Miyavi my betta doesn't look good.

konstargirl

Well it has been going on for a while now. I would say almost 8 months. It started out when his Java Moss was slowly dying( it died btw) and then it just gotten worse. It's not ick, but maybe some kind of fungus or discoloration. Here's a picture of how he looks now.



How would I suppose to take out the carbon?

The levels were Ammonia: 2.0, Nitrite between 0-0.25, Nitrate was between 0-5.I did a night water change today 70%. Now it's up to the point I don't know what to do anymore.. His fins are a little clamped right now and he sort of swims and sits as if he was playing dead kind of thing. What about feeding wise? I'm currently feeding him Aqueon betta pellets, hikari frozen bloodworms and hikari freeze dried brine shrimp.. I have minced garlic and I read it also helps the fish immune system when a fish is ill. I'm currently treating him incase if it's fungus.

tf1265

Ammonia 2.0 is a BIG problem. Do you test your water frequently? If it regularly gets up that high, he is probably suffering from ammonia poisoning. Keep up the water changes, especially while he is acting sick. More information about your tank and maintenance routine would be very helpful: size of tank, tankmates (if any), decor, plants, heated? Filtered? water change schedule, anything you add to the water, etc. The picture is helpful, but the more we know about your tank the more helpful we can be.

As far as removing the carbon, it depends on the type of filter and filter media you have. I have 1 tank for which the filter has a completely separate activated carbon cartridge. My other tank uses biobags, which contain activated carbon. If you cannot remove just the carbon, you have to remove the whole thing and do a LOT of water changes. You should do a lot of water changes while he's sick anyway, so this might not be a big deal. If there are sections of the filter media that you can leave in place, try to do so. Otherwise the carbon will filter out the medication and it won't be very effective.

konstargirl

Miyavi is by himself as he doesn't like fish at all! He's in a 2 gallon hex tank. The ammonia actually went down as of yesterday. I did a 50% water change yesterday with the prime. They are still there. His swimming isn't that great. Sometimes he lays on his side like he play deads.

Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0-5

One more thing, the filter is a Penn Plax filter. I put the filter back in because the meds didn't do anything but it made him a littler brighter. He still looks lethargic.

tf1265

It doesn't really look like a fungus from the picture you posted, so those meds might not have been helping. It can take them a week to start really making a difference though, so don't rule them out after a day or two.

You've had him in that tank for 8 months? After that long with a filter and a fish, your tank should be cycled. It's not. What your test results will read when it's cycled is 0 for ammonia and nitrite, and >10 for nitrate. This will make a big difference in the balance in your tank and the quality for your fish. I'm not sure why it's not cycled,

I see you have a little nano heater in there - do you have a thermometer? They're very cheap (less than $2, most places), so if you don't have one you might want to get one. Those heaters aren't terribly reliable as you can't set a temperature (I have one in my betta tank, the temp ranges about 6 degrees depending on the time of day).

If I were you, I would do a 50% water change DAILY and add 1 tsp of aquarium salt to start (1/2 tsp daily with the water changes afterwards) for at least a week, 2 wuld be better, and see if that makes a difference. I have a feeling his water conditions are what's causing him to act like this. Hopefully, once he is looking healthier and is more active, you can get your tank cycled so you won't have to worry about it as much. There are plenty of threads about cycling on this forum, or you could start a new one.

konstargirl

Oh I had this tank for over a year now. This started around 8 months ago. I do have a thermometer. The tem is usually around 80-86 degrees, but at times the temperature decrease and increase dramatically.

I think it was probably stress too. >< I hope he doesn't get worse as I'm not ready to take him to the bridge yet. I love that fish!