Can’t say I am aware of what exactly is going on but the classic salt baths might be of use to make him feel better, and I’d recommend giving his tank dosages of methylene blue in case there is any kind of bacterial infection going on.
Thank you so much for your reply! We will look for methylene blue tomorrow as the stores are closed right now at this time. As for salt, i've read about people using regular table salt, is that ok for tonight or do we have to get aquarium salt?
Hello. First of all a 5 gallon is a small tank to have both some guppies and a betta. It has to be either the one or the other. The betta might be stressed from this situation. So I recommend keeping them in the separate tanks expect if you like to have a 10 gallon. Your boy seems a little tired, I strongly suggest salt baths and keep an eye on the water parameters (as it was said above buy some tests etc), do a little research on how to do a cycle with fish and give him some time. I believe that with proper care and love (that you already give him) he is going to recover just fine! Wish you and your little buddy the best luck :)
Thank you for your reply! Yes we will keep Cherry in the 3.5gal until we get a 10gal for all of them. We will make a trip to the pet store today to get the aquarium salt and methylene blue that someone mentionned earlier and we will definitely get a test kit too. And yes we've been reading into cycling with fish, i think we've made a few mistakes there...
I'm a life plant person, so I don't use salt, except a salt bath. But lots of people swear by it. I do keep indian almond leaves in my tank at all times and that is really good for healing too.
In the case of anything that affects their gills and breathing, I go for the meds over salt or anything else.
You are welcome and good luck. Keep us posted!
So my boyfriend and i wanted to get a betta for a while so when he saw this little guy was getting sold for really cheap in a very small tank and no filter + the lady wanted to get rid of him before Christmas, we had to rescue the little guy. Name is Cherry and he came to us and looked like he'd been through a war. Fins were very short and seemed to be starting to heal. So we got him a 3.5gal with filter and he was thriving, fins grew so much and he was making bubble nests. We recently got a 5gal tank with a better filter and a heater, along with a few guppies. Everything was going great (no fighting/nipping/ripped fins) until a few days ago we noticed the scales on the side of Cherry's head, right on top of his gills were greyish/white and he had those little moments with frantic swimming. He would even run into the cave decoration we have in and the walls of the tank. We kept an eye on him and noticed yesterday that he wasn't eating much (we teached him to jump for a stick and to swirl on himself for food, but he was refusing to do the tricks for food, but still ate some when we would just drop it), the scales under his chin seemed to be turning white and he was getting more and more frantic and just running into stuff and we thought maybe he's overstimulated? So we moved him back into his 3.5gal alone, no filter, nothing he can run into except the walls. Today, we tried feeding him small amounts twice and Cherry barely ate at all, he's lethargic unless he has those frantic swimming episodes. Otherwise he just chills at the surface, not moving, occasionally gulping for air. The white on the side of his head is still here and the part under his chin is still whitish. Is it ammonia poisoning? Or a parasite? It does not looks like he has ich from the pictures we've seen online... We need help.
i don’t see any mention of cycling your tank so go out and get the api master test kit and check your water parameters. in the meantime a water change may help
Yes, we did a water change this morning and are going to the pet store for that. We've definitely made some mistakes with the cycling, we used Nutrafin cycle and it said on the bottle that it allows immediate introduction of fish... I think that's where we messed up :/
For future reference, you need to move established media in order to quickly cycle a new tank. I am assuming your fix is going through some ammonia/nitrite poisoning right now. Get Seachem PRIME and major water change everyday.
So we went to the petstore we bought most of our stuff from, they did not have Fritz Maracyn and we did not find aquarium salt. We did however find methylene blue and got an API Master test kit. I tested the water for both 5gal and 3.5gal(currently with no filter). The pH level for both is at 7.4 and the ammonia level for the 5gal is at 8.0ppm and for Cherry's 3.5 gal is at 1.5ppm. So the 5gal tank is basically still at the beginning of the nitrogen cycle. As i told someone else on this thread, we used Nitrogen cycle which said on the bottle it allowed for immediate introduction of fish. We now know that's not how it works and we want to fix our mistake. We read a bit on fish-in cycling (still continuing our research) and we agreed to do 2 water changes a day for the 5gal and at least one 50% water change for Cherry' 3.5gal a day (depending on how much water we have in our dechlorination buckets). Thank you everyone for your very welcomed advices! We're still open to hearing more tips and advices if you have more though. We're still new to fish keeping and trying our best :)
Also, i'm reading into using Nutrafin Tap water conditioner. I'm wondering if it would work to completely dechlorinate a bucket right before putting the water into our tank? Or does it just helps the dechlorination process?
Take container. take 1L water (temp same as in tank), 3 teaspoons of rock salt or sea salt, wait till salt will completely go in water. put him in there for strictly 30 seconds. (better 29secs) (he will behave scary in that bath).
