I have had Louie for about a year. He is in a 2 1/2 gallon tank with a little heater. Water temp 78 degrees, water changed once a week. He is fed only betta balls, since that's all he would ever eat, 3-4 daily. His nitrates, nitritries, and amonia levels are all normal, tested with test strips. I use 1 tsb. table salt and the dechlorinator drops each time I change his tank.
He is now completely vertical and hasn't eaten in 3 days. He can't go below the water, and when he tries, he pops right back up into the vertical position. His fins look opaque, as do his eyes, his head is a little bit out of the water, but he does move from corner to corner occasionally, though he stays completely vertical. He wiggles his little front fins at me still, every time I go to the tank, but I know he is very sick. I have tried Furan, and also Maracyn. I now am using Chephalexan and that's not helping him either! Help, please! Thanks!
fungambler
Yes I did go there and to no avail. But thanks! I also just notice he has a white looking string hanging from him underneath. My other betta, has one too. He is in a separte tank of course, and seems just fine. I am hoping this isn't Columnaris!
It sounds like he has swimbladder disorder if he has trouble swimming down. White, stringy looking poop could mean parasites but if you are only feeding pellets then I don't know. For swimbladder disorder, try fasting for 2-3 days, then feed him some daphnia, either frozen or freeze dried.Hope this helps.
White, stringy poops can be a sign of internal parasites as dramaqueen said, but they can also be a sign of constipation which can cause swimbladder disorder.
I would try the fasting for a few days. Actually, if you other fish is also showing symptoms then you may want to fast him/her as well. Although daphnia is good for clearing the digestive tract and can help with constipation, in more severe cases I have found that a thawed, de-shelled, and mashed up pea actually works better. You don't want to do this all the time because it is hard on the digestive tract, but in emergencies this is what I usually do. Just feed him a tiny bit of the mashed up inner part by sticking it on the end of a toothpick and feeding it to him.
Pictures are always helpful as well, so if you can get one it would be great.
Thanks all, but I lost Louie this afternoon. He was at the bottom when I came home from work. He did have a red bump on his gill and he was totall discolored. I never really knew what was wrong with him. I tried Furan 2, Maracyn, and Cephelxan. He never got better. Poor little guy! He was such a fighter!
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