Betta struggles after roundworm treatment

[lyrix]

I'm fairly limited on space, this is a 10 gallon long. Would broad leafed Anacharis still do well despite not having depth? I had a narrow leafed variety before, and like you said, my betta didn't really care for it.

I'm not opposed to adding more plants, since changing over to a canister filter I did free up a corner. I think I could get away with one or two more. Do these also prefer to be tied down or free float, or should they be buried in substrate?

I'm planning on checking out my LFS today to see what foods they have in stock and to also potentially grab a broad leaf plant or two. I'll brave the -26F wind chill for my little guy's sake. The Anacharis I had was a pain to clean up after, but I'd go through it again if it meant making him more comfortable.

Today's tank maintenance day, so I'll be fiddling around in there and making adjustments to the flow diverter and scrubbing plants/vacuuming sand. I'll do a 50% change instead of a 75% as to not shock the little man, and since water parameters are still very good.

[kingrise]

Morning,
I'm hoping I've got the right spot to post about my concerns with my King Male betta - if not, please let me know and I'll repost accordingly. I'm still getting the hang of these threads and just looking for some advice.

I've got a male King Betta, rescued from a pet store about 6-8 months ago, who was struggling with fin rot. I've had him in a 10-gallon planted tank with an air pump, heater, and canister filter. His light's on a timer for 6 hours a day, and his water parameters are good - I do 25% water changes weekly, and I've got zero nitrates, nitrites, or ammonia.

About two weeks ago, I noticed he was worm-burdened - I'm pretty sure it's roundworm. I think I must've introduced it through some new plants I added, despite quarantining them. I didn't have any antiparasitic meds on hand, so I used some fenbendazole I had from work - I'm in the veterinary industry. I did 100mg per 10 gallons, and our exotics doc calculated the dose. I crushed the meds, reconstituted them in betta water, and let it sit for a few hours to dissolve.

I also got some medicated food with metronidazole and praziquantel, but I read that fenbendazole in the water wasn't very effective. I went ahead and tried it anyway - dosed him for two days, did a 50% water change, and then dosed again. I used Stress Coat and almond leaf extract to boost the tannins during treatment.

After a few days, I did another 25% water change and noticed his eyes were cloudy and his fins were clamped. The medicated food arrived, but he refused to eat it - even with garlic guard. I ended up getting some Geneflake Cure and dosed him according to the package directions. I stopped filtration and did the recommended water changes.

Filtration was turned back on, but his eye cloudiness remained, so I started him on Doxycycline. I also did some salt baths to help with gut motility and replace electrolytes since he stopped eating altogether - pellets, flakes, crumbles, blood worms, peas, you name it.

I'm getting worried he might have blood poisoning - there's what looks like hemorrhaging on his abdomen. He's listless, rubbing on the substrate and rocks, and not active at all. I'm not sure what to do next. He's still refusing food, and it's been three weeks. I'm wondering if the roundworms died inside him and caused an internal bacterial infection.

I've tried to reduce his stress during treatment, but it's hard - he's very sensitive. I've let him sit for days between treatments and haven't done multiple treatments at once.

Am I overdoing and overthinking this? Should I just let him sit in his main tank or risk the stress and move him to his hospital tank? Should I treat again with erythromycin? I'm at a loss, and I don't want to give up on the little guy - I've got clove oil on hand if it comes to that.

On a side note, he can still swim - he takes a cruise around his tank a few times a day and doesn't appear to be sinking. He comes up for food every morning but eats it and spits it right back out.

I definitely wouldn't recommend venturing out in this crazy weather... By "clean up after", I'm assuming you mean the Anacharis plant? I've had my fair share of experience with it, and I know it can be a real pain to deal with. Did it melt or did your Betta just destroy it?

I've had my Anacharis plants in both short and deep tanks, and I can tell you that they do just fine in shorter tanks. In fact, I think they might even prefer it. My 10g Betta tank has a beautiful Anacharis plant that's thriving, and my 20g long tank has a few as well.

