Another "Please help my Betta!" thread

I couldn't find what i was looking for so i'll post about Ouko's dilemma here.

sorry that the picture isn't of better quality. All i have available at the time being is a camera phone. This was taken of him a few minutes ago.

We got Ouko about two years ago and we've been fighting with this fungus or whatever it is almost since we got him. He used to be a BEAUTIFUL teal based rainbow with a few other colors thrown in. Well, those scales were all gone and the layer under that was disappearing.

We now don't let his water temp get below 74F(try and keep it a bit warmer.) We got him tank salt. We feed him Bio Gold and frozen blood worms (fresh when available in spring before Mosquito Control sprays.)

Got him some Tetracycline II... cleared up the frayed fins, but not the missing scales. Got him some Melafix... took care of the missing scales, but the fins were fraying again. Used a combo of both and he was finally doing better. Even had a patch on each side of the color scales growing back. He even made a bubble nest for the first time since we got him.

Ran out of the TcII and now have Maracyn-Two. Even before that Ouko's sickness was starting to get bad again.

We've been treating him for two years now. HELP!!! This boy deserves to live a happy peaceful life! He's so special and so full of love. (Most here would probably think i'm nuts.... but i can talk to him... when he's not all doped up. That's how we came by his name... I asked him and he told me. I had to go look it up to find out what it means.) I want him to be healthy again... especially before his time comes.

Our last Betta passed away probably from dropsy... we were never able to cure him from it :(

Our fish guy moved away and we haven't had luck with fish since.

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Of course he looked nothing like this one, but its teal reminded me of some of his teal. http://www.siamsbestbettas.com/images/betta1.jpg

He really had very little red visible on him when he was healthy.

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Opps... forgot to mention. Since the image is fuzzy, you can't see it, but his eyes are clear(look good) and he himself has nothing fuzzy looking on him.

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no one has any ideas on what we could do to help?! :(

The pet stores around here are the next best thing to USELESS, so asking them would just be wasting our breath.

I have visited many Betta sites and the amount of info makes my head spin. ...and that's where i got the previous ideas from in the first place.

(In the beginning i told S.O. if he wanted another fish then HE was going to be the one taking FULL care of it. If it got sick he was looking up the info, etc. ...Well, the fish is sick and I'm the one doing all the research AGAIN. At least if i say the fish needs *this* S.O. will at least buy it for the fish with in the week, and he's at least cleaning the tank. I just couldn't abandon an animal in my home to S.O.'s excuses. I feel like one of those parents who lets a typical kid get a pet. Ouko is just such a neat little fishy. I didn't plan on caring much about him... hee hee hee... but he changed that rather quickly.)

So guys, please don't let me do this all on my own. He wasn't even supposed to be my responsibility. (NO MORE fish after he's gone, and i'm putting my foot down; in the mean time though i want to give Ookie the best life he can have... next to being wild.)

Sorry that your fish is sick :( I'll see if i can find any information for you, i'm by no means a Betta expert (more of a loachy / catfishy / pleco-y kinda girl).

Couple questions --
1. What size of tank is he in?

2. Have you checked the water parameters for Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites (and if so could you post the results)?

3. From what i've read, you've been treating with
- Melafix (based on tea-tree oil, antibacterial that generally helps with fin and skin repair)
- TcII (general antibiotic - for common diseases such as bacterial tail rot, cotton mouth fungus and gill disease)
- Maracyn-Two (broad spectrum dual antibiotic - effective against a variety of bacterial diseases like Mouth Fungus, Popeye, Dropsy, and Ulcers).

Have you ever tried Pimafix (low grade anti-fungal) or any stronger medications?


4. His current symptoms appear to be fraying fins, scale loss, and possibly a fungus. Does he look like any/several of the fish or descriptions here?
http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm


Do you have a clearer picture of the fish, and what he looks like? I have to go to BigAls anyway to get more foods for the voracious crew, and hopefully someone there could be more helpful with a diagnosis (i can print this out and take it with your replies if thats cool).

I'm sorry about your betta. I have a few of mine that never seem to be well. :( My bettas I got years ago lived 3-3 1/2 years after I got them with no problems. Seems the ones I got over the last couple years just aren't as healthy. :confused: I've tried all of the things you have mentioned here, they seem to help but they never seem to be completely better. :(

Sorry if you already got this in email... Thank you so much for replying...

