Shelley Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Oh dear! When doing our regular water changes today I got a shock to see a big chunk missing out of our male fighter. He is in a tank on his own. It is a 54 litre tank (although currently only has about 30 litres in as it is our "breeding" tank)...where we put him maybe a week ago to recover from a fit of the sulks after flirting outrageously with the female fighter who was on the inside of a mesh separating cage thing (he never got around to building the bubble nest....) ...He did not have this huge chunk out of him then and he has no other fish in with him. It is hard to describe.There is no redness or blood although it does look like someone has just taken a big bite out of him. This hole is about the size of a pea right beside his fin....it could be some sort of decay although where/when the wound happened I do not know. He has been in hiding the past couple of days but seems brighter today and came out to say hello when I fed him. In his tank there is a rock thing full of holes that he likes to hide in which he may have scraped himself on....could this be finrot? I did not expect such a gaping hole for finrot. I have treated his tank with melafix and also added water conditioner to the new water added today...as I say he is more alert in himself today than he has been for a couple of days but I am very worried about him. I will re-read the melafix bottle and see when I can dose his tank again and thought i would feed him on thawed brine shrimp...as he does seem to like it. Is there anything else I can do? I haven't yet checked the water quality as I like to leave it for an hour os so once I have done a water change...but will do that next. Last time i checked it for this tank it was good. What should I do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 I meant to say...the wound looks quite fleshy though grey in colour....absolutely no sign of blood. The fish itself is a little paler in colour than usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Posted May 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 Update on William. He doesn't look quite so 'raw' today. Sort of looks like his scales have brushed up against the cheese grater but the hole doesn't look hollow today (but i cant believe it has repaired that quickly!). He still doesn't look too happy but I am very pleased witht he fact that a) he is still alive and b) he seems marginally better in that he is coming out...not doing a lot of swimming around but not hiding away. Poor boy. I added more melafix to his tank and will do another water change tomorrow and add water conditioner and melafix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misnoma Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 I'm always stunned as to how quickly fish heal up - keeping cichlids together teaches you that when you see fins grow back in a matter of 2-3 days max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Posted May 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 Yes? Well I'm thrilled to hear it...I was beginning to wonder if I had over dramatised the situation from yesterday :-) if he improves this much each day he will be back in shape in no time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Posted May 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 *sobs*....think it is too late. He is still alive but I am considering putting him to sleep. If someone can shed any light as to what the hell has happened to him I would be very grateful. Is this some sort of fungus? Is it an injury that has festered?.... I am worried about other fish going in this tank once he has gone...which seems to me to be inevitable. He perked up for a few days. I have been treating with melafix. But he looks very grim now. I apologise for the quality of photos....got an old and not particularly good digital camera....not to mention the glass of the tank needed a clean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 Saw the pics of William, sure wish I could help Did you remove the rock thing Shelley? I'll keep browing the net to see if I can find anything...sorry for all your fish troubles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 If your Betta develops white cottony patches, torn fins, or a sore, treat him with Splendid Betta BettaFix. BettaFix is an all-natural, antibacterial remedy for Bettas that repairs damaged fins and promotes fin regrowth. Use BettaFix to heal and rapidly repair open wounds and fins and tissue damaged from stress, handling and disease. http://www.nazarenenexus.com/betta_ed/betta_m_d.htm I'm sorry Shelley, don't know if this is any help...all the folks here...will know so much more. I was just looking to see if I could find anything for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Posted May 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 Thanks so much for your care and efforts on William's behalf, Caper. He is still with us though looking very miserable....he does suffer from loneliness too....he is quite a social fish and I hate keeping him on his own when I know he sulks to be left alone but I am unsure if what he has is contagious (which it might be if it is some sort of a fungus) or if, with feeling so miserable he would be more likely to be picked on....so on his own he stays. I am trying very hard to keep the water as tip top as I can and will be doing