As for planting them, I've found that they do best when they're planted in the substrate. I use a pair of aquascaping tweezers to plant them, and it makes a huge difference. They grow faster, healthier, and more bushy when they're planted in the substrate.

And yeah, I can relate to your struggle with keeping the betta water at room temp. I don't have a heater for my water, so I usually just let it float in a container in the sink with some hot water until it reaches the right temperature.

[lyrix]

Morning,
I'm hoping I've got the right spot to post about my concerns with my King Male betta - if not, please let me know and I'll repost accordingly. I'm still getting the hang of these threads and just looking for some advice.

I've got a male King Betta, rescued from a pet store about 6-8 months ago, who was struggling with fin rot. I've had him in a 10-gallon planted tank with an air pump, heater, and canister filter. His light's on a timer for 6 hours a day, and his water parameters are good - I do 25% water changes weekly, and I've got zero nitrates, nitrites, or ammonia.

About two weeks ago, I noticed he was worm-burdened - I'm pretty sure it's roundworm. I think I must've introduced it through some new plants I added, despite quarantining them. I didn't have any antiparasitic meds on hand, so I used some fenbendazole I had from work - I'm in the veterinary industry. I did 100mg per 10 gallons, and our exotics doc calculated the dose. I crushed the meds, reconstituted them in betta water, and let it sit for a few hours to dissolve.

I also got some medicated food with metronidazole and praziquantel, but I read that fenbendazole in the water wasn't very effective. I went ahead and tried it anyway - dosed him for two days, did a 50% water change, and then dosed again. I used Stress Coat and almond leaf extract to boost the tannins during treatment.

After a few days, I did another 25% water change and noticed his eyes were cloudy and his fins were clamped. The medicated food arrived, but he refused to eat it - even with garlic guard. I ended up getting some Geneflake Cure and dosed him according to the package directions. I stopped filtration and did the recommended water changes.

Filtration was turned back on, but his eye cloudiness remained, so I started him on Doxycycline. I also did some salt baths to help with gut motility and replace electrolytes since he stopped eating altogether - pellets, flakes, crumbles, blood worms, peas, you name it.

I'm getting worried he might have blood poisoning - there's what looks like hemorrhaging on his abdomen. He's listless, rubbing on the substrate and rocks, and not active at all. I'm not sure what to do next. He's still refusing food, and it's been three weeks. I'm wondering if the roundworms died inside him and caused an internal bacterial infection.

I've tried to reduce his stress during treatment, but it's hard - he's very sensitive. I've let him sit for days between treatments and haven't done multiple treatments at once.

Am I overdoing and overthinking this? Should I just let him sit in his main tank or risk the stress and move him to his hospital tank? Should I treat again with erythromycin? I'm at a loss, and I don't want to give up on the little guy - I've got clove oil on hand if it comes to that.

On a side note, he can still swim - he takes a cruise around his tank a few times a day and doesn't appear to be sinking. He comes up for food every morning but eats it and spits it right back out.

I'm glad to see that your little guy finally ate something, that's definitely a step in the right direction. I did have a question about the bloodworms though - are they dehydrated? If so, I'd recommend switching to a different food source. Dehydrated bloodworms are often high in fat, which isn't ideal for betta fish. I've had good luck with high-quality foods like Omega One or New Life Spectrum. My own betta does well on Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets and Fluval Bug Bites - they're packed with protein and made with fresh ingredients.

It's great to see that you're taking such a thorough approach to his care, and I think it's a good idea to get @coltin's input as well. If he gives you the green light to continue with the treatment, I'd say go for it. Fingers crossed that your little guy makes a full recovery soon - he's definitely in good hands with you.