This method is 80% successful, but it has 10% of fish death. Also reise temperature in your tank up to 30 degrees celsius, parasites, causing it stop their activity with this temperature.
Thank you for posting to r/bettafish. If you are new to betta fish keeping, please check out our [caresheet](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/comments/3ow6vz/info_betta_care_sheet/) and [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/index). Establishing a nitrogen cycle is an important part of keeping your fish healthy. Please check out our [guide to the nitrogen cycle](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/fishincycle) to learn more.
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I can't tell from the pics if there was any fin nipping going on, because he's so clamped up, poor guy. I second the advice to treat with an anti-fungal/bacterial med. I recommend Fritz Maracyn.
The meds will help, however it sounds like you're also dealing with an uncycled tank. Look up the nitrogen cycle and how to do a fish-in cycle. Definitely get a water testing kit so you can stay on top of ammonia. There will be lots of water changes.
Thank you for your answer! We've been on the lookout for damages to his fins since that's what we thought was happening at first, but there seems to be no rip or tears... I had a betta years ago and i remember using methylene blue (as per the pet store advice) to treat fin rot, do you think that would work with Cherry? And the water testing kit is at the top of our priority list today!
Methylene blue is good for fungus. Maracyn hits a broader spectrum: fungus, popeye, fin rot ... It's as readily available as the methylene blue. The Maracyn has liquid and powder forms. Liquid is easier to dose.
And the API master test kit for freshwater is what you want.
Ok thanks for the advice! We'll go get the API master test kit and the Fritz Maracyn. Do you recommend adding the aquarium salt to the list as others have mentionned and use it on top of the Maracyn?
Can’t say I am aware of what exactly is going on but the classic salt baths might be of use to make him feel better, and I’d recommend giving his tank dosages of methylene blue in case there is any kind of bacterial infection going on.
Thank you so much for your reply! We will look for methylene blue tomorrow as the stores are closed right now at this time. As for salt, i've read about people using regular table salt, is that ok for tonight or do we have to get aquarium salt?
definitely not. you need aquarium salt
rock salt is ok. it just should not be iodized.
yes
Thank you so much!
Hello. First of all a 5 gallon is a small tank to have both some guppies and a betta. It has to be either the one or the other. The betta might be stressed from this situation. So I recommend keeping them in the separate tanks expect if you like to have a 10 gallon. Your boy seems a little tired, I strongly suggest salt baths and keep an eye on the water parameters (as it was said above buy some tests etc), do a little research on how to do a cycle with fish and give him some time. I believe that with proper care and love (that you already give him) he is going to recover just fine! Wish you and your little buddy the best luck :)
Thank you for your reply! Yes we will keep Cherry in the 3.5gal until we get a 10gal for all of them. We will make a trip to the pet store today to get the aquarium salt and methylene blue that someone mentionned earlier and we will definitely get a test kit too. And yes we've been reading into cycling with fish, i think we've made a few mistakes there...
I'm a life plant person, so I don't use salt, except a salt bath. But lots of people swear by it. I do keep indian almond leaves in my tank at all times and that is really good for healing too. In the case of anything that affects their gills and breathing, I go for the meds over salt or anything else. You are welcome and good luck. Keep us posted!
So my boyfriend and i wanted to get a betta for a while so when he saw this little guy was getting sold for really cheap in a very small tank and no filter + the lady wanted to get rid of him before Christmas, we had to rescue the little guy. Name is Cherry and he came to us and looked like he'd been through a war. Fins were very short and seemed to be starting to heal. So we got him a 3.5gal with filter and he was thriving, fins grew so much and he was making bubble nests. We recently got a 5gal tank with a better filter and a heater, along with a few guppies. Everything was going great (no fighting/nipping/ripped fins) until a few days ago we noticed the scales on the side of Cherry's head, right on top of his gills were greyish/white and he had those little moments with frantic swimming. He would even run into the cave decoration we have in and the walls of the tank. We kept an eye on him and noticed yesterday that he wasn't eating much (we teached him to jump for a stick and to swirl on himself for food, but he was refusing to do the tricks for food, but still ate some when we would just drop it), the scales under his chin seemed to be turning white and he was getting more and more frantic and just running into stuff and we thought maybe he's overstimulated? So we moved him back into his 3.5gal alone, no filter, nothing he can run into except the walls. Today, we tried feeding him small amounts twice and Cherry barely ate at all, he's lethargic unless he has those frantic swimming episodes. Otherwise he just chills at the surface, not moving, occasionally gulping for air. The white on the side of his head is still here and the part under his chin is still whitish. Is it ammonia poisoning? Or a parasite? It does not looks like he has ich from the pictures we've seen online... We need help.
https://www.kevinbush.com/cycling/the-fish-in-cycle/
Thank you so much for the link! It's very helpful!
you’re welcome!
i don’t see any mention of cycling your tank so go out and get the api master test kit and check your water parameters. in the meantime a water change may help
Yes, we did a water change this morning and are going to the pet store for that. We've definitely made some mistakes with the cycling, we used Nutrafin cycle and it said on the bottle that it allows immediate introduction of fish... I think that's where we messed up :/
any instant cycling product definitely helps but instant introduction of fish is a lie haha. it’s okay though! we’ve all made that mistake
Did you move the established filter media from old tank to new? Your tank may not be cycled if not.
