brine shrimp (or FD kind). Give him variety and he will perk up. I assume you are putting him into some kind of filtered tank?? Give him a couple of days to adjust to his new home and then he will eat. Good luck!!

 

Woul an internal parasite make him that thin?
Just a thought

 

He looks super thin. I bet they never even fed him. I never liked petco. I hope someone can help you. I don't know if live brine shrimp would work and if you had any.

He had some freeze-dried brine shrimp in his cup.. I've seen how they feed them - every few days they dump a bunch in each cup & quite often the cups will look pretty nasty from old uneaten food. He's in a small 1 gallon q. tank with a heater & water around 84, I put in aquarisol & betta remedy for now, until I have an idea of a more specific med to use on his condition.

I hate Petco.. I'm to the point where the only reason we might go in there is to get rescue bettas - with how poorly they treat them, they always have some poor Bettas dead or close to it. What burns me up on top of that is they don't even discount them when they're near dead - don't some other stores? It's like the petco manager wants more dead bettas.. maybe he has a dead betta quota to meet or something.. I don't know how other stores are, but this one really treats Bettas badly.

I use the betta pellets. Don't give in to over feeding, It will only make your betta more sick. 2 times a day-- very small amts. He'll fatten up in no time. You can also use any tropical flake, FD blood worms or live brine shrimp (or FD kind). Give him variety and he will perk up. I assume you are putting him into some kind of filtered tank?? Give him a couple of days to adjust to his new home and then he will eat. Good luck!!

He's in a small 1 gallon q. tank with a heater & water around 84, I put in aquarisol & betta remedy for now, until I have an idea of a more specific med to use on his condition. Right now, I'm just trying to get him to eat something to get some strength - he has no interest in any food I try.

Like I told inuyasha_lover_21, I hate Petco for treating Bettas so poorly.. I understand they have a lot & can't do individual care, but it would take an employee all of a few minutes every so often to at least look them over for obviously sick ones.. and if they don't want to treat them, put them in a discount area for people like us to take home when nobody else would.

Woul an internal parasite make him that thin?
Just a thought

I'm not sure, honestly that & constipation entered my mind, but we're not experienced enough yet to really know. We weren't planning to start rescuing Bettas until we were - but just couldn't leave this guy, never seen one so far gone & still alive and he really is a fighter, still has that Betta spirit. At the least we wanted him to have a better place to pass on & someone to care about him before he did. What would be the best med for intestinal parasites & would it be hard on him if that wasn't the cause?

Well, about 15 minutes ago he passed on. We had him just a couple hours or so, but are sad to see him go. He would've been a beautiful peach Betta, if he'd made it. Thanks for the help, I guess we just got to him way too late.. maybe a week or 2 earlier & we could've helped him. But you know what, we don't regret spending $4 on him, at least he died being cared for, instead of shoved in the back of a shelf at petco. We named him "Little Fighter" for how much spirit he had even at the end.

 

:'( I am so sorry. What you did was great. I never met anyone who would take in a dying betta and gives its last few hours a loving home.

 

So Sad :'(. I would take him back and exchange for a new betta rescue-- Is he still under "fish warranty"? Maybe you can save the next one.

 

Please be VERY careful and do not use any equipment you used for him on your other fish. He may have had TUBERCULOSIS. This is very contagious. Just to be safe I would throw out EVERYTHING this fish came in contact with. Nothing will sterilize a tank or supplies after it's been in contact with TB. Not even bleach! I can't say for sure that's what killed him but he has the symptoms of being extremely thin. There is NO cure for TB so you do not want to take any chances with your other fish. TB can in rare cases be passed on to humans if you have an open cut on your hand and have handled him or put them in his water. I don't mean to scare you. I'm just trying to make sure you and your other fish are safe.
I'm glad you rescued that poor fish and gave him a warm clean place to die. It's so sad how uncaring petstores are. It nearly made me cry to look at his picture! He was in such bad shape. Karma, one of my females was also very thin and dying of a severe gill infection when I brought her home. Her gills were so swollen she couldn't eat. I treated her with Maracyn-Two and in 3 days she was swimming and two days after that was finally able to eat. They may have been feeding him but he was too sick to eat. He was not constipated. He's much too thin for that. Please do be careful since you don't know for sure what he died of. If you do rescue more Bettas always make sure you use separate equipment for them as you do for the other fish since you don't know what they have. Keep a supply of antibiotics on hand and start treatment right away. Sometimes they can be brought back from the brink of death, and sometimes not.

