Pet Animals - A Vet's perspective » Beta Fish, Betta Fish

betta fish not eating

admin — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 03:18:20 +0000

I have a 2yo Betta fish that has been sick for months. He had signs of external parasites (stringy fungus on body) and popeye. Both have gone away. Treated with Maracide and Aquarisol. He continued to be lethargic and would rarely eat so I treated him with a course of Ampicillin for possible internal parasites. After 10 days on the antibiotic, showed no signs of improvement. He is now on no medication and has no sign of external parasites but is still clearly quite ill. He has not eaten a bite in almost three weeks. He swims around very little and occasionally flares at the neighboring Betta, but will not eat. I had his water tested and it is perfect. I keep his bowl very clean and have been trying hard to coax him into eating. My question is what should I do? I’ve been considering euthanizing him as I cannot stand the thought of him starving to death. I can’t help but wonder if there is a medication I haven’t tried that might help. Your advice would be so appreciated. I’ve been trying for months to cure him.

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Betta fish – beta fish as pets

admin — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 11:55:22 +0000

I get angry when I see what I call novelty pets being pushed to the unsuspecting public if only because I know for a fact that many end up dying as a result. Take the betta splendens (Siamese Fighting Fish) craze for example. When I wrote about betta fish and mentioned that I used to own them as a youngster it was when I was living in tropical Singapore. Betta fish in case you don’t know are tropical fish. And that means if you move them into a temperate climate with your usual 4 seasons, they will get stressed if left to fend for themselves in water temperature that fluctuates wildly from being balmy and warm in summer to frigid in winter. And for those shop keepers who flout them as being really hardy fish – after all they are found in the wilds of Malaysia, Thailand and live in very little murky rice paddy type waters. And that’s true BUT that’s provided the water temperature stays at a range of between 75-86F which really can only be maintained if the ambient temperature is well – tropical. It’s near nigh impossible in a temperate country to have that sort of temperature range if you keep the betta fish in a small little tank with no heating facilities to ensure that the temperature stays that way. So if you find that your betta fish is looking a little less frisky and seems to mope down the bottom of the tank, check your water temperature. If you keep your water temperature within the optimum range, you will notice that it will be a happier and generally healthier individual which is less prone to diseases. Don’t get conned into believing that buying the betta fish with a ’self cleaning’ tank means you will have a healthy pet with no maintenance – I couldn’t believe this but someone at my local shopping mall actually tried to convince me that the pebbles at the bottom of the jar was impregnated with special bacteria which would clean up the poop for me so I wouldn’t have to change the water – no way was that going to happen, if I had followed her instructions I would soon have a very sick betta fish on my hands. There is NO SUCH thing as a NO maintenance pet – pets by nature require attention. If you are too busy, then do yourself and the animal a favor – pass on getting one till you’re absolutely convinced that you will have the time and perserverance to look after it properly. Pets are not novelty items or trophies which you can buy and then just leave on the side when your interest wanes.

Betta fish with shrivelled fins

admin — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 09:51:01 +0000

My betta has been fine until the last week. Now he lays at the bottom of the bowl most of the time and its tail fins seem to look shriveled up at the end. Any suggestions?

Note : Betta fish question from Ask A Vet. Click here for answer (answer available FREE for 24 hours after posting afterwhich you will need to pay $3.95 to view the answer). See other pet health questions.

Beta fish with tummy bulge

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 05:55:27 +0000

I bought male betta fish 6 months ago from pet shop. I notice that his neck and/or tummy part started to become big 1 to 2 months ago. Currently, it is swollen to a extent (looks like balloon fill with some fluid) that he cannot swim straight. Also, he cannot remain straight in the water while he is not swimming, because of big swollen part. His eyes are popped out and he does not eat also. I will appreciate your help in saving him. I went to pets mart from where I got him and they suggested to use Aquarium salt. I am using it but looks like no luck. Help!

Note : Beta fish question from Ask A Vet. Click here for answer (answer available FREE for 24 hours after posting afterwhich you will need to pay $3.95 to view the answer). See other pet health questions.

