Another Betta in Trouble

[teri]

Our Betta at work hasn't been doing so well recently. For a year and
a half he has been fine, eating well and swimming all over. For the
last two weeks or so he has been looking funky. He tries to eat like
he always has, swims right over to his pellets, but then he misses
when he tries to eat one. You can tell he is hungry, he seems happy
to get the food, but barely gets any actually into him. If he snaps
at a piece and missed he usually then lets it sit right at the top of
his "nose" for a while. He also isn't very active, and seems a bit
listless. Any suggestions on helping him? Nothing has changed with
his food or water changes.
Teri

[Jim Anderson]

In article >,
says...
>
> Our Betta at work hasn't been doing so well recently. For a year and
> a half he has been fine, eating well and swimming all over. For the
> last two weeks or so he has been looking funky. He tries to eat like
> he always has, swims right over to his pellets, but then he misses
> when he tries to eat one. You can tell he is hungry, he seems happy
> to get the food, but barely gets any actually into him. If he snaps
> at a piece and missed he usually then lets it sit right at the top of
> his "nose" for a while. He also isn't very active, and seems a bit
> listless. Any suggestions on helping him? Nothing has changed with
> his food or water changes.
> Teri
>

Betta's only live for 3 years under idea conditions.

--
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To email me just pull my_finger

[Elaine T]

Jim Anderson wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>
>>Our Betta at work hasn't been doing so well recently. For a year and
>>a half he has been fine, eating well and swimming all over. For the
>>last two weeks or so he has been looking funky. He tries to eat like
>>he always has, swims right over to his pellets, but then he misses
>>when he tries to eat one. You can tell he is hungry, he seems happy
>>to get the food, but barely gets any actually into him. If he snaps
>>at a piece and missed he usually then lets it sit right at the top of
>>his "nose" for a while. He also isn't very active, and seems a bit
>>listless. Any suggestions on helping him? Nothing has changed with
>>his food or water changes.
>>Teri
>>
>
>
> Betta's only live for 3 years under idea conditions.
>
Yeah. Do fish go blind from old age? I wonder if he'd do better if you
feed extra, let him get enough food by bumping into it or whatever he
needs to do, and then net the rest of the pellets out of the tank.

I'd also make sure there's no OTS in his tank/bowl. Clean out the
gravel really well and do a few big water changes to lower nitrates.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[bettasngoldfish]

Hi Teri, It may just be that old age is creeping up on him. Many times
when we purchased bettas from a pet store they are already six months
to a year old. The average life span is only two to three years
although, many people have reported their bettas to live four to five
years. Some of it may be due to genetics and of course the type of
care and food the fish is being fed. If you had him for a year and a
half then I would guess its age. Of course I don't know anything about
your set up. But, if you say nothing has changed with his food or
water changes and he has been healthy until now then I am guessing its
due to his age. Maybe try soaking his food first?

Maria

[dragon]

This happened to one of my bettas when I was overfeeding him. His swim
bladder got messed up and he couldn't grab the pellets floating on the
surface, just as you describe. Kinda heartbreaking to watch.... I
would try feeding him less and see if that clears up the situation. My
betta is now just fine, so I'll wish that for you as well.

dragon

[Elaine T]

dragon wrote:
> This happened to one of my bettas when I was overfeeding him. His swim
> bladder got messed up and he couldn't grab the pellets floating on the
> surface, just as you describe. Kinda heartbreaking to watch.... I
> would try feeding him less and see if that clears up the situation. My
> betta is now just fine, so I'll wish that for you as well.
>
> dragon
>
You made me think that maybe he'd like live food better. Maybe
blackworms? My bettas will grab wriggling blackworms off of my finger
with great relish. Live food doesn't mess with the swim bladder.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[lgb]

In article >, eetmail-
says...
> You made me think that maybe he'd like live food better. Maybe
> blackworms? My bettas will grab wriggling blackworms off of my finger
> with great relish. Live food doesn't mess with the swim bladder.
>
Mine wouldn't eat frozen bloodworms until I fed live blackworms. Took
two days, but now they recognize worms as food. Live or frozen. Ever
see two platys each with one end of the same worm? The betta has to
scramble to get his share :-).

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[IDzine01]

Teri,

I just wanted to give my experience too. I have heard MANY people ask
about bettas loosing their sight as they age but never knew the answer.
Now one of my boys is reaching about 2.5 - 3 years now and he is doing
exactly what you described. (Started about 2 months ago)

I know he can see because he is aware of me when I come in. He knows I
have put food in the tank and he can usually get it if it's sitting on
the bottom. When it's floating on the surface or in mid tank, however,
he has a very difficult time gauging it and it often ends up on his
head or missed completely. This never happened before.

To feed him I've been dropping food directly in front of his eye or
allowing it to sink. Some bettas won't eat off the bottom but mine
always has so it's no problem. Also, I now feed worms from an eye
dropper and I find this helps a little bit. He still eats with gusto,
it just takes a little longer. From my observations, I'm beginning to
believe bettas do experience some kind of degeneration of their
eyesight in old age. Maybe not blindness but possibly a loss of depth
perception.

