About Amber Worman Expertise I specialize in Gouramis, Black Moors, Fantail goldfish, and Bettas. I can answer questions about fish behavior, tank mates, diseases, and living conditions. I do not have much experience with breeding these types of fish, however.
Experience Fish are my passion - I have raised these types of fish for as long as I can remember. I am a college student at Purdue University where I have a major in Biology and a position as a lab technician in a fish laboratory.
Expert: Amber Worman Date: 9/18/2007 Subject: Betta Fish Is sick ?
Question My fish scarlet isn't acting normal.He usually is very jumpy , happy and cant stop eating.Now he is the exact opposite.He refuses to eat,he does not swim around and when I go up to his tank he doesn't blow bubbles at me like the usuall.He has gotten very puffy,he is losing scales,and his fins are ripping and turning brownish.(He is a bright red thats its name).I need help.I'm very attatched to this fish!Could it be the water temprature?Can fish have diseases?What can I do to help it?
Answer Hello Brianna-
I'm very sorry to have to say this, but Scarlet may have a case of Dropsy. Hopefully it's something else, but you need to know that once a fish develops Dropsy, it's almost always fatal. :( I'll do everything I can to help you help him, and after that all we can do is hope for the best.
1. Buy a 1 gallon heater for his tank. Set it at 80 F (you can use a small $1 stick-on thermometer to measure this.)
2. Check the levels of ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites in his water (before you do a water change.) Ideally, these should be 0 - PETsMART will check a water sample for free and will offer further advice based on your results.
3. Add just a tiny pinch of Epsom salt to the water.
4. Add a dose of Melafix to the tank to help his fins grow back, if they are frayed.
5. Wrap the tank in a blanket to shield his from loud noise and light.
6. (optional and possibly expensive) Purchase an antibiotic, like kanamycin (KanaPlex) or minocycline (Maracyn-Two) - A cheaper alternative is QuickCure, but it's not as helpful in curing Dropsy as the other two antibiotics.
This is all I can think of - This treatment should bring Scarlet back to normal if he doesn't have Dropsy, and may save him if he does.
