Topic: It's always something. 20 Qs!

[coffin]

I'm just going to make a list of questions to save everyone from all the TL;DR info because I'm just agitated at this point between the fish and school. Water parameters are 0 across the board and ph is 6.5.

1. My betta, Dracula, has turned his nose up at pellets since the day I got him(Thai breeder, AquaBid). He ate pea once and never again. Refuses flake food. I bought tubifex yesterday because he'd been marinating in Maracide for a week (Velvet) and hasn't eaten for nearly a month. Seeing as I'm stuck feeding him live food for now; what else, aside from Daphnia, should I be feeding?

2. He JUST finished a round of Maracide yesterday and today I caught him flashing against the substrate...again. I'm at a loss.

3. Speaking of substrate, I just added sand in with the rock. Well, he ate some of it while he was grabbing one of the tubifex worms off the bottom. Is he done for or is there a possibility he'll be able to pass it?

4. Occasional strange swimming pattern. I've noticed on a couple of occasions his head will rapidly shake for a split second (similar to a seizure) and then he'll kind of drift down moving his head like a snake. When he reaches the bottom he just sits there for a second or so and goes back to normal. Neurological problem maybe?

5. Depression. How long does this last in bettas? He's the least active of them all, yet has the most real estate. He goes up for air and goes back down to do nothing. Sometimes he swims around but it's just him looking for food on the bottom or switching sides of the tank. Oh and then only time he flares it's at himself - not any of the other bettas.

I think that covers everything. Thanks in advance.

[nicole07_99]

Whoa, what a trip you have had!  First off, let me just say breathe.....It sounds like you're super stressed.  I know you want to do best for your little guy and it becomes really frustraing when you're trying everything and it seems like theres so many who just pop food in and do water changes and everythings perfect and here you are going the extra mile and buying all these things and getting all kinds of issues on top of issues instead of results. 

You're doing great and sounds like you've done all you should. I'll throw in a few questions and ideas however like I said...it does sound like you've done an amazing job.

First off if he ate a rock thats ok if it was small enough for him to eat (size of his eye) most of the time its small enough to pass.  however, if you notice he gets bloated put him in a 'holding' tank with nothing at all in it (a small critter keeper will do ok) and do 100% water changes every other day and feed him nothing but very small tiny pieces of the good ol' thawed frozen pea.  Maybe he'll be bored and curious enough to at least eat the pea then.  Especially if you keep him there for a few days.

Depression:  Bettas can be depressed for a long time i believe.  Things to help are very clean tanks, enough sunlight but not direct sunlight.  Variety in food.  ( I personally hate live food i know i know it's the best but EWE so i do frozen and pellets) Sometimes the occassional mirror time (so that he will flare and go patroling) will help also.  I think medication adds to depression so....my next thought comes in to action... lol

 I'm not sure how you've been medicating him if you've been treating him solely or his entire tank.  Maybe the velvet and or ich is all over your tank.  Sometimes the only way to really rid of the nasty stuff is to rid of everything even medication sometimes just doesnt do the trick  (Sounds horrible i know)

Perhaps buy a cheap critter keeper (they come in a lot of sizes one about 1 gal is fine and honestly I think they're handy for so much i should buy stock in them i've used them for so much!)  do water changes every other day for a week. (keeping him in an extra clean tanks vs medication may help with his depression and you can watch out for that rock he ate and make sure he doesnt have a blockage) Mean while ...that week drain his normal tank and wash everything w/ screaming hot water and some rock salt (aquarium salt) .  Dont add any fake plants back into the tank, nor would i use the sand.  I would get or use just smooth rocks (tiny river rocks are avail at dollar stores and really do the trick) I'd not add any water to the tank for a few days perhaps this will give the velvet and other possible parasites time to die out and not host on anything to grow.  If you notice him doing better in a week or so's time I'd re introduce him back to his original tank.   If all goes well and you dont notice him flashing or white specks or any signs of velvet or dropsy or anything else that could possibly lurking around the corner in a week or so's time then i would invest in silk plants.  You may want if you dont already add aquarium salt to his tank (about a Tsp per gallon) sometimes this alone helps keep ich and velvet away.  I really cant think of anything else to add.  I'm sure others will come up with a lot of great ideas or tips as well.  I couldnt sleep so sorry if I rambled a lot lol ...thats what i get for being on here at 2am! 

Good luck and best wishes!

[coffin]

Thanks for the reply, but he died last week. I treated him with JFC for two days and then he gave out. I believe he had a bacterial infection that I didn't recognize until it was too late, but I'm still unsure really. He also showed discoloration that I didn't see in-tank when I took him out. 

To answer your questions though, I treated him and the tank separately for Velvet (threw away the live plants), at the time there was a very thin layer of rock/gravel at the bottom. When he was done with treatment I sat him in fresh water for a day, still in the dark and let his tank and substrate dry out. It was after that I added the sand. I'm OCD about tank cleanliness so I always use aquarium salt and scalding hot water when I clean. Since he's died I've disinfected the tank with bleach and thrown everything that was remaining in the tank out.

[nicole07_99]

Oh no!    I'm so sorry.

It's so hard, I can remember talking to one of my sick guys sayin "if only you could just talk to me for a few seconds just to tell me what all is going on!!!" (after he died he showed signs of dropsy but not before hand.  It was severely frustrating and heart breaking as he was my oldest betta of 6 years of age but he had a long happy life...miss ya "Punky"!)

It's so frustrating when we try everything we can think of and still dont get that happy cute betta back in good shape.  Your in my thoughts and again it really did sound like you had done all you could...hope you find another cutie for the tank when you're ready.  Sorry again for your loss.

[FreshwaterTank]

My betta loved and would only eat blood worms.