BettaVishVish Posted July 5, 2010 Report Share Posted July 5, 2010 hi, my female betta is swimming funny. she pretty much stay in one position most of the time and almost flat. any idea why? what should I do? I'll be so sad if she die thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted July 5, 2010 Report Share Posted July 5, 2010 (edited) how long have you had her for? what size tank is she in? filtration? when was the last water change? is she bloated at all? answers to all those questions will help us help you with your betta. in the meantime, i will cross my 'finners' that she'll be ok. Edited July 5, 2010 by BettaFishMommy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaVishVish Posted July 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2010 how long have you had her for? what size tank is she in? filtration? when was the last water change? is she bloated at all? answers to all those questions will help us help you with your betta. in the meantime, i will cross my 'finners' that she'll be ok. Thank you for your reply. I have her since wednesday last week.. so 5 days. I place her in a 1 gal tank and change the water every 2 days. I noticed few days after I have her, her fins were closed. but at least her position was straight. last night, I gave her melafix and she seemed a little bit better. This morning before I left, she doesn't seem good again. she's barely moving and again her position is flat eventhough she still floating. A friend of mine who gave me this betta mentioned that she got beaten by other betta before I had her. I don't see any open wounds though.. and she looked fine when I got her. I'm not really sure what is going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted July 5, 2010 Report Share Posted July 5, 2010 Try to keep her warm and you can add a bit of aquarium salt to her water. Good luck and let us know how it goes!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaVishVish Posted July 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Try to keep her warm and you can add a bit of aquarium salt to her water. Good luck and let us know how it goes!! went home today just to find her lying at the bottom, died . it's just a fish.. but I'm still sad when she died. Thank you fishclubgirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 I hear you!! Even though I have hundreds of fish, I hate to lose one and especially one that I treasure and have affection for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 sorry to hear she didn't make it one thing for future reference, melafix isn't a good medication to use for bettas. i believe the tea tree oil coats the labyrinth organ and causes issues with the betta breathing surface air. bettafix is diluted melafix, so don't use that either. she most likely had problems when you brought her home and they got worse in the few days you had her. quite often pet store bettas will be of poor health and given even poorer care at the store and you really have to have a sharp eye to pick a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Bettafishmommy, Would love to see a link with the exact references to the effect of Melafix on labyrinth fish. As far as I know, there's mixed opinions of Melafix for bettas so correct information would be excellent!! Tanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 the things that melafix can cure are better cured by salt in bettas from what i've experienced so i'd skip the melafix and use salt unless it's a planted tank. When you do get a fish home the first thing i do is change the water in the container it was in and keep him or her in a very well lighted area for a few days at least to make sure that velvet or some other disease isn't present. I have found that if you do put them in a lighted glass bowl then the fish is hard to see at a glance so i don't transfer it over until after a few dsys of observation. Sorry to hear that it passed away. Good luck with your next fish I'm sure with your careing attitude it'll live a long healthy life L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 (edited) Bettafishmommy, Would love to see a link with the exact references to the effect of Melafix on labyrinth fish. As far as I know, there's mixed opinions of Melafix for bettas so correct information would be excellent!! Tanks!! i googled 'betta melafix' and a majority of the information came from forums such as ours. i don't believe there is any controlled scientific study on it, but many betta keepers have had negative experiences with melafix. then again, there are betta keepers that have used melafix with no problems too. i think the main consideration is the easy potential for overdose in smaller tanks/containers and as we know most betta keepers don't have 10 gallon tanks or larger for each of their fish. measuring an exact and proper dose when treating a smaller tank or bowl can be difficult, and when you are using an oil based product (such as melafix - tea tree oil), that oil can coat the surface of the water, along with everything else, including the tissues in a labyrinth fish's air-breathing organ, effectively blocking the uptake of oxygen into the system. the right amount of melafix will not cause the extra coating, but an overdose will. treatments with oil-based properties can also cause foaming at the water surface when turbulent filtration is in use, which makes it difficult or impossible for the betta to take surface air. At least that's what i took from the various postings on the subject. like i said, there have been success stories with melafix and bettas, but there are enough death stories too. enough of the bad side for me to not take the chance on using melafix on any betta in my care. Edited July 8, 2010 by BettaFishMommy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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