so I was in the pet shop the other day, checking out the new fancy goldfish when I see a small male betta in a tank with a bunch of even smaller tropical fish. The small ones were ganging up on the poor thing, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't eating. So I immediately bought him and got him home. He's relaxing in my 1gal for now.

There's a whitish film over one of his eyes, and he's got a white spot on his head. Not to mention his fins are all ragged.

Any suggestions to make this fish more comfy and help him heal up? This is a really beautifully coloured betta and I really want to save him if I can.

Also, I need a name. I'll post pics when I can get one. *takes patience*

Lucky for him you stopped by . I'm afraid I'm not much help when it comes to bettas, I haven't had one since I was six. Good luck making him better I can't wait to see pics

I'm sure one of the Betta experts will chime in soon. Just got my first Betta last weekend, so they are kind of new to me.

You are a kind person to have rescued him. I'm sure he is much happier now.

Congrats on him and good luck getting him back on his fins.

Good luck! For now, keep his water perfect! Get him a plant or two - preferrably silk - to hide in. See if you can get a heater in the tank and try to keep the water temp steady at around 80 degrees F. It sounds like his fins are damaged mostly from the nipping of the other fish, so there is no need to treat it unless they get worse.

I'm not sure about the film over his eye though. Does the white spot look like it couls be ich - does it look like a grain of salt? Are there any other spots on him?

There is a product that PetCo sells called BettaFix - its a gentle medication made for bettas that supposedly heals everything. You can try that and see if it helps. Fin regrowth can be painfully slow though.

Amazing how we always complain that they are kept in these little cups, and then when they finally put them in something bigger, they put him in a tank with a bunch if fin nippers....

The film over the eye can be caused by poor water or by damage. Pristine water should clear that up. As the previous poster mentioned, good water will go a long way to heal him. I would keep an eye on him for a few days and see if the white spots starts to heal on its own before medicating with anything too heavy duty. You could try the Bettafix as littleone mentioned. I haven't tried it, but it is a weaker version of melafix.

Good luck with him and I am so glad that he came home with you!

Thanks for all the advice, and he's seeming more active today. However now I'm concerned that he's not eating much. I've tried feeding micro crumble foods, as well as tubifex worms (which my comets go nuts for) and so far barely a nibble. I guess it could be stress of a new tank...

Bettas are notorious for not eating when they are first brought home. I had one not eat a bite for two weeks. He scared me to death After a couple of weeks of starvation, he started to eat and was fine.

Try him on a variety of food, but if he doesn't eat it, be sure to remove it from the bottom of the tank so it doesn't foul the water.

Sounds like my Baracus when I first got him home... With him, I just kept giving him the same food, one Hikari betta pellet until he would eat it. Now its all he'll eat....

What medications do you have? Pimafix seems a good general all rounder if your fish is suffering from something. Triple-sulfur if it is serious.

If he is just on the way to recovery Melafix or Bettafix and TLC may be all he needs.

Can you grow mozzie wrigglers in your backyard? No betta can resist wriggling food.

sorry, I'm in an apartment and I've got no backyard.

what are mozzie wrigglers anyway?

For meds, I've got Fungus Clear by Jungle. It says it cures almost everything from basic fungus to dropsy. I haven't used it yet, so far all that's in there is a double dose of water conditioner.

Fishy seems to be perking up a bit now, so I'm going to keep an eye for the next few days.

That is a good plan. Hopefully good water and TLC will do the trick

If the fish has fin rot use the Jungle clear just to make sure it's all gone. It's very frustrating when they come down with it again, just after you've got all their fins to grow back.

Mozzie wrigglers are mosquito larvae. You just need to pop a bucket outside in summer and you'll soon have lots of yummy treats, and the traditional food of bettas. But I think you're in the Northern Hemisphere, so that wouldn't be an option anyway probably.

lol, nope. It's freezing cold out. I'll give it a go in the summer maybe.

As for my fishie, I knew something was going to come up healthwise but it wasn't finrot. I'm just clearing up some ick. (whew) at least Ick is super easy to treat.

And I should have a photo up soon

Hi and congrats on your new Betta. Sounds as if you got there just in time-poor thing.I'm all for the Pristene water treatment,most times it clears simple problems right up.What are you using for the Ick?

I got some PetCetera brand ick stuff, and it worked after a couple of days. His belly fin is growing back and he's beauuutiful!

Just a question though, what exactly does a bubble nest look like? There's these odd shaped pea sized things stuck to the sides of his tank. They're like clear jello with a lot of teeny tiny bubbles (I think) inside. I've also got a couple of small snails a friend gave me in there. I was told that the fish would eat them, but they've bonded and seem almost friends now. (fine with me just kind of odd)

Many thanks

MD

They sound like snail eggs, rather than a bubble nest.