Who Gives A Fish Forums

lyrix wrote: ↑Sat Mar 15, 2025 3:17 pm 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.

kingrise wrote: ↑Sat Mar 15, 2025 8:05 pm

lyrix wrote: ↑Sat Mar 15, 2025 3:17 pm 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.

lyrix wrote: ↑Sat Mar 15, 2025 3:17 pm 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.