 

I am very sory you couldn't save him. I'm sure he would've been a wonderful addition to your Bettas. Natalie

 

Please be VERY careful and do not use any equipment you used for him on your other fish. He may have had TUBERCULOSIS. This is very contagious. Just to be safe I would throw out EVERYTHING this fish came in contact with. Nothing will sterilize a tank or supplies after it's been in contact with TB. Not even bleach! I can't say for sure that's what killed him but he has the symptoms of being extremely thin. There is NO cure for TB so you do not want to take any chances with your other fish. TB can in rare cases be passed on to humans if you have an open cut on your hand and have handled him or put them in his water. I don't mean to scare you. I'm just trying to make sure you and your other fish are safe.
I'm glad you rescued that poor fish and gave him a warm clean place to die. It's so sad how uncaring petstores are. It nearly made me cry to look at his picture! He was in such bad shape. Karma, one of my females was also very thin and dying of a severe gill infection when I brought her home. Her gills were so swollen she couldn't eat. I treated her with Maracyn-Two and in 3 days she was swimming and two days after that was finally able to eat. They may have been feeding him but he was too sick to eat. He was not constipated. He's much too thin for that. Please do be careful since you don't know for sure what he died of. If you do rescue more Bettas always make sure you use separate equipment for them as you do for the other fish since you don't know what they have. Keep a supply of antibiotics on hand and start treatment right away. Sometimes they can be brought back from the brink of death, and sometimes not.

Yea, I found one site that said his symptoms almost matched either intestinal parasites or TB. After getting him in the q. tank, I washed my hands with 4 different soaps twice, but I did prod him a few times with a finger towards the crushed pea and had my hand in the water some moving food around so I hope it's REALLY rare since I have no cuts right now on that hand. I'll use disposable gloves to dispose of the cups, tank, heater, turkey baster I used to clean food out of his store cup and the big bowl I put water into from the q. tank.

 

I agree with Genie; since he died you can probably get Petco to give you a new Betta to save and nurture, if you have space for it after throwing out the q-tank that is.

That was such a sweet thing to do for Little Fighter. You're much braver than I am; I would never buy a sick betta because I would get much much too sad if it passed on. :'(

 

I agree with Genie; since he died you can probably get Petco to give you a new Betta to save and nurture, if you have space for it after throwing out the q-tank that is.

That was such a sweet thing to do for Little Fighter. You're much braver than I am; I would never buy a sick betta because I would get much much too sad if it passed on. :'(

No, all of our other tanks are occupied completely so until we can buy a new tank, heater, etc. we couldn't pick up another rescue Betta. My wife just hopes there's no chance I could get sick from touching him a few times & getting in his water with my hand if it was fish TB.. wish we could know for sure so there'd be no worries and before I trash all that stuff, even a digital thermometer than I had the sensor of in his cup to watch for water temp to match the q. tank.

According to this one fish disease site, he doesn't have a lot of fish TB symptoms, but he also doesn't have 1 of the internal parasites symptoms - he seems to have slow breathing & I read fast breathing is a symptom of that.. he also had a symptom or symptoms of:
Incipient infections caused by skin parasites, Trichodina, fish sleeping sickness, severe condition of internal organs and whirling disease to name a few.

Anyone know a way to know for sure what killed him? or at least a real good idea to rule out some of those?

 

I'm very sorry that "Little Fighter" didn't make it. You did as much for him as you could. At least he didn't die in a tiny llittle cup where no one loved him. It was great that you tried to save him.

If you can't take care of another betta right now, maybe you could get store credit so you can get a new one when you have the room and a new tank? Just a thought.

CherryRose

 

So sorry to hear of Little fighter passing on. You guys were so kind hearted. Random Acts of Kindness are always rewarded. Val

 

I wouldn't worry too much about you getting TB.  It isn't half as bad as it used to be, and is treatable now (in humans).  Plus, it is rare that humans contract it from fish, and you didn't have any cuts.  In humans TB affects the lungs, so if you notice any coughing, see the DR.  I agree with what you did about getting rid of everything he touched, just to make sure your next fish are safe.  If you are concerned, Google TB, there is lots of info.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about you getting TB. It isn't half as bad as it used to be, and is treatable now (in humans). Plus, it is rare that humans contract it from fish, and you didn't have any cuts. In humans TB affects the lungs, so if you notice any coughing, see the DR. I agree with what you did about getting rid of everything he touched, just to make sure your next fish are safe. If you are concerned, Google TB, there is lots of info.

