blue betta

a while back, not to long ago I had got two red bettas from my LFS that is
closing, they were sick and they had got into a fight at some point before I
got them (fins were a mess) and a couple people on here helped me, and they
are doing great now, fins are even looking better
so maybe I can ask one more time.
My husband will be happy at the end of the month when I will have to go
further then three blocks to bring fish home (LFS is closing) : )
They had two blue betta's (who did not look bad) but after a couple days I
noticed one had a couple spots that looked like ick, at that point I should
have looked close but did not, I started a ick treatment yesterday morning,
today I noticed that one was just staying on the bottom of the tank not
coming up to eat or anything, I got a magnified glass and was looking close
at him and thought I seen black spots but they are pin holes, now I am not
sure if in the light I was using it was ick or these pin holes i was seeing,
I think the pinholes are tail rot (tell me if I am wrong) I have an
antibiotic that says its for tail rot, so I opened the capsule and put some
in, now I don't know if I should treat with ick or antibiotic, I figure
while this is going on I will change water every day, but as of last night
it has not eaten, which is not good, anything else i should be doing?
thanks Nikki

Nikki wrote:
a while back, not to long ago I had got two red bettas from my LFS that is
closing, they were sick and they had got into a fight at some point before I
got them (fins were a mess) and a couple people on here helped me, and they
are doing great now, fins are even looking better
so maybe I can ask one more time.
My husband will be happy at the end of the month when I will have to go
further then three blocks to bring fish home (LFS is closing) : )
They had two blue betta's (who did not look bad) but after a couple days I
noticed one had a couple spots that looked like ick, at that point I should
have looked close but did not, I started a ick treatment yesterday morning,
today I noticed that one was just staying on the bottom of the tank not
coming up to eat or anything, I got a magnified glass and was looking close
at him and thought I seen black spots but they are pin holes, now I am not
sure if in the light I was using it was ick or these pin holes i was seeing,
I think the pinholes are tail rot (tell me if I am wrong) I have an
antibiotic that says its for tail rot, so I opened the capsule and put some
in, now I don't know if I should treat with ick or antibiotic, I figure
while this is going on I will change water every day, but as of last night
it has not eaten, which is not good, anything else i should be doing?
thanks Nikki

Pin holes or splits in the fins are minor damage from poor water quality
or ammonia. They're really common in pet store bettas where the water
isn't changed enough. That sort of damage will heal on its own and your
daily water changes are perfect. If any whitish clumps or fuzz develop
on the fin, try treating daily with a Q-tip and some peroxide. Then dab
on Neosporin (thanks, Frank!).

If you are SURE there was ich, use the ich medicine the same as with
your other bettas.

Now, the not eating and lethargy is troublesome. It's a sign of an
internal parasitic or bacterial infection. To be honest, I don't have
much luck treating fish that have stopped eating. Changing a lot of
water will help his immune system start working better so watch for a
few more days and see if he doesn't improve.

If he doesn't perk up, ping Tynk or IDzine and see whether they have any
ideas. Both are betta breeders and experts.

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If he doesn't perk up, ping Tynk or IDzine and see whether they have any
ideas. Both are betta breeders and experts.

I don't breed bettas I just keep them... love too, but I don't ...
That's all Tynk.

Actually, I'm not an expert either. Sounds nice though. I think of
experts as those crazy guys at the aquarium clubs who speak of aquarium
fish only in their Latin names and use lots of acronyms. You know, the
one's who spend all their wife's hard earned money for one more trip to
Malaysia, China, South America... etc to wade through leech infested
swamps and photograph long lost wild species. I watch them in awe.

"IDzine01" wrote in message
ups.com...
I don't breed bettas I just keep them... love too, but I don't ...
That's all Tynk.

I have never breed betta's, but have raised guppy fry which turned out very
pretty (not that i had to do much, but i'll take credit for it anyway) but i
have tried to get a female betta, no local pet stores carry them... said
they are ungly...hmm...so i found a place that breeds all kind of neat fish
and they are going to order them for me, i figured i may be better off with
my own instead of buying them sick from the store around here.
Nikki

Nikki wrote:
"IDzine01" wrote in message
ups.com...
I don't breed bettas I just keep them... love too, but I don't ...
That's all Tynk.

I have never breed betta's, but have raised guppy fry which turned out very
pretty (not that i had to do much, but i'll take credit for it anyway) but i
have tried to get a female betta, ...so i found a place that breeds all kind of neat fish
and they are going to order them for me, i figured i may be better off with
my own instead of buying them sick from the store around here.
Nikki
Hi there Nikki.

no local pet stores carry them... said
they are ungly...hmm

Anyone who claims that female Bettas are ugly is a fool and doesn't
know squat about Bettas!!!!
Oh this one makes me as mad as when people pronounce Betta as "bait-uh"
(it's Bet-uh of course).
I would like to email you some pics of female Bettas and you can tell
me how *ugly* they are, LOL.
You see....
In the shops most females will show *submission coloring*. This is
simply because they've been tossed together with other strange females
that they do not know. They do not have a hierarchy established and
that means everybody is a little freaked out.
Their submission coloring is when they blanch out their coloring and
show horizontal barring. Once in their estrablished new home, they
quickly color up.
Of course may times in the shops you will see lovely colored females
all in one tank.
They are either spawn siblings and have had their pecking order figured
out since they were babes, or they have been sitting there a while and
have established their hierarchy already.
So drop me an email to remind me to send you pics of my personal *ugly*
female Bettas. = )~
Ugly....sheesh!
More like ignorant employees.
I will add one more thing too....do NOT even think about spawning
Bettas until you have a lot of experience in Betta husbandry, and
become well educated in Betta body language, proper care, and the much
needed research on how to raise Betta fry. These babies are almost too
small to even see when hatched.
I'm talking get out a magnifying glass until they're a few days old.
Because of their tiny size, they need special size foods and even the
tank conditions need to be just right or they all die off.
You know how large your live bearer fry were. Those are huge monster
babies compared to Betta fry.
= O ---- you're making this face right now, aren't you. = )

Anyone who claims that female Bettas are ugly is a fool and doesn't
know squat about Bettas!

Agreed. A tank full of just female bettas can be quite
stunning.


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"Tynk" wrote in message
ups.com...

Nikki wrote:
"IDzine01" wrote in message
ups.com...
I don't breed bettas I just keep them... love too, but I don't ...
That's all Tynk.

I have never breed betta's, but have raised guppy fry which turned out
very
pretty (not that i had to do much, but i'll take credit for it anyway)
but i
have tried to get a female betta, ...so i found a place that breeds all
kind of neat fish
and they are going to order them for me, i figured i may be better off
with
my own instead of buying them sick from the store around here.
Nikki
Hi there Nikki.

no local pet stores carry them... said
they are ungly...hmm

Anyone who claims that female Bettas are ugly is a fool and doesn't
know squat about Bettas!!!!
Oh this one makes me as mad as when people pronounce Betta as "bait-uh"
(it's Bet-uh of course).
I would like to email you some pics of female Bettas and you can tell
me how *ugly* they are, LOL.
You see....
In the shops most females will show *submission coloring*. This is
simply because they've been tossed together with other strange females
that they do not know. They do not have a hierarchy established and
that means everybody is a little freaked out.
Their submission coloring is when they blanch out their coloring and
show horizontal barring. Once in their estrablished new home, they
quickly color up.
Of course may times in the shops you will see lovely colored females
all in one tank.
They are either spawn siblings and have had their pecking order figured
out since they were babes, or they have been sitting there a while and
have established their hierarchy already.
So drop me an email to remind me to send you pics of my personal *ugly*
female Bettas. = )~
Ugly....sheesh!
More like ignorant employees.
I will add one more thing too....do NOT even think about spawning
Bettas until you have a lot of experience in Betta husbandry, and
become well educated in Betta body language, proper care, and the much
needed research on how to raise Betta fry. These babies are almost too
small to even see when hatched.
I'm talking get out a magnifying glass until they're a few days old.
Because of their tiny size, they need special size foods and even the
tank conditions need to be just right or they all die off.
You know how large your live bearer fry were. Those are huge monster
babies compared to Betta fry.
= O ---- you're making this face right now, aren't you. = )


No, not at all, I like all the info I can get, your right I have only been
keeping betta's for a short while, but really do enjoy them, I have read a
lot about breeding them, every thing I could find off the net anyway, but I
am aware doing it is much different, but I would not do it until I was a bit
more confident in keeping mom & dad alive first.
But I am getting a few females now, I also have seen a lot of pretty female
betta's, I have a breeder ordering them for me, I ask one of the fish stores
around here first and she said she can only get them six at a time, then no
one wants them because they are ugly, so she is stuck with them, I did
offered to get all six, but she said no its a hassle, I called some of the
other places and they told me the same thing, every one wants the males
because they are pretty, they said when people see the female they are not
want they want because they are not pretty like the male.
So yes I agree with you and don't think they are ugly, however if you think
about some of the reasons people get bettas, they see them and think they
are pretty and easy to take care of, for a first fish for their kids, they
usually don't get taken care of well, most of the time no filter or heater,
that's even if they are ok when you buy them, I have got four, three were
sick that same day, which is from being left in cups at the store, the blue
ones I just got, there was a film over the water when I got them, and really
how hard is it to change water in a cup.
Anyway before I decide to breed them I will have had figured it out, until
six months ago we only had "big fish" we kept Oscars, paccu piranha's, we
did have a few jack dempsey's, but mostly big fish which were easier to take
care of in the sense they did not get sick as often, and they lived a long
time.
anyway thanks for the info
and remember to send the pic of your female betta's

