BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish VERY sick Betta what can I do??

<img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> I am soooooooo done with the 2LFS here in Portland.

The first one that I went to saw a sucker newbe on my forehead and sold me sooooo many things that i did't need and when i went in there for a problem, the owner just told me to stop feeding them soooooo much and add lots of aquarium salt, gurrrr!

So then I found another LFS. The assistant manager was great, he answered all my questions and told me all the things that I did NOT need.

I had a Black Cloud of Death go through my 29gal tank, one of the sales people told me it was because I had a piece of wood in there that made to nitrate go sky high, another told me that my nitrates were at 300 and to go home and do a 50% water change and then every other day do a 25%. Another one told me that after I had my tank cycled for 4 months that it wasn't cycled. Anyway, lost all but four out of 25 water breathing friends in that tank before I took it upon myself to put Furazone-Green in the tank and save what water breathing friends that I had.

Shortly, about 2weeks later the Black Cloud was back. Only no one knew why, one person said that it was because i introduced toooo many new ones into the tank toooooo soon, the other told me it was because I have Silvertips in there and they are stressing out the guppies to the point of death.

Everything leveled out and was going just great, but one of my oldest [first bought guppies} got really fat, his scales were sticking out. I took him to the LFS that I thought knew it all and they told me that it was Bloat, so I put him in a hospital tank. Well, he didn't make it and when i took him back in not alive anymore to see if they knew why, they told me it was "KIDNEY" failure.

I took pictures of Lawrance into that same LFS and they said that he was just fat and to stop feeding him. then the bubble on his side started, when I went in there, the same guy told me it was just a complacation to him being fat. I even took Lawrance in for him to look at. Then when the bubble on Lawrance's side got fuzzy, I told the same guy and he acted like he didn't want to hear it, as a matter of fact I walked out of there with not a word from him.

Today, I went into the same LFS to get some plants but before I did, I took a print out of Lawrance with his fuzzy bubble on his side that finally took his life and you will never believe what he told me!! <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

He told me that it was "KIDNEY FAILURE" due to me feeding Lawrance only Blood worms that made him fat and shut down his kidney's. <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

since when does "KIDNEY FAILURE" show up like a fuzzy blister on a water living friend??

I have a guppy with a problem so I asked this same guy and "are you ready for this?"

He told me that I was over feeding her and that I should stop feeding her. I told him that she is in a 29gal tank with several other guppies, Silvertips, Head&Tail lights, dwarf cories, and an Otto.

That is when he told me "HER KIDNEY'S MIGHT BE SHUTTING DOWN!"

Again with the kidney's shutting down. She has a white string hanging from her butt, it looks like a root from a plant, how could that be kidney failure??

I am a kidney transplant and haven't had as much trouble with mine as my water breathing friends have and I have had mine for 8yrs.

Lawrance did not have 'KIDNEY FAILURE'if he did that is the craziest way of showing it.

From now on, I am coming here to get all my answers and all the info that I need, then I am going to go to PetCo to get the stuff I need and to heck with the LFS here in Portland. One likes a lot of Salt to cure everything and the other says that everything is due to kidney failure. Aughhhhh!!!

Although, I did see the cutest baby male Betta in that LFS. He was soooooooo tiny and he looked just like Lawrance only in midget form. He was soooooo darnling!! I didn't know he was for sale until I got up set and started walking out because of the answer the guy gave me as to why Lawrance died, other wise i would have taken that tiny little one home with me.

Those babies are fantastic, no wonder people want to breed and have their own. He must have been about 1/2 inch long! So cute!!!

EZ, I'm sorry you are having such a hard time with you LFSs...that can be very discouraging. There are lots of sites online with information about taking care of fish...but, you can also get bogus info there as well. I guess the best way to learn is just trial and error yourself. Sometimes the less you do the better...That's what I am finding out anyway! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Here's a site with some info on 'dropsy' or 'kidney failure' in bettas. They really do get it and it's usually fatal. Your first betta may very well have had that if he was all fat and his scales were sticking out. There are some good pictures of what it looks like on there too
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http://www.mushi.petfish.net/dropsy.html

Wish you all the best when you find your new betta. Glad you have decided to give another a home! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Emg <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Thanks Emg, it's just that when these water living friends get sick and I know nothing to help them and I can't make them well again, and I ask people what I can do and they start out sounding sooooooo smart and that they know just what it is and something else happens and they turn their back on you because all of a sudden, they aren't as smart about what was wrong to begin with. I mean why can't they just say that they have never seen that or if they have why can't they just say that they really don't know how to deal with the problem and then send me to someone who does, LIKE YOU GUYS?

Instead I watch and wait for my pretty little friends to be consumed by their illness. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> I feel sooooooo helpless when they become ill.