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Awwwe, thanks for looking...

He he... I LOVE plecos and striped raphael(sp?) awesome fish. Except i no longer have a fish take (50+ gallon), all i have is the 2.2 gallon.

Haven't done the pH test in a while, but every time we did the water changes and put in a buffer tab it came out about perfect. ...so we just haven't done them in a while (I've always hated chemistry... Heck, i even evaded chemistry classes in school. and i don't know why S.O. doesn't do the tests.) It's been well over a year... so i don't remember any specifics.

We've only tried the three medicines i mentioned. The people at the current pet stores are next to useless. I had to look up the medicines online... the link you sent is a good one and one i visited before.

His symptoms don't currently match any of those pictures, but the fin rot pic they have is mild compared to what he goes through with out treatment.

Would him being kept in the bathroom possibly be the issue? The only counter space in there is about 2ft from the toilet.

I'm thinking to get some of the other medicines you mentioned we may have to take a journey to a big chain store to find them. I've stared at fish medicines and read labels for about half an hour ore more several times and none of those sounded familiar. Heck, we had to travel in to "town" last week to get tank salt for crying out loud.

None of the pics really seemed to match what he looks like... and no I can't get a clearer photo of him. That's actually good quality that i included :-( (That was my third attempt. The phone was cheap.) Feel free to print out the info if this will help get him diagnosed. We have no public fish experts around here any more... and it totally bites. These days you have to know someone.

Thank you for any further help you can provide!!! :-)

P.s. besides the rot he shows signs of being healthy. Eats well, swims with activity and curiosity, but not agitated movements and not lethargic.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blue_Frog

Sorry that your fish is sick :( I'll see if i can find any information for you, i'm by no means a Betta expert (more of a loachy / catfishy / pleco-y kinda girl).

Couple questions --
1. What size of tank is he in?

2. Have you checked the water parameters for Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites (and if so could you post the results)?

3. From what i've read, you've been treating with
- Melafix (based on tea-tree oil, antibacterial that generally helps with fin and skin repair)
- TcII (general antibiotic - for common diseases such as bacterial tail rot, cotton mouth fungus and gill disease)
- Maracyn-Two (broad spectrum dual antibiotic - effective against a variety of bacterial diseases like Mouth Fungus, Popeye, Dropsy, and Ulcers).

Have you ever tried Pimafix (low grade anti-fungal) or any stronger medications?


4. His current symptoms appear to be fraying fins, scale loss, and possibly a fungus. Does he look like any/several of the fish or descriptions here?
http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm


Do you have a clearer picture of the fish, and what he looks like? I have to go to BigAls anyway to get more foods for the voracious crew, and hopefully someone there could be more helpful with a diagnosis (i can print this out and take it with your replies if thats cool).

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I spoke to the guy from Big Als, and the recommendations for medications are (also, dont mix them all together, except maybe pimafix and melafix, and make sure to read labels etc. before using)

Betafix (AP) -
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...yType=0&offset=

Melafix (AP) -
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...yType=0&offset=

Pimafix (AP) -
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...yType=0&offset=

Lifeguard (Jungle) -
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...yType=0&offset=

EM Tablets (AP) -
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...yType=0&offset=



Now, for the other stuff in your reply --

- The pH may be OK, but there may be problems with Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite, that can play havoc with his systems, and sometimes cause burning to the gills and fins etc. - make sure the tank is kept as clean as possible, without overloading him with water changes. If theres no filter, then water changes need to be done frequently (even a small filter might be helpful). Sometimes its harder to keep the levels of those chemicals at 0 with a smaller tank, so maybe a test kit might be helpful to keep an eye on things.
A kit like this one - http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...ammonia&offset=
will let you test for pH, high level pH, Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites.

- I dont know about keeping a fishtank in the bathroom, kind of like keeping it in a kitchen. I would think that showering would cause soap laden condensation to enter the fishtank (especially if not covered), just like keeping in a kitchen would allow the entry of air borne food and chemical particles. In a bathroom, people do a lot of things that add chemical particles to the air like hairspray, deodarant, spray cleaners, etc. and little droplets can get into the tank. Maybe try moving him into the living room or bedroom for a little while (but not in direct sunlight) for a little while as an experiment to see if that helps him to shake the fin and scale problems.


