Hi everyone!
We were given a betta fish, and we don’t know how to take care of fish. This fish is supposed to live in warm water, but we were told that it was kept in cold water at the store and that it can adapt to cold water. It ate the food but then spat it out, so we didn’t give it any more, although there were some leftovers in the tank. To clean it, we drained all the water. We treated the new water with Aquatan, but now we’ve learned that we shouldn’t have emptied the tank completely like that.
The night before last, we noticed that its scales were sticking out. We went to a pet store and they tested the water — it had a high level of ammonia. We changed the water gradually and added one drop of FishTamin, as the staff member advised us. They told us to feed it, but if it doesn’t eat within two minutes, we should remove the food so it doesn’t spoil the water.
Could it be something more serious? We’re now learning about fish 🐟 We really don’t want it to die.
Thanks!
Posted by jmcsalvador
19 Comments
Sounds/looks like possible early stage of dropsy (fluid retention) . Most likely caused by bad water quality (rotting food) and stress from the “100% water change”.
Also, did you cycle the tank before getting the fish? (I hope that on the pics isn’t his “tank”)
I suggest surrendering it to someone that can take care of it. Then do a bunch of research and prepare a home for a your next fish
So there are a couple things that ordinarily would be necessary to keep your fish alive.
The primary one being a properly established beneficial bacteria colony in your tank. That takes close to a month to establish, and that’s with dosing chemicals like seed or stability daily.
The ammonia spike was because you don’t have that bacteria colony. This is oversimplified, but bacteria will eat the ammonia, and then it will turn it to nitrite, and then later to nitrate. Nitrate is good for plants in a tank, so a full water change is purging any of that beneficial bacteria from developing.
You will want to get further recommendations straight from an expert at a specialty fish store (something like Petco does not even close to count).
I personally would recommend surrendering your betta to a specialty store (again, not Petco, they will kill it the same speed unfortunately) if you are too stressed out about keeping her alive. By the time you get a better tank, a filter, live plants, a heater, AND a light, and also with the time it takes to establish a tank, your odds of that poor thing surviving the whole process is unfortunately pretty low since you are inexperienced.
Give it back to the shop and ask the person who gave it to you to not treat animals as objects..
Do a quick google search for local fish stores or fish specialty stores. If you go in and tell the employees there your story they should be able to show you what you need. Many of them sell pre established filter medium to kick start tank cycles in new setups. Or if you want to surrender your fish, that’d be the place to do it. As another commenter said NOT a big box pet store; the people there usually don’t know anything about fish.
You can also look up a fish community group on Facebook local to you if you want to rehome. Our local group swap fish all the time.
They should not have sold you this fish, it’s current conditions are nothing short of abuse. The fish is freezing cold and burning in ammonia. Please Google betta fish care and watch some YouTube videos and read some guides as well as learning about the nitrogen cycle. You will need a tropical tank kit of at least 6 gallons that has a filter, heater, light and thermometer. Natural substrate, plants and drift wood go a long way in making a happy betta
Get a bottle of aquarium bacteria in there with a heater and small filter from the tank kit while you set up the bigger tank to help him while you make the new tank. Once the new tank is set up you can move the equipment and fish to the new tank. Then you will need to watch the ammonia/nitrite and nitrate levels while the bacteria settle in with a liquid test kit doing partial water changes with dechlorinated water to bring levels down
Some basic plants like anubias and java fern grow slowly and are easy to care for. I’d go to different local fish shop and explain your situation for some proper advice on a kit for your fish
I’ve explained as much as I can think on the spot and how to help asap but proper research is needed if you really want to understand what you are doing.
This is my 50 gallon Betta community tank that I rescued from a vase and is now thriving.
https://preview.redd.it/v35h817ka2mg1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6b8b5c51a1e06b3a1c5b935e0de2e268018250f1
Please give that fish to someone that will care for it properly and do some research before buying any animal for that matter
Looks like the scales are pineconing which is a sign of a disease called dropsy. I personally don’t know how to treat dropsy but I’m sure plenty of other people on here do.
Betta keeper/breeder for decades here.
The heater is necessary, not optional, and I’m angry to hear that anyone said bettas can “adapt” to the cold. They adapt in the same way a human would to being naked in a room that’s 15°F too low. They can’t put clothes on. They’re unhappy until they’re sick, and then they die.
Heat is the primary concern. Bettas being kept in pet stores cups is disgusting because of the heat issue – not because of the limited space.
