Lethargic Betta Fish

Question

Dorothy   QUESTION: Dear Jaymie,
For the last two days my little betta, Dorothy, has been acting really lethargic and disinterested in the goings on of her tank.  She is normally energetic and swims to the front of her tank when she sees me. Her coloring is typically a vibrant blue and her tale fans out but now she hardly moves and her tail is folded up.  I think her stomach looks a little bloated, but I can't get her to eat a pea.  I use AquaSafe and a little aquarium salt every time I clean her tank, which also has a filter and a heater. I suppose it has been a few weeks since I fully cleaned out their tank, but I did change approx. 1/2 of the water about a week ago. Also, her tankmate, Rosie, on the other side of the tank divider, seems just fine.  Is there anything I can do for my Dorothy? Would Betta Fix help?

Greatefully,

Megan and Dorothy

ANSWER: Megan,

Is she eating ok?
how old is she?
Are her scales sticking out making her look like a pine cone?
Does it look like her eyes are bulging out?






---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Jaymie,
Dorothy hasn't been interested in food and usually she is a fairly voracious eater. Her scales look normal, but I think her tail is a little raggedy. I don't see how her tail could have gotten damaged since she's lived in the same tank for the last several months and not had any problems.  Her eyes look normal, though I suspect her tummy is a little bloated. I tried to feed her a pea, but she wasn't interested. I have transfered her to a smaller tank, about 1.5 gallons. I thought that might help her feel a little less stressed, since she's been trying to bury herself in the rocks lining the bottom of her tank or hiding amongst the flowers on her cave. Her tank mate seems just fine other than perhaps looking a little bored. Dorothy is such a sweet fish. We really appreciate your help.

Answer
Megan,

 Does she have white dots on her body and/or gill?If so, she could have Ich. She might not be trying to bury herself in the gravel, she might be trying to scratch. When a fish has Ich, they rub on anything that is in the tank. If she has the spots, then this is what you should do.

1. raise the tank temp 78 to 80 degrees for 48 hours
2. remove Rosie from the tank, since we want to make sure she doesn't get sick too. the tomites can only survive for 48 hours without attaching to a fish. I would probably wait 4 days before retuning the fish to the main tank. Make sure you treat the tank that the fish are moved to.
3. you will need to buy Formalin, and follow the directions on the bottle, and remove the carbon from your filter.

Ich is common disease and if one fish gets it you will need to treat the whole tank.

I hope this helps, if other symptoms occurs or if after treating Dorothy, she is the same as before, please let me know and I will try to figure out what else she could have.

I hope this all works, and Good Luck.