Hi,

I was just at Big Al's buying a pump when I happened to walk buy their Betta section. I noticed a beautiful double tailed torquise betta darting around it's bowl and then sinking down to the bottom on it's side. I walked over to see why it was doing this. It was very thin, but other than that had no other noticable diseases. I felt so sorry for him as he was in a tiny jar that looked like it could use a good cleaning! I asked the guy behind the counter if he knew what was wrong with him. He told me he didn't know but if I bought him and he ended up dying, I could get a refund. Such compassion!!! I decided I would try to save him. I brought him home and took some cycled water from my gold fish tank and filled a 2 and a half gallon bowl. His behaviour hasn't changed. He still darts around and then sinks to the bottom, ending up on his side. He also won't eat. Do betta's get any sort of wasting disease that could cause this? If so, is there a treatment? Any help for this poor little guy would be appreciated.

Angela

Sounds like he has either been chilled or he has a parasite. I would get a thermometr, a jeater and slowly raise the temperature up to around 80f. If that doesnt help then try some parasite med

Its sounds more like over stress. Every betta I have ever bought at a store or order from a breeder has done that the first couple hours. Just keep an eye on him and give hive anti fungas and anti bacteria and just inccase anti parasite. Heating the water would be good too. I figured out that if you put the bettas in an 80-84 degree tank it really helps them relax. Also try placing him in a dark room. Bright lights can cause bettas stress.

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the advice. Still no change in his behaviour. I don't think it's just stress since he was acting the same way at the store. I'm worried about the sunken appearance of his stomach also. I looked up betta diseases and it suggested either internal parasites or fish TB. It stated that fish TB is incurable. If it's internal parasites, what do you suggest I treat him with?

Angela

Is it sunk in or is he just skinny? Maybe he has gone a long time without food. I've never used internal parasite meds before. You might need to order special food for him.

The store is one of the places they ge tthe most stressed because they are in little cups and could possibley have tons of people picking them up and looking at them everyday.

How did you plac him into the bowl? Slowly or just dump him in? He could have gone into shock if you just dumped him in. You have to float them or slowly add water from the bowl inot the cup for a couple hours until placing them in the tank. If its too hot or too cold it stresses them out.

Could you get pictures of him?

Hi,

He is skinny and sinks to the bottom. He was like this at the store. I noticed that when the employees were showing bettas to people, they would tap the bowls to try to get the fish to flare. I even mentioned to them that they shouldn't do that because it stresses the fish. They didn't seem to care. When I got him home, I floated him in the bag for a long time before I opened the bag. Then I added some of the water from the bowl and let him float longer. I did this twice, then let him swim into the bowl. This is the same way I add my new goldfish to their tank and none of them have ever experienced shock. He is still not eating. Is there any medication you can suggest?

Angela

I don't know of any meds for internal parasites. You put him into the tan right so I do think it is just him. Hmm, have you tried frozen or live food? Bettas always seem to be more responsive towards the nice stuff.

I tried some frozen bloodworms. He didn't touch them. The only medication I have is Medigold for goldfish. I think its for bacterial infections though. Think it would be okay to try that?

Medigold treats internal bacterial infections and Metromed treats internal parasite infections. I'd try medigold first since it could be possible that its bacterial. If that doesn't work and you can't get ahold of metromed, Jungle Labs sells something similar at Petsmart.

Thanks, I'll try the medigold. If he won't eat it, however, is there something I could add to the water instead?

Angela

I was just reading a thread about a betta with possible SBD. Could my bettas behaviour (sinking to the bottom) be attributed to that? I've had him for 4 days and he's still sinking. He's eating a bit. His periods of swimming around seem to be increasing but as soon as he stops, he sinks. In the other thread I read, they suggested Pimafix to treat SBD. Any opinions on that?

Thanks, Angela

i would guess parasite.. SBD with darting... When i worked at petco, i used to treat them with jungle kio pellets for parasites. worked well, just crushed them up. (no one else cared about them, someone had to!)

My guess would be parasite too. I would follow the other advice and get a heater , thermometer, and meds and raise the temp. Also take a gander at the betta disease section and med suggestions at the top of the forum

Thanks guys. He has recently started eating more and moving around more often. Still lays at the bottom alot though so I'll try the parasite meds.

Angela

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to give everyone the happy news about my betta rescue. My son named him Lulu the Snake (don't ask me why!) He is almost completely recovered. After a course of Maracyn two and Prazipro, he has gained back almost all of his weight, swims around (almost) like a normal betta, and even flares at a mirror! His recovery has taken nearly two months. And what a beauty he is! Torquoise/Green butterfly double tail with huge fins. And a perfect over halfmoon shape. He still rests more often then my other betta but a least he doesn't fall over on his side when he stops swimming anymore. A happy ending for both of us!

Angela