another partial water change and adding water conditioner (which does seem to perk him up) and melafix....I haven't heard of the betta stuff you found oout about for us (thank you so much for that) but will see if I can get my hands on some...unfortunately I know I won't be able to get any locally. The water conditioner I use is absolutely marvelous stuff and is supposed to help repair fins and replace the natural coating on the scales etc.....I haven't been able to tempt him with any food the last day or so....Formerly his favourite was frozen brine shrimp (have not had a lot of luck with the fresh)...but I am trying him with different things......and very concious of the fact that uneaten stuff contributes to the ammonia. Poor dear wee fish....since yesterday he has spent a lot of time semi lying on the top of the tank.....partially out of the water....I feel I should do the kind thing and put him out of his misery....but in the moments where he perks up I think that maybe I can nurse him back to health. He is such a lovely boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted May 16, 2005 Report Share Posted May 16, 2005 How is his wound Shelley? Any improvements there? The salt bath I've seen recommended for some ailments...no good for this??? I've been trying to find a particular site...found it for someone at work at couple of months ago whose betta was dying... the fish died but they had lots of trouble where she bought the fish...ANYWAY...this site was all about bettas, a couple who had bettas for years. I'll see if she still has the site, I wrote it down for her. But, I have to wait till I go to work tomorrow...it's still Sunday here :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Posted May 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2005 Thanks for all your help Caper. William is looking a little more perky tonight after a water change and a good squirt of water conditioner and a dose of melafix. Still not eating though. I thought I would spoil him with some blood worms...not interested....flake...not interested.... dried worms....not interested....dried ground up plankton....not interested...I even gave him some liquifry (baby feed) seeing as he is an invalid....and no...no attempt made. Sure hope he doesn't starve to death I took out the ornament thing with all the holes...i left a different one in there but that is much smoother...so he still has somewhere to hide. His colour is rather bleak he is usually a beautiful purpley-blue. But...he is looking more lively since his water change, not that the readings were bad prior....i shall let you know of progress. Pearl (the pearl gourami) died tonight. But I am confident that was merely of old age...she was the wonkiest looking fish I have ever seen! We inherited her with one of the fish tanks we bought. She had a peaceful death...for which I am very grateful.....and I know she had a good life for the last two months. RIP Pearl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Posted May 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 The final update on a sad story . William died a couple of days ago. I hadn't had the chance to come in to let you know it has been SUCH a hectic week. Thanks Caper for all your help you have been an absolute angel.....I have decided to call the next new female fighter I get 'Caper' in honour .... The GOOD news is...... I got my tanks back from the repairers...a lid repair and slight alteration for the BIG tank.....and a reseal for the smaller one...I am so rapt with the job...cost less than $40 for both....excellent service. I am going to REALLY take my time to set these two tanks up and make these my two most special tanks....the lounge one is great for relaxation, and I love having the kitchen one so I can talk to somebody intelligent while I slave my tripe out in the kitchen....it will have mostly 'blue' fish...although I wouldn't mind putting Nigel my flame red fighter in that tank for a bit of contrast along with some neons. Starting from scratch with these two tanks....armed with a whole lot more knowledge. YESSSSSSS....so looking forward to having my fishie fishie fishies back to normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ormali Posted May 19, 2005 Report Share Posted May 19, 2005 Sorry to hear your William died. We had similar problems with our male betta and our gouramis. In the end we put it down to dropsy - though it took us two deaths before we worked that out. All the fish developed a fungal infection which blew up with fluffy white stuff which dropped off and left a hole. Their bellies started to swell and they eventually got the pinecone scales and started with white stringy poopies. I'm not sure whether the fungal infection made them vulnerable to the dropsy or whether it was linked. We had the two deaths some months apart and ended up putting the last two gouramis down because they were a mess and only getting worse. Hardest thing I have had to do for a long time. Nothing seemed to help - we tried melafix and fungal stuff and all sorts with no results. That was when we gave up and put the last two out of their pain. Good news though, it appears to be gone from our tanks (fingers so crossed they are in knots!). My condolences for William - rest in peace Silas and his gourami mates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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