My betta fish is sick, not sure what to do!?
One of my betta fish is sick. He stays in a medium sized fish bowl so no filter. I thought he may have ich but I have not seen any white spots on him. I did treat him for 3 days with ich meds but no luck. He has not eaten in over a week and doesn't swim around at all. I have not even done a partial water change because I do not want it to be more than he can handle. Any suggestions on anything I can do to help him would be greatly appreciated!
answer: No partial water changes, no filter, living in a bowl, and ich medication ... of course he is sick.
If he is lethargic and refusing food, then blame it on his environment. An unfiltered, unheated bowl is not a healthy home for any fish. Plus you should never use medication unless you are sure of the diagnosis. Medication is stressful and anabantids don't take a lot of medications well to begin with.
Immediately-Perform a 50% partial water change daily. Understand that waste is building up in the bowl and making your fish ill. You need to do a partial water change to dilute that waste. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
ASAP-Invest in at least a 5 gallon tank with full aquarium hood, a gentle filter, and an aquarium heater to maintain the temperature between 78F-82F. Bettas are tropical fish.
A) He has no filter. He NEEDS a filter.
B) No water changes. Even fish with filters need weekly water changes, fish with no filters need DAILY water changes. Not changing the water will only make it worse.
C) The meds you buy at petco for various fish diseases usually don't work, and are often times more dangerous than helpful
What I would do is start changing 50% of that poor fish's water every other day, or doing a 25% water change every day.
Typical bowl betta behavior, sad really that people keep these intelligent fish in bowls, especially considering that they come from rather large tropical rice paddies.
If you want him to survive you will need to get him a proper 5 + gallon heated and filtered aquarium. http:/www.5plusgallon.co.nr or give him to someone who can care for him.
He definitely needs some clean water. Do a water change and clean out his bowl. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
And well make sure he's still breathing too.
You should also check to see if the water is too cold (with a thermometer). If it's too cold you're probably going to need to transfer him to an aquarium you can keep at proper temperature if he cannot stay warm enough in the bowl in the room you have him in. If his temperature is good, and a water change doesn't get him moving, just keep watching him, it might be too late. Bettas in bowls SHOULD have a complete water change and bowl clean out (with hot water, no soap) EVERY week for proper health.
I've had a betta that lived in a bowl for years, never had health issues and lived to be a ripe old age, but he always stayed in a room of the proper temperature and had total water replacement and his bowl soaked with hot hot water every week. Without a filter proper sanitation (the hot water) of the bowl and a complete weekly water change must be done. Hopefully it's not too late for your little guy but if it is, keep that in mind should you get another one.
Try putting soem anal lube on his food pellets this will help him when he has to take a POOP! K thanks baii.
