Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => Fish Health => Topic started by: jesnon on May 14, 2015, 12:17:03 PM
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Hi everyone
As I've mentioned before my tank is currently having issues with algae at the minute. I'm getting there but it's an ongoing battle.
My last little endler is visibly looking very old now I suspect he will be passing away in the next few months but is still happy and energetic.
However yesterday I noticed a red 'dot' on my Betta. I've never seen it before. He's behaving normally and looks fine, however he has always been quite lazy and has a tendency to scare me half to death by sitting on leaves not moving or floating with his head down on the gravel. I haven't been able to see him from the right angle to check it's still there today but I got a photo of it:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/jessboon/Mobile%20Uploads/20150513_185054_zpsaks7kczi.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jessboon/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20150513_185054_zpsaks7kczi.jpg.html)
Should I be concerned?
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Do you mean the red dot on his fin?
It looks as though he has damaged the fin, or perhaps even the endler bit him. But because finrot can start like this, keep an eye on it for now but be prepared to act if it gets worse. If it is a wound it will get better by itself. A few extra water changes will help keep the site clean and hopefully stop any infection getting in if it is a wound.
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Sorry yes I meant the dot on his fin. I don't think the endler would have bitten him, I've never seen him and the endler even acknowledge each others existence. The endler and my mystery fish occasionally chase each other but that's the extent of it.
I'll keep an eye on him though thank you for the warning, maybe he caught it on something. Fingers crossed that's all it is and not fin rot
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Hmm it's still there it looks more like a spot, is that what a wound would look like?
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To be honest, I don't know. But I do know that anything nasty wouldn't stay as a dot for very long, it would spread and sometimes quite quickly if it was something like septicaemia (though that usually affects the base of the fin not the edge).
If the dot stays as it is, I wouldn't worry. Only worry if it spreads or gets bigger.
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Thanks Sue I'll watch and hopefully it heals soon
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Random question but... the sides of my tank create a sort of mirror effect and my Betta seems to have started flaring at himself in the side of the tank. I know that behaviour is very normal but I've never noticed him doing that before! Would that be anything to worry about? He might have only just noticed himself I guess but doesn't seem likely, maybe I just never noticed before!
In good news the mystery spot seems to have vanished and he seems happy enough; feeding well and coming to say hello etc !
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Glad to hear the spot has gone. Sometimes fish get things like this and we have no idea how they came or how they go.
Flaring at reflections in the tank wall are quite common. It's the reason I don't use the shiny black background that came with the tank. The only way you can stop it is to put some decor in the way. Flaring isn't bad for them, just when they do it too much they can 'blow' their fins ie the fins get holes in which can lead to finrot if the raw edges get infected.
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Ahh of course that explains it! I moved a silk plant to another side of the tank as I had to remove one covered in algae so it must have covered it enough before. I'll get him a new plant, blowing his fins doesn't sound nice!
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Unfortunately it looks like my Betta is dying and I suspect will be gone by the end of the day.
My endler that was looking a little long in the gills died a few weeks ago but my Betta and mystery fish seemed fine. No problems with the water etc.
Anyway two days ago I couldn't see my Betta in the evening and yesterday he was curled up in the corner. He's still alive but camping out in his cave not looking good. Not sure what happened :-/
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Bettas can be like that unfortunately. I do wonder if the way they were treated at the shop, wholesaler etc causes some of them to have short lives. I've had one betta live about a week, others a few months and the last one for 23 months.
As you gave him a good home, he would have been happy with you.
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Thanks fo that Sue. Unfortunately we things have gone from bad to worse...
My betta is still alive but only just, I know I should put him down but I can't face it. He sits all day at the bottom of the tank, but every time I think he's gone when I put the net in to fish him out he darts away..
My only other remaining fish is now very sick. He's not behaving in the same way as the Betta but he's swimming with his head floating above him almost and the rest of his body dangling down until he gets blown into the filter current back down to the bottom. He's swimming really hard but to no avail. His head is very red and his stomach looks quite white. He was fine yesterday swimming around happy enough...
I think it would be best if I put down both of them...
I just don't know what's gone wrong. And once both of them die my tank will be empt except for an assassin snail. I don't want to get new fish in case there's a disease or something in the tank but I haven't seen any obvious signs... But I don't want to leave my tank and start all over again either :-(
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There is something simple you can do. The majority of fish diseases will die off if there are no fish in the tank. You could either leave the tank running for a few weeks with just the snail, although it would not need many bacteria and you may find yourself doing a fish-in cycle when you get more fish. Or put the snail somewhere for the duration and add ammonia (3ppm dose) to the tank every 2 or 3 days for a few weeks. Keeping the snail in a bucket and doing a daily 100% water change would be fine, it's what I've been doing with the 5 nerites I had to remove from my 180 litre while treating for whitespot (risk of moving some encysted parasites if I put them in another tank)
Or even make it into a shrimp tank.
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Thanks for the advice :) I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks again after the weekend as I need another operation unfortunately so I guess I'll give the tank a few weeks to clear and possibly do a cycle when I get back. My partner is happy to feed the fish but I think he'd object to changing the water for our snail!
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I just thought I'd update... my betta is still alive :o
I know I really should have put him down but part of me kept thinking I would leave him and let nature take it's course or he might make a miracle recovery. Then I had to go in for surgery again and I'd told my partner to keep an eye out and take him out when he died.
Anyway I'm back home now and somehow my little betta is still alive. He spends literally all day in his cave / on the bottom of the tank, only moves when I think he is dead and go to fish him out then he suddenly darts around and back to his cave. I don't see him eat? I don't know how he could have survived, it's been a month with him like this I feel awful that I've not done anything much to help him due to my own health. I change the water but it's been very infrequent due to it being hard work with my hip.
Is there anything I can do to help him? I put food in every now and then but he doesn't come out from the cave so I can't think he would be eating?
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I did a quick search and found this page with the symptoms, causes of diseases in Bettas and the suggested remedies:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=73332
This passage seemed to ring a few bells, perhaps it sounds familiar:
Stress
•Symptoms: It’s hard to say for sure. But maybe your betta is lethargic, not eating, hiding, staying in a corner or at the bottom of the tank, he might look a bit pale or dart away when you get close to the tank. It could be a mild infection of some sort though too so be careful.
Treatment/Prevention: If your betta is housed with other fish then isolate him and see if he get better. His tank mates might be harassing him. On the other hand, some bettas become depressed when isolated. Other causes could be too much or too little light, too much current, too much activity near the tank, the temperature might be too low. Try changing things up, move the aquarium to a more isolated area and see if he gets better. Or if he’s on a food strike, offer live foods. If he is lonely, place the tank where he can see other fish. Make sure there are places to hide when he is stressed.
I hope it helps.
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Thanks for the suggestions. Hmm I don't think it would be too cold for him as my flat is so warm and the tank is normally 26c which I think is the normal temp for a betta but I will try raising it slightly to see what happens and try feeding some other food to see if I can entice him out. I've used the internal infection med I had from my old betta too just in case that helps - I'm desperate! It could just be the poor chap is simply old :isay: