I think my betta is suffering and am hoping to nurse it back to health.

Question
Hello Lynda,

I've had my Betta for about a year now. I got him from a pet store so I'm unaware of his age. I went on vacation for 5 days forgetting to ask someone to feed him (very careless I know!). I found him non-active with a white belly. He just sits at the bottom of his tank (or in a little castle hide out) and does nothing. I can see that his gills are still moving and his little fins are moving. When I tap on the tank slightly he swims up to the surface and blows one puff of air and then swims back down. Sometimes when I feed him he'll swim up and grab some food and then go back down. When I came home from vacation and found him in these conditions I immediately changed his water 100% and that seemed to help somewhat, but barely.

It's been exactly a week since I got back and I recently changed his food from Top Fin-Tropical Enhancing Flakes to Aqua Culture Betta Pellet food, just to change it up a bit and he seemed to like that.

When he swims for a slight second it seems like he is swimming on an angle, like one fin isn't working correctly even though both set of fins seem to be moving. His bottom half of his body seems to droop to one side, like it's heavier than it's top half.  

I recently moved him from a one gallon tank to a smaller bowl just to see if I can get him to eat something more and maybe get better. (I know that I should keep him in at least a 5 gallon tank, I just don't have the room for that at the moment so I got the biggest I could fit).

I went to the same pet store I bought him from and explained my Betta problem and he gave me sea salt and told me to put 3 to 4 pieces of salt per week in his tank. He said that's the only thing he recommends. He asked me how old my fish was, but of couse I didn't know because I don't know how old he was when I bought him. In my book he's a year because that's when I took him home.  (I wish they had real experts working at these places instead of teenage kids).

I've been researching online to try and find a medication for my Betta but I'm so overwhelmed because I'm not even sure what disease he has, if any, or if it's just old age. I'm worried that he's suffering and I feel so horrible that I can't do anything for him.

I heard that I could freeze him just to end his suffering, but I want to try everything before I result to that!

Thanks so much!!

Katie

Answer
Hello,
It is quite hard to diagnose the problem.  He is showing signs of Swim Bladder Disease, but since he hasn't eaten for a week, he should have waste.  I would try the pea treatment, and would remove the salt.  Cook a frozen pea and remove the outer layer.  Cut the pieces in tiny pieces, and feed this to your betta one piece at a time.  Feed him nothing else for a day.  See if he wastes.  Move him back to his bigger bowl.  He may have gotten cold while you were gone.  It is very hard to diagnose.  He is eating, and this is always a good sign.  If he does not get any better, I would try a treatment of Kanamycin, or Tetracycline, or furan 2.  Vary his diet, give him pellets one day, betta flakes the next, daphnia the next, and bloodworms the next.  Feed him 2 times a day. Never feed him big amounts.  His tummy is the size of his eye, and he should never have big meals.  Example: 2 pellets for one meal.   You could also try feeding him special food for parasites, or anti-bacterial food.  This too, may help him.
Keep me posted on how he is doing, I hope the little guy pulls through, but remember if he is eating, it is always a good sign.  He could get better.  Keep his water very clean.
If you should ever have to euthanize him, look this up on the web.  It would be too long for me to type this out here.  There is a very simple procedure using clove oil, where he won't suffer at all.  Freezing the poor little guy is not recommended.
I hope this will help.
Lynda