Good luck with your little guy - hopefully he can clear all the problems he's been having. Even if your local fish store doesn't have all the stuff listed above to try, you can order it online from Big Als, or places like that. :)

I'll check into the medicines you listed here. ...and i ALWAYS read the labels... several times over if i have to.

Tried a VERY small filter and it only make things worse and he really hated having it in there. (Except when it was off, he LOVED laying on it.)

Bathroom and Kitchen are the only options. Black mold problem in the bedroom and there is absolutely no where in the livingroom to put him. The bathroom the only thing going in there may be the shampoo residue. We tend to live a rather frill free life style. Nothing like hairspray or deodorant. (mineral stuff.) Use water and vinegar for cleaning. My vote would be either the shampoo or elimination particles getting in his tank.

We've been wanting to move him to the kitchen to see if he improves out here, but we *still* don't have it cleaned up enough. It's been a year now. And the ONLY spot in the kitchen that we would have for him does get a bit of direct sunlight each day.

Thank you for all of the advice!

I think i may poke S.O. with a spear and force him to sit down and read this stuff. Maybe it'll sink in.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blue_Frog

I spoke to the guy from Big Als, and the recommendations for medications are (also, dont mix them all together, except maybe pimafix and melafix, and make sure to read labels etc. before using)

Betafix (AP) -
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...yType=0&offset=

Melafix (AP) -
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...yType=0&offset=

Pimafix (AP) -
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...yType=0&offset=

Lifeguard (Jungle) -
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...yType=0&offset=

EM Tablets (AP) -
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...yType=0&offset=



Now, for the other stuff in your reply --

- The pH may be OK, but there may be problems with Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite, that can play havoc with his systems, and sometimes cause burning to the gills and fins etc. - make sure the tank is kept as clean as possible, without overloading him with water changes. If theres no filter, then water changes need to be done frequently (even a small filter might be helpful). Sometimes its harder to keep the levels of those chemicals at 0 with a smaller tank, so maybe a test kit might be helpful to keep an eye on things.
A kit like this one - http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...ammonia&offset=
will let you test for pH, high level pH, Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites.

- I dont know about keeping a fishtank in the bathroom, kind of like keeping it in a kitchen. I would think that showering would cause soap laden condensation to enter the fishtank (especially if not covered), just like keeping in a kitchen would allow the entry of air borne food and chemical particles. In a bathroom, people do a lot of things that add chemical particles to the air like hairspray, deodarant, spray cleaners, etc. and little droplets can get into the tank. Maybe try moving him into the living room or bedroom for a little while (but not in direct sunlight) for a little while as an experiment to see if that helps him to shake the fin and scale problems.


Good luck with your little guy - hopefully he can clear all the problems he's been having. Even if your local fish store doesn't have all the stuff listed above to try, you can order it online from Big Als, or places like that.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by crow_noir

Bathroom and Kitchen are the only options. Black mold problem in the bedroom and there is absolutely no where in the livingroom to put him. The bathroom the only thing going in there may be the shampoo residue. We tend to live a rather frill free life style. Nothing like hairspray or deodorant. (mineral stuff.) Use water and vinegar for cleaning. My vote would be either the shampoo or elimination particles getting in his tank.

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Ack! Black mould is evil -- a friend of mine had it in an apartment she lived in :( Maybe a cover you could put over his tank when you guys are using the shower might help cut down a little on airborne particles - not sure about bettas, i think they breathe air like some plecos do and would prolly appreaciate the open air at other times.

Quote:

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We've been wanting to move him to the kitchen to see if he improves out here, but we *still* don't have it cleaned up enough. It's been a year now. And the ONLY spot in the kitchen that we would have for him does get a bit of direct sunlight each day.

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Sounds like my kitchen ;) I dont think a little direct sunlight would hurt him, maybe increase the algae a little in the tank ... if the spot had sunlight all day long, that might be different.

Quote:

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I think i may poke S.O. with a spear and force him to sit down and read this stuff. Maybe it'll sink in.

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LOL! I'm lucky that i've got mine liking the fish as much as I do ... he spends time researching all kinds of stuff, and buying things for them on ebay.

Hope yer little guy gets better ... I think everyone goes through problems keeping fish, and i could tell many fishy horror stories of my own ;)