Beta fish stopped eating

admin — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 06:04:23 +0000

I have 3 bettas, each kept in separate filtered tanks: a 2 1/2 year old, a 3 1/2 year old–and my youngest, who is has not yet reached a year–and who is also the sick one. Seeing him would do absolutely no good, as he looks perfectly fine–if not just a LITTLE paler than normal–he also appears to act the same–that is, no constant lingering at bottom, frenetic behavior, or the like. He simply will not eat (I use betta bites)–it’s going on 7 days since he stopped eating. I’ve used a PINCH of aquarium salt (one time–recommended by many internet sites) in water and add betta fix (daily–tomorrow will be the 7th day for betta fix). Any suggestions?

Betta fish swimming in circles

admin — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 21:08:30 +0000

My betta fish has been swimming in a spinning motion and has been finding comfort in lying on the gravel (with its head kind of digging in it). He just started doing this a few hours ago. I cleaned my fish bowl (which I hadn’t cleaned in 3 weeks) and I’m not showing that its responding any differently. Is it dying?

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Beta fish with bulge on chest

admin — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 09:47:41 +0000

My betta fish has developed what appears to be a huge bulge on his chest. It starts right after his little front fins and continues to his tail. Almost as if he’s really fat. (I don’t overfeed him though) His skin is so stretched the bulge is white. The poor guy is so top heavy and I see him laying on the bottom with his head down and his tail facing up. Also, he has lost some of his color on the rest of his body (it’s faded) and has little white spots on him. I tried Ick treatment for the spots at the recommendation of the pet store but it doesn’t seem to have helped and the bulge is getting bigger. I’m afraid to change his water because I don’t want to make anything worse. I’m very afraid he’s going to die. He still seems to be eating and swims around actively, but I know something is seriously wrong. Thank you.

Note : Beta fish question from Ask a vet

Betta fish with white patches on side

admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 21:48:55 +0000

After a tank cleaning my betta fish had a grayish white patch on top of his head. It was low to the skin, not fluffy, or spotted like ick. I thought he injured himself from the cleaning, but then a week later some more of these patches occured on his side. I began treatment with Quick Cure for a week and did not see any improvement. I also added aquarium salt at dosage for his 2.5 gal tank. I went to Petco and they suggested it was fungus and recommended Pimafix. I did a complete tank change, and have been treating with Pimafix per the instructions for over a week now and have not really noticed any improvement. What I notice now is that the patch on his side looks like raw skin, with a small bit coming away from the body. Up until now it was just the graying white patch. I’m also noticing a reddish film on his head and around his eyes. Maybe I never noticed this before and this is is part of his coloring? I’m not sure. Since beginning the Pimafix treatment he sits at the bottom of the tank by his fake log and generally only swims around when I put food in. All his fins look good. He doesn’t seem to be eating the usual amount. It’s been close to a month now since all this started. I know he is sick but just don’t know what is wrong with him and how to treat.

Beta fish question from Ask a vet

Answer available here – Betta fish with white patches on side

Beta fish with lump near tail

admin — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 11:35:19 +0000

my beta fish has been not right for a couple of weeks now. First he propped himself up between the filter and the tank then he got pop eye which has been treated. Now he seems to be stuck on his side and I noticed that there is a bulge at the back of his body right before the tail starts.This seems to be what is keeping him from swimming upright. Any ideas of what I’m dealing with and what I can do for this fish?

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Beta fish lethargic and eating less

admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 22:31:09 +0000

Beta fish care question from Ask The Vet
My beta fish has been hanging out at the bottom of its home for about 3 weeks. It comes up for food once a day and is eating less and it has been spending much of it time resting on the marbles on the bottom. It is becoming grey around its face and upper portion of its body. It often looks dead because it does not move. I feed it TetraMin Tropical Granules The Rich Mix and I change its water once a week with tap water and Tetra Aqua Aqua Safe. He looks like he is dying and I hope I can do something to help him. (I do not know if it is a male or female).

Read answer at beta fish care