You’ve had lots of other advice here, and it’s mostly good. I think the thing is, you have to decide whether you want to begin a relatively expensive hobby right now.
A standard 5.5 gallon tank is cheap and is a really nice size for a male betta (3-8 gallons is a good beginner range). You can find a kit at the store that will work, or check marketplace for someone getting rid of their old setup. Either is fine.
You’ll need to learn about cycling the tank (unless you’re lucky enough to get a used setup that’s still wet, but even then you should still learn about this).
Note, changing all the water at once is totally fine for bettas as long as the temperature matches fairly close and you condition the water (using Prime or another water conditioner). It will not mess up the bacterial culture or stress the betta unless your tap water is wildly out of range (generally if it’s very very hard/rich with minerals). If you have hard tap water, you may need to use distilled or RO water or rainwater, either alone or mixed with your tap water.
The scales sticking out is a very bad sign; it’s called “pineconeing” and is a sign of severe dropsy i.e. kidney failure. He’s unlikely to make it even if given to someone skilled with a proper setup; I’ve never had a fish recover from dropsy this bad and it’s probably due to ammonia burn on the gills which is incurable. Tbh I would euthanize at this point; buy some clove oil, mix a squirt of it with a small amount of hot water (e.g. place it in a test tube and shake vigorously) and then add it to the bowl. It will anesthetize him first and then make him stop breathing. Place him in a bowl of salted ice water once he’s been still for at least ten minutes to make sure he’s dead before disposing of him. I’m sorry. Hopefully next time you can set up a proper tank for your next fish.
Unfortunately fish usually dont come back from this. Im sorry someone gifted you a responsibility. Live Animals should never be a gift
If you really would like to keep him, start by giving it more room, a 5 gallon tank would be nice. Lay at least a half to an inch of clean sand or fine gravel over the bottom, and add dechorinated tap water (don’t get ripped off with “Betta water”), add some nice floating plants that will help keep the tank water clean. Once a week, change half the water, just half.
Feed him a good pellet food, just a few pellets, a few times a day. Make sure he has eaten his previous meal before feeding more.
That’s to start you off.
Do some reading on daphnia culture, grindal worm culture. You’ll end up with a very happy betta.
Keeping any animal is a commitment of both time and resources, if you aren’t ready to do this then you shouldn’t keep the animal. If you aren’t willing to put in that time and effort (not blaming you since this was thrust upon you) then you need to get this fish to a safe home as soon as possible.
The scales lifting is called pine-coning, it’s a telltale sign of organ failure. If you don’t get this fish in a suitable environment within a day it will most likely die.
If you are going to keep it, you need to do all of this immediately;
-Buy atleast a 25 liter tank.
-Buy a heater.
-Buy a filter.
-Buy a water quality test kit, API freshwater master test kit is best
-Quick cycle the tank with a bacterial filter culture.
-Test the water until you can see that it’s cycled.
It baffles me that people gift bettas to people as if it’s just a decoration. Give this poor fish a new home that knows how to properly care for him while you go and learn the simplest of fish keeping basics first. 🤦🏽♂️
https://preview.redd.it/3b8k6uexi2mg1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=307446fb0b10557854af9b6a0f3cc4a8d6887a00
The fish is pineconing, so he’s already dying.
A lot of these comments seem to be shaming OP, did they not read the post and see where it was **given to them**? OP I can tell you are caring people with empathy who want to treat animals right, best of luck to you. If it doesn’t recover it’s best to research the next fish you want and set up a tank for awhile before adding fish. Research “cycling a tank”. I recommend 20-30 gallons as it greatly increases the types of fish you can have and is easier to maintain healthy water.
Also ignore 99% of internet articles that treat bettas like decor in flower vases. They are miserable and die quick. Bettas are a very intelligent tropical fish that need heaters, hi protein food, gentle decor, and a good water. Treat them right and they will be your best buddy! Hank is in a 10 gallon set at 73-74*F, with a filter and air stone, planted, with a school of Corey cats. He gets hand fed pellets and live food 2x a day.
https://preview.redd.it/hg83i9i9n2mg1.jpeg?width=1250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af8e47f65579adb31bf8a583a1f50fbdec479dac
Hello i don’t know if my eyes are seeing correctly but it looks like ur betta might have dropsy. If thats the case things are going to be very complicated to keep it and id suggest taking it back from where you got it poor baby🥺.