IDzine01 wrote:
If he doesn't perk up, ping Tynk or IDzine and see whether they have any
ideas. Both are betta breeders and experts.

I don't breed bettas I just keep them... love too, but I don't ...
That's all Tynk.

Actually, I'm not an expert either. Sounds nice though. I think of
experts as those crazy guys at the aquarium clubs who speak of aquarium
fish only in their Latin names and use lots of acronyms. You know, the
one's who spend all their wife's hard earned money for one more trip to
Malaysia, China, South America... etc to wade through leech infested
swamps and photograph long lost wild species. I watch them in awe.

I totally feel the same way IDzine01!!
I just have yrs of hands on experience with these fish and I have
concentrated on them as well as Angelfish for most of those yrs.
Also...I made just about every mistake a newbie could at the beginning,
so I like to try and help folks avoid those blunders I have already
perfected. LOL


Actually, I'm not an expert either. Sounds nice though. I think of
experts as those crazy guys at the aquarium clubs who speak of aquarium
fish only in their Latin names and use lots of acronyms. You know, the
one's who spend all their wife's hard earned money for one more trip to
Malaysia, China, South America... etc to wade through leech infested
swamps and photograph long lost wild species. I watch them in awe.

I think there may be a bit of overmedicating going on here. Pin holes
in the tail are nothing to worry about and will heal themselves in a
couple of days. Even more serious fin rot can often be treated
successfully by increasing your water changes and monitoring your water
parameters. To put an already stressed fish through a course of
antibiotics may add additional stress.

That said, it's important to finish the course of Ich treatment. As you
may or may not know there are three life stages to these parasites and
they are only affected by the medication a couple of days out of the
cycle so if you stop treating the Ich it's very possible you will miss
those days and they will return in greater numbers.

Whether or not you finish the treatment of antibiotics is sort of up to
you. Antibiotics should be followed through because under-medicating or
shortening the course may lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. On the
other hand, unnecessary treatment may be harmful to your betta.

IDzine01 wrote:
I think there may be a bit of overmedicating going on here. Pin holes
in the tail are nothing to worry about and will heal themselves in a
couple of days. Even more serious fin rot can often be treated
successfully by increasing your water changes and monitoring your water
parameters. To put an already stressed fish through a course of
antibiotics may add additional stress.

That said, it's important to finish the course of Ich treatment. As you
may or may not know there are three life stages to these parasites and
they are only affected by the medication a couple of days out of the
cycle so if you stop treating the Ich it's very possible you will miss
those days and they will return in greater numbers.

Whether or not you finish the treatment of antibiotics is sort of up to
you. Antibiotics should be followed through because under-medicating or
shortening the course may lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. On the
other hand, unnecessary treatment may be harmful to your betta.

I fully agree with IDzine01. = )

Increase water changes, don't rush into medicating, and finish the Ich
meds. I prefer Quick Cure to any other Ich med...even those with the
same ingredients (RidIch and RidIch+) don't seem to work as fast and I
don't know why.
I also treat a full 7 days (bottle says like 3). The life cycle of the
Ich parasite can only be killed at one stage of it's life cycle, and
it's not the stage of white spots you see on the fish either.
This is why a full 7-10 day treatment is needed.
I also will NOT treat with quick cure if a new fish shows a spot or
two. I first do another water change and some salt.
If your water is kept clean, and you catch it fast, and the fish isn't
suffering from anything else that would tax it's immune system, they
99% oif the time fight the little buggers themselves without the need
for harsh medications....which all Ich meds are.
Same with antibiotics...never treat unless you are absolutely sure what
you are treating and that it's the proper antibiotic. Many just treat
gram negative or gram positive strains of bacteria.....and not every
infection is the same, so you really need to know what you are dealing
with before treating.
Some antibiotics are broad spectrum and treat both gram positive and
negative strains of bacterial infections, but again, never treat unless
you are absolutely sure of what it is your fish is fighting.