help for a sick betta

[burglar_4]

How long have you had the Betta, and was the tank fully cycled before introducing him?

bigtop said:

I would do daily water changes if you have any ammonia registering at all and add the aquarium salt each time.

[roygun_1]

I'm worried my Betta might have fin rot and possibly a swim bladder issue - he's been resting like this a lot, as you can see in the picture. I know the picture quality isn't great, sorry about that. Does anyone have any advice? Would doing daily 75 percent water changes with gravel vac and adding aquarium salt for a few weeks help? Is there anything else I should try?

My tank is filtered and heated, 5 gallons, so I'm stumped as to what could be causing the problem.

I'm curious, what's your feeding schedule like for your Betta? How often do you feed and how much do you give him? Considering the ammonia issue, I'd probably cut back on feeding to every other day until the tank stabilizes.

[burglar_4]

I'm worried my Betta might have fin rot and possibly a swim bladder issue - he's been resting like this a lot, as you can see in the picture. I know the picture quality isn't great, sorry about that. Does anyone have any advice? Would doing daily 75 percent water changes with gravel vac and adding aquarium salt for a few weeks help? Is there anything else I should try?

My tank is filtered and heated, 5 gallons, so I'm stumped as to what could be causing the problem.

I'm curious, what's your feeding schedule like for your Betta? How often do you feed and how much do you give him? Considering the ammonia issue, I'd probably cut back on feeding to every other day until the tank stabilizes.

Thanks for the advice. I've been feeding bloodworms, and lately, I've been adding a few fruit flies to the mix - my dart frogs love 'em, and my betta seems to enjoy them too. I'm wondering, if I switch to just fruit flies, would that help reduce ammonia levels? I'm not sure if that'd have any negative effects on my betta, though.

[belleora]

I didn't see your post initially, but I'm glad I went back to review the thread - I'd love to hear your thoughts on my fin rot and possible swim bladder problem. I've had him for about six months now and have moved him between two different tanks, but both were fully cycled before he was introduced. I'm doing a 50% water change with aquarium salt, and was thinking of doing daily changes until the ammonia is gone. I'm also considering reducing feeding to once every other day, as I've been feeding him bloodworms and recently added some fruit flies to the mix - he loves those. Would you recommend switching to only fruit flies to help reduce ammonia, or could that have negative effects on my betta?

[kingrise]

Your Betta's symptoms do seem to point towards fin rot and possibly a swim bladder issue. Fin rot often stems from poor water quality, so I'd recommend doing 50% water changes daily for about a week or until you notice an improvement.

I'm curious about the bloodworms you're feeding him - are they freeze-dried or fresh? I've never come across anyone feeding their Betta fruit flies, by the way. You might want to look into some higher-quality food options like Bug Bites, New Life Spectrum, or Omega One. For now, you could try feeding him a cut-up pea to help with the bloating. My hunch is that you might be overfeeding or using old bloodworms.