Lost another Betta and one is in iso.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Sat Jun 29, 2013 2:15 pm

I just found Big Red my russet colored girl under one of the fake logs I have in the aquarium she got stuck overnight and died.Misty my pale blue is in iso she has grey faced and is acting weird.I think Misty was already too old to be sold when I bought her because she was already showing some grey in her face but now she's completely washed out and is showing stress striping and has become extremely aggressive and is swimming erratically and I've had bettas do this in the past just before they died like they were running from death so I'm pretty sure thats whats shes doing.I feel bad for her and Red.

dylan644 · Post by **dylan644** » Sat Jun 29, 2013 2:53 pm

So sorry to hear that! It's so sad when they get themselves stuck and we aren't there to help. And poor Misty. Maybe setting her up in her own part of the tank with dense cover will help. It's stuff to get an old fish and the. You become attached. I like to stay with the ones that are only a few months old.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 5:08 am

I just went and checked on Misty and she's doing a bit better I have to change her water out as she is in a one gallon makeshift iso that only has a half gallon of water in it and has been dosed with fresh water aquarium salt.Her abdomen appeared to be swollen as if she were constipated and she has successfully passed a large fat string of fecal material and her abdomen has begun to return to normal.I did some extra research last night on Betta constipation aka Mystery Bloat which can if allowed to progress untreated turn into dropsy as the constipation causes the fish distress and thus lowers it's immune system so that the bacteria responsible for dropsy can then take hold.It turns out that Mystery Bloat has no know cause killing millions of captive bettas per year.It is theorized that dry foods like the pellets and flakes are actually responsible for causing the Betta to become constipated because the food tends to swell in the bettas intestines as it absorbs moisture causing a blockage which can then turn into a bacterial infection.My fish only started getting sick when I went three days feeding the same food which were the pellets I was sick with a stomach virus and wasn't keeping track of the days appropriately and now my fish have payed the price.

dylan644 · Post by **dylan644** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 1:24 pm

I haven't been switching the food lately. I still skip a day and everything has been fine. I did move him to five pellets though. Probably be better if I gave three in the morning and two at night instead of all in one setting.Usually if they are constipated, fasting for about a week will clear it up.

Baneykinz · Post by **Baneykinz** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 4:53 am

quote:Originally posted by dylan644: Probably be better if I gave three in the morning and two at night instead of all in one setting. You're absolutely right, plus, it lasts a bit longer. Like eating 2-3 meals a day instead of eating your day's worth of food in one sitting. CRABBER85,There's 2 different salts that can be used with bettas, and there's different occasions to use them most effectively.Aquarium salt is great for external issues: Parasites, Fin rot, injury.Unscented Epsom Salt is for internal issues like bloat or constipation. (1 tsp/gal)I hope Misty continues to improve for you, I know I'm a nervous wreck whenever one of my fish are sick!

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Mon Jul 01, 2013 5:13 am

I only feed once a day and that usually consists of three to four pellets/blood worms typically in the afternoon as I don't get up till around lunch time.My mother works third shift and I have to let her sleep as she goes into work at 11pm and gets off around 7am and she sleeps from eight in the morning to around two in the afternoon.Misty is not bloated anymore yesterday I was able to see her stool after she pasted it and it appeared to be a partially digested pellet being the same general size and color and now her stomach has returned to normal size.