Help!!! Betta sick!!

velocitygirl

I just got a third betta sat night. We had seen him there a few days before and noticed he had damage on his tail, and the bottom fin (can't remember what its called). When we bought him he was swimming on his side. He could swim, he would just kinda rest on his side. We got him a 1g tank (all we could afford). We feed him three pellets twice a day. His water is 78 F. He has an air stone, no heater or filter yet. Getting that wed. He is only about 1in long. He has been fine since we put him in new home. Very active. Today we found him on his side on the bottom of the tank. He has just spent the past half hour or so at the top on his tank in a corner, and will occasionally twitch. He just swam to the bottom but went back to the top and is hangout in the corner and is twitching every few seconds. What is wrong with my betta. I have 2 other bettas and have never seen them act this way. Please help, I can use all the info I can get.

velocitygirl

he swam around a bit but he is now back in the same corner at the to, half sideways. I know I've only had him a few days, but I really don't want him to die. I have become attached to him, I was so happy to see him perk up and swim around his tank when we put him in it. and we let him float for about an hour to get acclimated, before we put him in the new water.

MoneyMitch

could just be some type of genetical defect, maybe something do do with his swim bladder or might even have some internal damage. by the sounds of the taiol seems he was batterd or something which may have caused the damage which you cannont see aside from the side effects of it. i would just keep a eye on him and keep him by himself. sometimes fish just die without any known cause sometimes its bad genes sometimes its poison from water params. i wouldnt add any chems unless he starts showing more visual signs i.e white spots, fuzzy stuff, big eye, or anything else that is easily treatable. i wish your betta the best as well as you~

Angel079

Aww Gal, that ain't cool! I hope he'll start acting healthier for ya soon!!!

velocitygirl

the only thing in his water is the conditioner. I use it with my other fish too. I don't like the chemicals, and my water has always been fine with just the conditioner. We turned off his air stone and he seems to have stopped twitching and is moving around more. I have also noticed how bad the damage is on his bottom fin. It is almost half the size it should be. He has two or three long tips on his bottom fin and the others are half the length. Someone in another forum said that bettas sometimes bite themselves. But that seems crazy, is there any truth in that. I can't find any info on it, and he isn't long enough to be able to do that. Well atleast now he is no where near long enough. I hope he will be ok.

Angel079

Maybe just keep the air on slow for him and have some on/ off times during the day.

Time will tell hun!

From what you're describing & the idea of the Betta doing this to himself...This sounds more like a guys dream then reality to me for the fish to bend over that far and still be flexible enough to 'eat' himself....

velocitygirl

Yeah I thought it was a little far fetched. His air stone is still off, and he is just chillin at the top of the water. I really hope he makes it, we are so excited about puting him in his own 5g tank. I don't think he would do well with tankmates, he flares at us sometimes. He is such a cute little guy.

Rhino... You can see some of the damage on his fins. It is hard to catch a pic that really shows how bad it is. You can tell the rays have been damaged.

dramaqueen

Yes, bettas can and do bite their own fins. They usually do it when stressed. I would just keep the water extra clean and keep an eye on him for now. As for floating on his side, I think it could be swimbladder disorder. I would fast him for 2-3 days, then feed him some daphnia, either frozen or freeze dried. Frozen needs to be thawed and freeze dried needs to be rehydrated before feeding.

velocitygirl

Dramaqueen, do you have know of any links about it. I have had a few people say that bettas don't do that, and most of the fins that are damaged I really don't think he could reach. I would just like to do some research on the subject.

dramaqueen

Here is an article about it. A Betta’s Nervous Habit: Tail-Biting | Healthy Betta