Just got over a cold so still a little cough at times, but that's been going away the past week. We read some science articles about how rare it is in humans since it affects cold-blooded life and is a different thing than human TB, but I really think he had parasites - It's the closest set of symptoms to his (other than his breathing being slow, not fast) and before he died I noticed sort of a white fuzziness around him that I could only make out in certain light, but he passed on not long after that so I didn't need to post that symptom. Hate tossing the heater & digital thermometer the most of the equipment I have to destroy, just in case.

I'm very sorry that "Little Fighter" didn't make it. You did as much for him as you could. At least he didn't die in a tiny llittle cup where no one loved him. It was great that you tried to save him.

If you can't take care of another betta right now, maybe you could get store credit so you can get a new one when you have the room and a new tank? Just a thought.

CherryRose

thanks, but this store is pretty ruthless.. they once charged us for 2 tanks when we bought 1 and as I was distracted filling out their "pet pals" form, I didn't notice. When I went back, they refused to refund us because we couldn't prove it. I wonder if all petcos are like this?

So Sad :'(. I would take him back and exchange for a new betta rescue-- Is he still under "fish warranty"? Maybe you can save the next one.

At this point, we just don't feel like fighting them tooth & nail for $4 (we'll spend half that in gas to go over there.) Everything is like pulling teeth with this store and we're just going to give the little guy a decent burial and call this a learning experience.. and a loss of ALL our business to petco, other than rescue bettas when we're back up & running there. Would you happen to know of any good online stores for fish supplies?

:'( I am so sorry. What you did was great. I never met anyone who would take in a dying betta and gives its last few hours a loving home.

Thanks, we just love our Bettas is all. They deserve as decent of treatment as any other pet would & it's a sad thing to see a betta dead & know it died under poor care having lived it's life with no space to roam or owner to interact with. Pet life should mean more than squeezing a few more bucks out of the customer. I've heard they treat Bettas much better in countries like Thailand - have you heard the same?

Hopefully we can get back into the rescue business after we learn more and get another q. tank & all, but we really want to mate our little Angel with a HM male before she's much older and you know all the money & time that takes. I'd like to not mate her after say 7-8 months old, even though I know they say you have longer but we're not professional breeders & want to play it safe & do what's the best for her and her health and be able to safely get her healed up if the mating is a little rough. So probably we'll be back to rescuing bettas after we have raised her kids & found homes for them - if we can bear to part with them all .

 

So sorry to hear about your little guy.  I had a rescue goldfish who didn't make it - all of my bettas have responded well to being in clean, warm water fortunately but I know how fast you can get attatched to the little guys.  My goldy only lived a few hours and I was still heartbroken when I finally had to admit defeat.  Regardless of the sadness when one of them doesn't make it, rescue is still rewarding and I'd never give up a single experience.  Thank you for trying to help Little Fighter.

When you breed Angel, be sure to post pictures of the babies - she's SO pretty, I can't wait to see them (I love white and pastel bettas!). I tried breeding my Deisy but it was just too stressful going to class for hours a day and not being sure that aoSul wouldn't rip her apart (or vice versa) before I got home, so I abandoned the attempt.

 

When you breed Angel, be sure to post pictures of the babies - she's SO pretty, I can't wait to see them (I love white and pastel bettas!). I tried breeding my Deisy but it was just too stressful going to class for hours a day and not being sure that aoSul wouldn't rip her apart (or vice versa) before I got home, so I abandoned the attempt.

Yea, we'll post pics.. probably have some in our wallets too. I have been researching all that's involved in a successful mating and it really is quite a bit more than a lot of people would think in terms of time & work. And if we can't at least 1 of us watch her & her guy during every minute they're loose together, then we'll have to abandon the attempt.
We found this link: that should minimize the time we have to watch them when they are out together. Would this method work for you with your schedule? & this link: at a cichlid site that will help us with the baby brine shrimp for the betta fry.

 

that is almost identical to the system I used to attempt breeding. My two didn't breed in the first two days... the site I was using said that some bettas take up to 4 days to do so, but after two days I was getting rather frazzled so I abandoned the effort. I may try again sometime, maybe over a break from school. Thanks for the link!

 

that is almost identical to the system I used to attempt breeding. My two didn't breed in the first two days... the site I was using said that some bettas take up to 4 days to do so, but after two days I was getting rather frazzled so I abandoned the effort. I may try again sometime, maybe over a break from school. Thanks for the link!

yw.. I was hoping it was different enough to let you try again - it looks like a lot of work for quite some time, but we'd love to have 100 or 200 little white bettas filling the place up. Now we just have to save up extra money for all the stuff, the HM white male and be sure we'll have the schedule to allow us to be there for Angel & her new Betta hubby.