The Anacharis was a bit of a nightmare to clean up after - it shed like crazy, leaving my tank looking like a dried out Christmas tree. I'm still finding pieces of it here and there, even a month after I removed it. On the plus side, it did grow like mad, and I was trimming it almost weekly. I had it tied down to a piece of lava rock, which I stuck into the substrate, and that seemed to work well for it. My betta wasn't exactly helping with the cleanup, though - he'd bite at the Anacharis, then flux it around the tank, leave it, and come back to flux it some more. I wish I'd gotten a video of it, it was pretty entertaining.

I do have a heater in the tank, and it's been doing a good job of keeping the temperature consistent. It's an under-substrate heater, which I'm not entirely thrilled about - if it ever quits on me, I'll have a real headache on my hands trying to get it out and replaced. But for now, it's working well, and the temperature only fluctuates by a degree or two depending on the weather outside. The tank's about 8 feet away from the front door, so I know there's a draft, but the water always stays above 76 degrees - usually it's around 77 or 78 Fahrenheit.

[lyrix]

I'm having a bit of a facepalm moment - I think I actually bought a hornwort that was mislabeled as Anacharis. That would explain why it was shedding like crazy. I'm gonna brave the cold and head to my LFS to grab some actual Anacharis, and this time I'll make sure to quarantine it properly (no more roundworm surprises, thank you very much).

[kingrise]

Morning,
I'm hoping I've got the right spot to post about my concerns with my King Male betta - if not, please let me know and I'll repost accordingly. I'm still getting the hang of these threads and just looking for some advice.

I've got a male King Betta, rescued from a pet store about 6-8 months ago, who was struggling with fin rot. I've had him in a 10-gallon planted tank with an air pump, heater, and canister filter. His light's on a timer for 6 hours a day, and his water parameters are good - I do 25% water changes weekly, and I've got zero nitrates, nitrites, or ammonia.

About two weeks ago, I noticed he was worm-burdened - I'm pretty sure it's roundworm. I think I must've introduced it through some new plants I added, despite quarantining them. I didn't have any antiparasitic meds on hand, so I used some fenbendazole I had from work - I'm in the veterinary industry. I did 100mg per 10 gallons, and our exotics doc calculated the dose. I crushed the meds, reconstituted them in betta water, and let it sit for a few hours to dissolve.

I also got some medicated food with metronidazole and praziquantel, but I read that fenbendazole in the water wasn't very effective. I went ahead and tried it anyway - dosed him for two days, did a 50% water change, and then dosed again. I used Stress Coat and almond leaf extract to boost the tannins during treatment.

After a few days, I did another 25% water change and noticed his eyes were cloudy and his fins were clamped. The medicated food arrived, but he refused to eat it - even with garlic guard. I ended up getting some Geneflake Cure and dosed him according to the package directions. I stopped filtration and did the recommended water changes.

Filtration was turned back on, but his eye cloudiness remained, so I started him on Doxycycline. I also did some salt baths to help with gut motility and replace electrolytes since he stopped eating altogether - pellets, flakes, crumbles, blood worms, peas, you name it.

I'm getting worried he might have blood poisoning - there's what looks like hemorrhaging on his abdomen. He's listless, rubbing on the substrate and rocks, and not active at all. I'm not sure what to do next. He's still refusing food, and it's been three weeks. I'm wondering if the roundworms died inside him and caused an internal bacterial infection.

I've tried to reduce his stress during treatment, but it's hard - he's very sensitive. I've let him sit for days between treatments and haven't done multiple treatments at once.

Am I overdoing and overthinking this? Should I just let him sit in his main tank or risk the stress and move him to his hospital tank? Should I treat again with erythromycin? I'm at a loss, and I don't want to give up on the little guy - I've got clove oil on hand if it comes to that.

On a side note, he can still swim - he takes a cruise around his tank a few times a day and doesn't appear to be sinking. He comes up for food every morning but eats it and spits it right back out.

Hornwort is notorious for shredding like crazy, I can see why you'd get tired of it. Anacharis, on the other hand, is a hardier plant that usually just 'melts' if it's not cared for properly - it doesn't shred like hornwort does. It's generally easier to grow too.