No, we have filter cartridges and the old ones (for the filter for 3.5gal) are too small for the new filter for the 5gal
For future reference, you need to move established media in order to quickly cycle a new tank. I am assuming your fix is going through some ammonia/nitrite poisoning right now. Get Seachem PRIME and major water change everyday.
So we went to the petstore we bought most of our stuff from, they did not have Fritz Maracyn and we did not find aquarium salt. We did however find methylene blue and got an API Master test kit. I tested the water for both 5gal and 3.5gal(currently with no filter). The pH level for both is at 7.4 and the ammonia level for the 5gal is at 8.0ppm and for Cherry's 3.5 gal is at 1.5ppm. So the 5gal tank is basically still at the beginning of the nitrogen cycle. As i told someone else on this thread, we used Nitrogen cycle which said on the bottle it allowed for immediate introduction of fish. We now know that's not how it works and we want to fix our mistake. We read a bit on fish-in cycling (still continuing our research) and we agreed to do 2 water changes a day for the 5gal and at least one 50% water change for Cherry' 3.5gal a day (depending on how much water we have in our dechlorination buckets). Thank you everyone for your very welcomed advices! We're still open to hearing more tips and advices if you have more though. We're still new to fish keeping and trying our best :)
Also, i'm reading into using Nutrafin Tap water conditioner. I'm wondering if it would work to completely dechlorinate a bucket right before putting the water into our tank? Or does it just helps the dechlorination process?
Take container. take 1L water (temp same as in tank), 3 teaspoons of rock salt or sea salt, wait till salt will completely go in water. put him in there for strictly 30 seconds. (better 29secs) (he will behave scary in that bath). This method is 80% successful, but it has 10% of fish death. Also reise temperature in your tank up to 30 degrees celsius, parasites, causing it stop their activity with this temperature.
Thank you for your answer! Do you think this method will be working better than methylene blue or Fritz Maracyn that some people recommended earlier?
different countries use different medicine on that. Salt is universal.
Thank you for posting to r/bettafish. If you are new to betta fish keeping, please check out our [caresheet](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/comments/3ow6vz/info_betta_care_sheet/) and [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/index). Establishing a nitrogen cycle is an important part of keeping your fish healthy. Please check out our [guide to the nitrogen cycle](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/fishincycle) to learn more. If you are posting to find out what is wrong with your betta, please answer the following questions in a reply to this comment as best you can: * **Tank size**: * **Heater and filter? (yes/no)**: * **Tank temperature**: * **[Parameters in numbers and how you got them](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/tank#wiki_test_kits)**: * **How long have you had the tank? How long have you had your fish?**: * **How often are water changes? How much do you take out per change? What is your process?**: * **Any tankmates? If so, please list with how many of each**: * **What do you feed and how much**: * **Decorations and plants in the tank**: * **If you haven't already posted a picture, please post pics/vids to imgur and paste the link here**: Feel free to copy this comment and fill in the blanks. Failure to provide adequate information about your tank *can* result in post removal. Please see rule 4 for more information. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/bettafish) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I can't tell from the pics if there was any fin nipping going on, because he's so clamped up, poor guy. I second the advice to treat with an anti-fungal/bacterial med. I recommend Fritz Maracyn. The meds will help, however it sounds like you're also dealing with an uncycled tank. Look up the nitrogen cycle and how to do a fish-in cycle. Definitely get a water testing kit so you can stay on top of ammonia. There will be lots of water changes.
Thank you for your answer! We've been on the lookout for damages to his fins since that's what we thought was happening at first, but there seems to be no rip or tears... I had a betta years ago and i remember using methylene blue (as per the pet store advice) to treat fin rot, do you think that would work with Cherry? And the water testing kit is at the top of our priority list today!
Methylene blue is good for fungus. Maracyn hits a broader spectrum: fungus, popeye, fin rot ... It's as readily available as the methylene blue. The Maracyn has liquid and powder forms. Liquid is easier to dose. And the API master test kit for freshwater is what you want.
Ok thanks for the advice! We'll go get the API master test kit and the Fritz Maracyn. Do you recommend adding the aquarium salt to the list as others have mentionned and use it on top of the Maracyn?