They are all likely sick bettas possibly on the verge of soon to be dead bettas!
But you don't have to wait for the seemingly inevitable ride on the porcelain railroad that departs with a flush. You can fight back. You can learn to diagnose what ails them and bring them back to the active, healthy little fighting fish you know and love. Just takes a bit of know-how and some TLC.
To help with that here's some ideas on what to do when you see your feisty crowntail male is not quite acting like his normal, energetic, playful self.
Talking Symptoms of a Sick Betta
Treatment of bettas who have come down with something all starts with understanding the symptoms. Truth is you can't treat the disease you can't diagnose. So when it comes to symptoms, you'll know your betta might be getting sick if you remember "AILING".
- A - ALL covered with SPOTS
- I - IF his belly is BLOATED or swollen
- L - LOSS of FINNAGE as in eaten away
- I - IF fins are CLAMPED SHUT
- N - NO APPETITE
- G - GROWTHS and sores on his body
Any of those signs and symptoms can spell trouble. And suggest you need to investigate further to see if you can't figure out exactly what's AILING your pet. See how helpful that little mental memory jogger can be?
Talking Sick Betta Treatment
Of course if you have a betta fish that is AILING in some way you need to respond or obviously he might be a floater before you know it.To help with that this video hits the high points of how to treat your sick veiltail betta fish.
The point already made about the role of proper diagnosis is reinforced early on. Again, in order to treat your ailing fish, you need to properly diagnose what's wrong. This is key and where many betta keepers go astray. They start dumping in "stuff" in the hopes it will cure whatever ails their fish. That's a mistake. Possibly a big mistake. Because as the old saying goes this could be a case where the cure is worse than the disease. Especially if it's the wrong cure.
Now the more common ailments are typically caused by a fungus, bacteria or some insidious parasite.
The first type of common problems with a sick fish you'll see would fall into the camp of white cottony growths on their body, rotting or fins that look like they've been eaten away, or cloudy or protruding eyes. These are fungus based. Treatments such as Fungus Cure by API are suggested.
Another key, not-to-be-missed point is made about using any product to treat your fighting fish. That would be to carefully read and follow ALL the directions. They'll tell you how to use it and how much to use. This is not the time to matter-of-factly or willy nilly make your best guess. It's your job to put your betta in the best possible position to recover. Don't blow it.
Changing water is a common thread with most sick fighting fish treatments. It's no different here. Because water is the source of the problems far too often.
A third key, not-to-be-missed point is to remember is to get rid of any carbon you may have in your filter as all it will do is remove the medication from the water. Rendering it useless.
Okay then another problem afflicting bettas is columnaris. You'll know this because there looks to be something slime-like covering the fish's entire body. This is a bacterial problem and there are anti bacterial treatments for that. Again water changes are part of the prescription.
Here's an admittedly less than great video of what columnaris looks like.
The final all too common ailment mentioned is ich. This one kinda looks like someone has sprinkled salt on your betta. Again remedies are suggested. NOTE: Ich does require a longer treatment period to insure you are treating all three stages involved in the life cycle of this parasite. Fail to do so and it will never go away. But your fish likely will. Cold water is often the culprit here. So raising the temps is also felt to be helpful when treating ICH.
To sum this up
- Read and follow ALL direction of any medications you decide to use
- Change water frequently
- Remove the activated carbon in your filter
Talking Care of a Sick Betta Fish At the First Signs of Illness
Remember that a healthy betta is usually a hungry betta. They instinctively seek out food all the time because in the wild you never know where your next meal is going to come from. So if your guy suddenly shows a lack of interest in eating that's a bad sign.
Then too bettas are usually quite active. Lethargy or inactivity suggest something is amiss
If you notice either lack of appetite or sudden laziness start with the symptoms in AILING to see if anything wrong jumps out at you. Then go from there.
Sometimes it's nothing more than poor water quality that putting your guy off his feed. Poor water is a big beta fish care NO NO! One that is easily avoided. Remember he is adding ammonia to his water all the time. The water may be crystal clear yet laced with this deadly chemical. The best way to monitor this is with a test kit. Any level above zero is a cause for concern and call for immediate water changes.
CONCLUSION: When it comes to diseases of the betta splendens we've barely scratched the surface here. Siamese fighting fish are prone to many health problems. Most are caused by the fish living in water that leaves a bit to be desired. But at least now, with the help of AILING, you might be in a better position to respond at the first sign your betta could be sick.
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