My husband keeps telling me that they are just "fish" but to me they are my friends.

It's a good thing that I am not a nurse! If someone was going to die while I was watching them, I would refuse them to die.

I need to find a water living friend that will sign a contract stating that while they are in my care, they WILL NOT get sick, they WILL NOT die, and they WILL live happily ever after. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I know that you are right and that not everyone has the answer to everything that happens and that I should mark it down to experience so that the next time it happens, I am on top of it, but darn, it sure isn't a happen experence to chalk up.

I sent a picture of Lawrance to the site that you sent me in hopes that they will know what it is and that maybe they can use the picture in their site to help someone else.

Thanks to all and I will {as my husband puts it}toughen up.

Everything is ready for the new Betta, now all I have to do is wait for the right one, all though I want to bring them 'ALL' home.

EZ...

Wow...poor poor Lawrence!! I checked out your pictures and you know, it could very well have been dropsy that he had..though I wouldn't know for sure..That fuzzy bump was probably a very bad fungus that he caught because he was so sick with whatever was causing him to bloat so badly.

What a pretty fish he was! I'm sorry that you lost him, but I really don't think there was anything you could have done for him. If it was dropsy even fish experts have very little success treating THAT...and no one really knows for sure what causes it either. Some say a virus, others a parasite..who knows.

When you do find another..post a pic of him so we can all check him out! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> If Lawrence was any example of your taste in betta boys..I'm sure he'll be a beaut!! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Emg <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I am glad that you saw the picture of him. He tried soooooooo hard to hang in there but finally lost his battle.

I have been going over all the posts and read and re-read everything so that this time I can give a better start to the new one.

I have that Eclapse3 with the bio-wheel filter{3gal} that Lawrance was in and was thinking that I could use that one again, but after reading everything a dozen times, LOL!! I have decided to take my 4 Neon's out of their 10gal, put them in the 3gal with the bio-filter and then get the 10gal ready for the new one.

The 10gal that the Neon's are in has an U/G that I can take out and it has an over hanging filter that I can also take off. But because it is an already cycled tank, I don't know if it is such a good idea to take out the U/G???

Also it has several live plants in it. should I keep thoughs in there?

It has a submersible heater in it so I don't have to worry about the temp.

I had a Betta in a 10gal once before with an U/G and he didn't seem to mind it soooo much as a matter of fact, he would hang out there, under it a lot. But then he didn't last past 3months either. Don't know just what it was, he showed NO signs of being sick at all?

My husband had talked me into getting a divider so that I could get another male and put him in the same tank, that lasted about half a day, when the new guy somehow got himself on the other side. I totally paniced when I saw that they were both on the same side and when I saw them, they were just facing each other off, but who know just how long they were together?

I got the two of them apart by sticking my hand in the tank and putting it in between them until my husband could get another container. It was about a month after that one died and then about a couple of weeks the other died.

I know that the one male that was in the 10gal by himself was just soooooooo happy to have all that space that I should never have put the other in there. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> .

So now my problem is what I should do to the 10gal tank after I take the Neon's out?

Right now, as I wrote, the 10gal has about 3" of gravel in it for the live plants, it has 7 live plants, an air stone, a submersible heater, a U/G filter and an over hanging filter.

The only thing that I know for sure that HAS to come out of that tank is the air stone and maybe the over hanging since Betta's don't like water motion.

what else should I do to that 10gal to make the best home for my next beautiful friend?

I still have room in my living room for 6 maybe 7 more 10gal tanks, LOL!! I already have the spots all set out, my husband thinks I'm crazy But if I can get this new one to have a happy, HEALTHY home, then I want to get more and more of those beautiful ones and if they can't share a tank, then I will make them each their own home. LOL!!

If you can picture my fireplace {doesn't work anymore} in the center of my living room,then picture a 29gal tank in front of it. Then on the mantal,there are 2/10gals on each side with the 3gal in the middle, then my husband has made strong sturdy shelves on each side of the fireplace that holds 1/10gal on the right side and 2/10gals on the left. When my neighbors or in-laws come over they say that it is like being in a FS, LOL!! Then they ask me how I can keep up with them all, I just tell them that it is easy, I dedicate one day a week to clean and do water changes on them all, then the next day is decided to testing the water and then the rest of the week is dedicated to watching and talking to them 'ALL'. LOL!!

So need ideas and help on how to change the 10gal that is cycled since February into the perfect home for my new guy.

Thanks
ps, what do you mean by toys for the betta? I want the new guy to be happy as well as HEALTHY!!

