Betta Disaster

Wow. Ok first i just wanted to thank everyone so much. I'm getting more
legitimate advice and help here than at the local pet store. The people
at Petco actually know me as "betta-guy" because I'm calling nearly
everyday for help. Haha they don't ever sound happy to talk to me
either... anyway, things are looking a little bit better...and then a
little bit worse. The fish that had Ich the worst is the best off now
in the tank. However, the fish least effected by the Ich has developed
pretty severe case of Popeye. They all seem to have finrot, but the
good news is i have a heater (long overdue) they are still eating, and
the one with the bad popeye, can still see and even flares the most out
of all three right now. Now that it has been a couple days, i began a
Maracyn-Two treatment to take care of the Fin Rot and Popeye. Haha i
just hope the Ich doesnt resurface...but as long as im slowly raising
the water temp. that shouldnt happen i hope. Unfortunately the local
petco doesnt carry alot of the medications/water treatments you all
mentioned, but i hope this will work alright in place. Again, thank you
all very much, and i'll keep posting.

wes the "betta guy"

oh yea! one other thing...the strangest thing happened. I was out one
night and I had asked someone to check up on my fish...i call up to see
how things were, and they told me one of the bettas had somehow wound
up in another section of the tank. as i mentioned before, its a 10 g
tank divided three ways with plastic screens. i cant for the life of me
figure out how this betta did this...it doesnt look like there was
anyway for the one betta to dig through an inch and a half of gravel to
reach the bottom of the divider...and also, there is a glass top that
leaves nearly a 1/4 inch of space...i dont understand how he could have
jumped out of the water and through such a small space. ive heard
bettas can be little jumpers on occassion, but that seems like quite a
trick. Interestingly enough, the two male bettas stayed out of there
way within the same space until i got home. After watching them for a
little while they began to dance around each other and flare a little,
so to be safe i moved Flame back to his side, even though he probably
just wanted some company haha. anyway, just thought it was an
interesting story.

"thewes" wrote in message
oups.com...

oh yea! one other thing...the strangest thing happened. I was out one
night and I had asked someone to check up on my fish...i call up to see
how things were, and they told me one of the bettas had somehow wound
up in another section of the tank.

Bettas can be amazingly resourceful when it comes to getting out of their
tanks. I have a mesh screen under the glass on one of my female tanks
because at least one of the little minxes will jump as soon as I take the
glass off. (One has survived a high dive from 5 ft).

My gender-confused erstwhile girl Sandra, now a handsome male plakat renamed
Ming the Merciless, accomplished a similar Houdini feat to your fellow, and
nearly killed my favourite turquoise crowntail -- hence the new name.

Vicki PS

Subject: Betta Disaster
From: "thewes"
Date: 1/30/2005 6:04 P.M. Central Standard Time
Message-id: .com

Wow. Ok first i just wanted to thank everyone so much. I'm getting more
legitimate advice and help here than at the local pet store. The people
at Petco actually know me as "betta-guy" because I'm calling nearly
everyday for help. Haha they don't ever sound happy to talk to me
either... anyway, things are looking a little bit better...and then a
little bit worse. The fish that had Ich the worst is the best off now
in the tank. However, the fish least effected by the Ich has developed
pretty severe case of Popeye. They all seem to have finrot, but the
good news is i have a heater (long overdue) they are still eating, and
the one with the bad popeye, can still see and even flares the most out
of all three right now. Now that it has been a couple days, i began a
Maracyn-Two treatment to take care of the Fin Rot and Popeye. Haha i
just hope the Ich doesnt resurface...but as long as im slowly raising
the water temp. that shouldnt happen i hope. Unfortunately the local
petco doesnt carry alot of the medications/water treatments you all
mentioned, but i hope this will work alright in place. Again, thank you
all very much, and i'll keep posting.

wes the "betta guy"

oh yea! one other thing...the strangest thing happened. I was out one
night and I had asked someone to check up on my fish...i call up to see
how things were, and they told me one of the bettas had somehow wound
up in another section of the tank. as i mentioned before, its a 10 g
tank divided three ways with plastic screens. i cant for the life of me
figure out how this betta did this...it doesnt look like there was
anyway for the one betta to dig through an inch and a half of gravel to
reach the bottom of the divider...and also, there is a glass top that
leaves nearly a 1/4 inch of space...i dont understand how he could have
jumped out of the water and through such a small space. ive heard
bettas can be little jumpers on occassion, but that seems like quite a
trick. Interestingly enough, the two male bettas stayed out of there
way within the same space until i got home. After watching them for a
little while they began to dance around each other and flare a little,
so to be safe i moved Flame back to his side, even though he probably
just wanted some company haha. anyway, just thought it was an
interesting story.


Bettas can jump and wiggle themselves through the tiniest of spaces. You've
just had it happen. He's either gone up and over, or squeezed between the
plastic divider and the glass wall.

Have read your Betta saga ... the fish in temp fluctuations stress
easily. When they stress they lose their disease resistance. Written
info - on line if necessary recommends the calming restorative aids such
as Melaleuca (which is actually sold as Betta Care at $2.99 a small
bottle & Melaflor or some such in prices from $6.74 a large bottle at
Walmart to $9 at smaller pet stores.)
The product actually is derived from tea trees & is commended for many
fish especially Bettas.

The other alert .. and the aquamaniac poster has it as wellas others is
for 'flexibacter columnaris' ... a bacterium which thrives on fish
stress especially when fueld by food spoils and igher temperatures.

I lost two this past weekend .. includig a case of cottony fungus -
which was probably flexbacter. In my case, the temperature had been
gradually raised to 80F for a spawning. Also two 'housekeeping' fish in
the same tank had been fed another food which the betta occasionally ate
but regurgitated. Itwas the regurgitated food on the bottom of a
filtered warmer tank which provide a growth medium .. and perhaps the
stress of a newly introduced female.

The flexbacter treatment is referenced several places on line .. and
includes tetracycline. Also lowering the temperature --and watch the
fish stress-- slws the bacterium's growth.
A costly discovery but a permanent lesson - fortunately my bettas have
been replaced and the tank is ok.

As to filtering .. as with any 'clean' tank some debris may reach the
bottom ... yes your catfish or scavengers may consume it .. and yes your
mechanical filter will eventually collect it ..and no you won't see any
cloudyness as with overfeeding bacterial blooms ... but it will be the
growth medum the flexbacter needs if your temperature is up (it slows or
stalls below 76F ) and its signs are that fungus look, fin rot etc. SO
if a sponge filter or uergravel filter is in use and this occurs .
either assiduous syphon cleaning every few hours or eliminating the
food which causes it.

Good luck


Hope this helps.

Just another reference .. this may be less a problem for small bowl
betta keepers .. becuase they forgo temperature controls (if the room is
warm enough) ..and change water in a bowl as needed or weekly in smaller
quantities ..and usually just feed pellets or blood worms. That being
their world the betta adjusts and lives a simpler life. We complicate
it for them and have to adjust.