[teri]

>I just wanted to give my experience too. I have heard MANY people ask
>about bettas loosing their sight as they age but never knew the answer.
>Now one of my boys is reaching about 2.5 - 3 years now and he is doing
>exactly what you described. (Started about 2 months ago)
>
>I know he can see because he is aware of me when I come in. He knows I
>have put food in the tank and he can usually get it if it's sitting on
>the bottom. When it's floating on the surface or in mid tank, however,
>he has a very difficult time gauging it and it often ends up on his
>head or missed completely. This never happened before.
>
>To feed him I've been dropping food directly in front of his eye or
>allowing it to sink. Some bettas won't eat off the bottom but mine
>always has so it's no problem. Also, I now feed worms from an eye
>dropper and I find this helps a little bit. He still eats with gusto,
>it just takes a little longer. From my observations, I'm beginning to
>believe bettas do experience some kind of degeneration of their
>eyesight in old age. Maybe not blindness but possibly a loss of depth
>perception.
Exactly. Poor mouth-eye coordination. It is sad to watch. I will
try worms from a dropper or syringe. Thanks.
Teri

[lgb]

In article >,
says...
> Exactly. Poor mouth-eye coordination. It is sad to watch. I will
> try worms from a dropper or syringe. Thanks.
>
Make sure it's a plastic eyedropper and not glass. Mine sucks the worms
right out of the dropper :-).

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[IDzine01]

Hmmm. Mine is glass. Can you elaborate lgb?

[lgb]

In article . com>,
says...
> Hmmm. Mine is glass. Can you elaborate lgb?
>
The ones I have are just the regular eyedroppers you get in small
medicine bottles, but the tube is plastic. I don't remember where I got
them, but it's been a long time since I've seen glass eyedropper tubes.
I assumed they changed to plastic for safety reasons.

My comment was based on the way my bettas attack the eyedropper. I
don't think they could actually break the glass, but I think they could
cut their mouth on the edges. So ask your druggist if he has some
plastic ones and be safe. If you're a good customer he (or she) might
even give you some for free.

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[Dr Engelbert Buxbaum]

lgb wrote:

> So ask your druggist if he has some
> plastic ones and be safe. If you're a good customer he (or she) might
> even give you some for free.

You may also ask for plastic "Pasteur pipettes", these are disposable
items present in just about any lab.

[teri]

>> So ask your druggist if he has some
>> plastic ones and be safe. If you're a good customer he (or she) might
>> even give you some for free.
>
>You may also ask for plastic "Pasteur pipettes", these are disposable
>items present in just about any lab.

finding a way to feed him the worms isn't a problem, he lives in an
operating room so we have lots of toys. Finding live blackworms is
the stumbling block.
Teri

[Tynk]

Just a word of caution.....
Be carefull with feeding live Blackworms. They quite often carry
disease/parasites in with them.
I don't ever chance it.
Even the ones labeled 100% "safe".....they're not.

[lgb]

In article . com>,
says...
> Just a word of caution.....
> Be carefull with feeding live Blackworms. They quite often carry
> disease/parasites in with them.
> I don't ever chance it.
> Even the ones labeled 100% "safe".....they're not.
>
I'd read it was the tubifex worms that were a real problem.

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[Elaine T]

Tynk wrote:
> Just a word of caution.....
> Be carefull with feeding live Blackworms. They quite often carry
> disease/parasites in with them.
> I don't ever chance it.
> Even the ones labeled 100% "safe".....they're not.
>
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/feeding/blackworms.shtml is the
best article on blackworms I have ever seen. I've never had a problem
feeding them, and now I know why.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[IDzine01]

Live tubifex have had a bad reputation in the past though they are now
beginning to break free of that. Frozen tubifex from a reputable
manufacturer like Hikari are safe. With any live food, precautions
should be taken. For instance, if you buy live blackworms you should
wash them daily and never feed dead worms to your fish. There is some
hype as to whether or not blackworms have are more likely to harbor
diseases. I've heard people blame a lot of things on blackworms but
personally I have never had a single death or illness that could be
attributed to the use of blackworms. They have high nutritional value
and are eaten voraciously by my bettas so I will continue to use them
until I see solid evidence that they cause more harm then good.

[Tynk]

I do love the Hikari frozen foods.
Actually, when it comes to frozen Bloodworms or Brine Shrimp, it is the
*only* brand I will buy.

[IDzine01]

I like SFB foods too, but I agree Tynk, Hikari puts out the best
product.

[Tynk]

That's the one brand I *won't* buy.
Every time I have, there's a lot of crud in with the food, the food
it's self isn't even as good.
SFB Brine Shrimp is a mess! I used that once when Hikari was out and I
fed it. My tank was a complete mess. My hubby, who knows absolutely
nothing about fish or tanks, walks by and says "What happened?!?!" That
was the last time I bought SFB brand anything.
Before that batch of Brine (and that batch had not been thawed and
refrozen...so it wasn't bad, the quality was)...but I had bought the
SFB Bloodworms. The worms were thin pale things and there were also
many bits of drbris in with it as well. Made for dirty tanks too.
The Hikari worms are plump and bright red and there's not much crud in
with the worms. Same goes for the Brine.

[teri]

Well, our betta at work who had been having all the trouble eating his
food and missing it is doing much much better. I have gotten him a
nicer 2.5 gal. tank with a light to keep him warmer (think he was way
too cold before), and am feeding him a different food - it is a
tropical fish food, but has smaller pellets, some of which sink, some
float. He dives crazily after the ones that sink, and has no trouble
with these floaties. He swims around more, where he had been mainly
laying on the bottom or hanging at the top. See what a difference a
little education, (and an Extreme Makeover - Bowl Edition) can make.
Teri