McTurtle Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 I've had 2 bettas with what appeared to be swim bladder issues. They weren't constipated and I couldn't figure out why it developed. They'd just float at the top of the tank and stuggle to swim. It was very sad and frustrating. It only happened with the "fancy" bettas. The $5 veil tail rescue never had a problem and it didn't occur in all of my bettas. The issue seems to be that I was overdosing Prime. It's difficult to add a small enough amount for a 2.5 gallon tank. I've started just adding a drop or two witb 100% water change and my betta is now swimming normally. When I went back to the previous amount the floating behavior returned. I never suspected the dechlorinator would be the culprit. Anyone else heard of/ experience this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperGuppyGirl Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Never had this happen with mine I have to say. I put in around half a cap in my 3G betta tanks and only issue I have is I over feed mine. My girls/guys are way too fat, but I started feeding them every 3rd day instead of everyday to combat the fat swim issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Don't think prime is the issue here. Depends on what you are feeding them and how much. Betta will gorge themselves and plug up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McTurtle Posted July 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 I feed them every other day or every 3rd day. They get 2-3 bloodworms or 2 pellets. It's not a constipation issue. I wouldn't have thought Prime an issue, the company says that a five x dose is still safe, but I definitely see a dose dependent response to it with my some of my fish. It's very strange. There has to be something underlying that is making them sensitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blink Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Proper dose of Prime is 2 drops per gallon, so 1 drop into a liter or however much you use for a water change is a pretty heavy dose. I'd cut back on the Prime and monitor, if it still happens it's not the prime but it probably wouldn't hurt to keep them on the lower dose. And guppygirl, wth? Half a cap is about 2.5mL which is 50 drops. You should really cut it back to something close to the recommended dose and if the water is so bad it needs more, dose again in 24 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aysha Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 What I often do for my small tanks 2-10 gallons is keep a milk jug full of primed water left over from the premixed water for changes in my big tanks. I've never had an issue with prime in my tanks but do tend to agree that the fancier bettas seem more sensitive, I've had 2 halfmoons die unexpected within a week of getting them home I've not yet lost a crowntail even though some of them are well over 3 years old.Maybe you are on to something? perhaps there's not enough established bacteria in your smaller tanks? I don't know if that's an issue with betta's but I know I've lost more sensitive species due to that. A prime overdose causes oxegen dificiancy, you will notice your fish (not sure about labryninth fish) gasping at the surface for air? Do you have a larger tank? Sometimes when I'm feeling lazy I'll pull a gallon out of my 120 and use it to change the water on my small tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperGuppyGirl Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) Blink, I double dose all my tanks and use the cap to measure. As I have shaky hands it tends to go about to the first ring by the bottom of the cap. So by best guess approx. half a cap. I monitor all my tanks hourly for about 4 hours after and have yet to have a problem. I lost a lot of sensitive fish during run off in the spring to under dosing but never to overdosing. I do also aerate and over filter the tanks, my 1.5 G betta tanks have an air driven mini carbon filter and a bubble stone set for a low flow so the water gets extra oxygen. Same with all my tanks bubble walls and extra filtration. Edited July 21, 2013 by SuperGuppyGirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McTurtle Posted July 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 I don't have airation in most of my small tanks and if I use even 1ml per 2.5 gallon tank that's a x4 dose, They were probably getting between 4x and 8x which was causing the problem. Now I just dilute the Prime and go from there. I'm going to get an eye dropper so I can skip the dilution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted July 31, 2013 Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 I was interested in this title because I'd never used Prime, but then wanted to try it because of good reviews. A couple of my bettas really seemed not to do well with it. A couple went from perfect health to sluggish and bloated. Considering I didn't change anything else I had to reason it was something to do with the Prime. Notably most recovered when I stopped using it, 1 did not. I finished the bottle on my non-betta tank, but won't buy it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Percilus Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 I was interested in this title because I'd never used Prime, but then wanted to try it because of good reviews. A couple of my bettas really seemed not to do well with it. A couple went from perfect health to sluggish and bloated. Considering I didn't change anything else I had to reason it was something to do with the Prime. Notably most recovered when I stopped using it, 1 did not. I finished the bottle on my non-betta tank, but won't buy it again. Curious what you use in Edmonton if not prime though. It's common for Edmonton water to test .25 ammonia right out of the tap. Why I use prime to begin with. Nice to have around if you get a unforeseen spike as well. I have not noticed any odd behaviour from my betta. I usually overdose a bit as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vimmer Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 Have never used prime or had "fancy" bettas but I once purchased a trio of crown tails and kept them in a 20 gallon Rubbermaid storage tote with zero filtration. All they ever got was weekly water changes. They not only survived in this aquatic mess but lived for two years like that and even spawned for once. Once the fry hatched dad promptly ate all but this was all an experiment to begin with. The standard betta is an extremely tough little fish which originates from one of the worlds filthiest waterways the yellow river. They don't really like much current and have little problem with oxygen levels that would kill most fish because they do go to the surface and breath air. Watching him build his bubble nest and attempt to entice the girls in was amusing. I wound up having to give them away as I wound up out working on the road 26-28 days out of a month and decided rather than pay rent on a place i was never at it would be cheaper to just put everything in storage and rent hotel room for the 2-4 days a month I had off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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