Lol EZ..what a sweet guy that husband of yours is! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

As far as the tank situation, I think Jilly or mel are better able to answer those questions, however, you might consider a sponge filter for your 10 gallon. If you have a 10 gallon that is already cycled you could just run a new sponge filter in the cycled tank for at least a week or two..so that the sponge can grow a nice colony of the bacteria needed for tank cycling. That's called seasoning your filter I believe. When you do that you don't take out the filter that is already in the tank..you just put in the new sponge filter and run it. The sponge filters offer gentle filtration that doesn't stir up the water too much. I have them in my fry tanks.

The toys are anything you put in your betta's tank to give him something to look at and play in...little cave areas...any object of interest to add to the decor..etc.

Good luck on your endeavors there! Have fun making a nice happy home for that lucky new betta! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Emg :rolling:

EZ,
Since the tank has cycled, I'd leave it as it is. I have 4 of my 5 bettas in tanks with UG and airstones. It prevents the boys from keeping a bubble nest, but it also keeps the water cleaner. Plus the otos seem to like it. The top of the water surface gets rippled from the bubbles, but they seem to be fine with it. They are surprisingly adaptable once they are past the dreaded transition time. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> My son's betta is in a small tank - 1 gal that can be divided into 2 and that one has anti-ammonia gravel, a very small live plant and a snail shell.

Well, I thought that the 10gal was cycled and actually it is but there are tiny white critters in it. they seem to stick to the glass but they hop around when they travel. Kind of like flea,s. They look like the eggs that the pest snails put on the glass but these move. There are tons of them. They crawl on the glass but when they want to move they drop and kind of use the water curent to move from place to place.

The tank use to have 6 Head&Tail lights along with 4 Neon's in it. I moved the Head&Tail lights to the 29gal tank a coupld of weeks ago. Then I saw the empty 3gal tank and the great big 10gal that helt only 4 Neon's so i decided that if i put the Neon's in the 3gal then I can let the Betta have the 10gal.

Well, I moved the Neon's last night and woke up to a thousands of little white dots on the glass, when I went to squesh them like I would the pest snail eggs, they starte to move. Now as I stand there watching them they crawl on the glass, jump from the gravel and seem to use the water current to move around the tank.

I don't know what they are and I don't think that I want them in there, DO I?

And if not, that means tearing down the tank and starting over, and if I start over, then I am going to have to recycle the tank? Yes?? No?? I can't believe it just when I thought i had the perfect home for my new Betta, well, at least I found out now instead of when I brought him home!!

I went to PetSmart for the first time, AUGHHHHHH!!! I couldn't believe it, they must have had about 2 dozen Betta's in there and each one of them, well, expect one. They were in this blue water and laying at the bottom of their plastic cups. They barely moved when i would pick up the cup to look at them and then the blue water kept you from tell what color they really were. It was awful, when you picked up the cup, they didn't move very much so you couldn't see their fancy fins <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> .

I asked the sales person why the blue water and he told me it was like a drug to keep them tranqulized for transportation so that it didn't stress them out.

I told him that they were druged alright, that they wouldn't even move from the bottom of the cup and the water wouldn't let you see their true color and because they were sooooo druged you couldn't tell anything about them.

I felt so badly for them, here they were all druged up and laying in blue water and when you picked up the cup, they just barely moved and there was tiny white stuff in the cup with them. I want to take them 'ALL' home right then and there. But my husband was with me and he told me that I could get another Betta as soon as I got the tank ready like the people on the Betta forum told me too. LOL!!

I asked the sales guy if they had anything that I could put in my Betta tank that he could play with. He told me that he has never hear of a Betta or had a Betta that would play with toys. that they just swam in their bowl and looked pretty. But there was plants that I could put in there that you just put the roots of the plant in and the roots will get really big and the Betta can swim around them and eat them.

GURRR!! I don't know much about Betta's but I do know that the only time they eat roots of plants is when they are starved and if the plant fills the opening of the bowl that they are in then they can't to the top to get air and they end up dying. And I told him that. Well, I guess I up set him cause he walked away and started helping other people. I guess I just need to keep my mouth shut when it comes to blurting out what I know.LOL!!

So now what do I do with the 10gal that has been infested with those white little water flea's??

I was thinking of a divider but remembered how the last time I had two of them in the same tank, I had a adrinal rush and never moved so fast in my life, so I think I will just get the one for now. But need to have a healthy tank for him first.

What to do? What to do??

EZ,
I know this topic came up in another thread -- I bet the fish you had in the tank were eating the white critters, and that's why you never noticed them before. If I remember right, the experts said not to worry about them, they are good for fish as a snack. I'll try to see if I can find that thread. <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I don't think I would worry about those EZ...they sound like micro worms...a very tasty treat for fish in general. They are very small wriggly white worms. The movement is very attractive to a hunter like a betta, and they go for em! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Emg :love: