Curing a betta with possible ammonia poisioning?

Question

Hi there! I have so many betta questions for you all.
Recently I have noticed that there is this red patch of skin hanging from my betta's chin - she's a female veiltail betta. Her gils are kind of red and she has been up at the top more breathing. I did some research and noticed that these are signs of ammonia poisoning, so I did a 100% water change, added a little aquarium salt just in case, and added water conditioner.

I think this began happening since when I was away for a weekend, my mother went to go feed her and dumped in about two weeks of food. The filter collected it and then the food began to break down, causing the ammonia release. I got rid of the filter, but unfortunately, I don't have any left so I will go buy some tomorrow morning and put it in immediately. I'll also be getting some ammonia test strips just to make sure.

So right now she is at the top of the tank moving back and fourth. Another thing, she's been between the filter and the tank lately. She hasn't hid there for a while, so is it possible she could have cut herself there as well? I know my friends betta does that and they're fine, but I just want to make sure.

Sorry for the book, guys. I just want to make sure she's okay.
Thanks!

Answer 1

So many things wrong here, where do I begin?

Okay, first thing you did wrong was a 100% water change. Never, ever do a 100% water change except in an extreme emergency (like if somebody yaks in the tank or something). Frequent partial water changes are a much better way to go. Getting rid of the filter media was the worst possible thing you could have done. Fresh water + new filter media = the tank is going to cycle again. Very hard for an already sick Betta to endure. It's hard to guess without seeing the fish, but I think I might use some Bettafix, or a broad spectrum antibiotic in her tank. At the very least, I would add some Bio-Coat, or something similar. (As a side note: Never use Melafix for Bettas, it's lethal to them.)

You should have performed about a 30% water change, thoroughly vacuumed the gravel, and thoroughly rinsed the filter media in the old tank water (never rinse it under the faucet, the chlorine will kill the good, essential bacteria in it). That would have gotten rid of the rotting food, and most, if not all of the excess ammonia.

Don't waste your money on test strips. They are highly unreliable. Everyone who owns an aquarium should have a liquid test kit. API Master test kit is a good one. They are about $20-$30, depending on where you shop, but the chemicals last a very long time, and after you buy the kit, you can buy refill chemicals as needed. They aren't hard to use, just follow the directions step-by-step.

If you are going to be away for a weekend, that's a great time to fast your Betta (should be done one day per week, anyway). It will not harm the fish to go without food for a couple of days. If she is healthy, it will be good for her. Feed her normally just before you leave and upon your return.

If you are leaving for more than a few days, show someone exactly how many pellets to feed her (and don't make it complicated with different foods. Just let her get along with her pellets until you return, she'll be fine). Write it down on an index card or piece of paper in case they forget. Tell them to pour the pellets out into their hand, not to pour from the package (that's how over-feeding happens). Best idea, don't trust other people, just buy an automatic feeder. They are relatively cheap for a base model, can only dispense what you put in them, and they won't "forget."

I have to ask, what sort of environment is she living in? It's very good that she has a filter. Is she in at least a 5 gallon tank, and does she have a heater? Bettas require a stable temperature between 78-82 degrees at all times. These are essentials for good Betta health and longevity. Does she have plants (silk or real, never plastic) and some sort of cave-like structure to take refuge in, or is the filter the only place she has to hide? Bettas (all fish, really) need some place to sleep and hide, or they will get stressed out.

I know you did not mean to make matters worse, you just don't know enough about aquarium keeping yet. What you should have done was a thorough tank cleaning, as soon as you discovered what your mother had done. A "thorough" cleaning does not mean start from scratch. It means a large partial water change, thoroughly vacuuming debris out of the gravel, and rinsing the filter media in old tank water. This would have gotten the excess food out of there before it began to break down and cause an ammonia surge.

What you must do now, is test the water at least once daily for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. When the ammonia level rises, do a partial water change with clean, room temperature tap water to which water conditioner has been added. Do nothing else! The tank has to cycle. After a bit, you will see that the ammonia level falls off and the nitrites begin to spike. Continue partial water changes, until that disappears. When ammonia and nitrites are at 0 ppm, or very close to it, and the nitrates are stable, your tank is done cycling. Continue monitoring the water for another week or so, to be sure. Then you can scale back to once weekly 20% partial water changes, testing, and light gravel vacuuming.

I strongly suggest you go to a library or book store and get some beginner's aquarium keeping books. Any half-way decent one will be chock-full of useful information that will help you as you learn how to care for your pet properly.

I hope she pulls through. They are very tough little fish, so she might. Good luck!

Answer 2

You've started down the right path. I'm not worried about a 100% water change. As long as you are careful to match the temp and you are diligent enough in your water changes (has not been a long time since the last one), there is no harm associated with a large water change. Old water only brings death. Fresh water brings life, especially when dealing with an ammonia issue.



Adding the salt will not do much to combat the ammonia but it will be needed to combat the subsequent nitrite spike. Other posters are correct in that removing the filter removed all of the bacteria that filter contains. This "beneficial bacteria" is what gets rid of the ammonia (and subsequently nitrite), a process known as the "Nitrogen Cycle". But the filter pad has already been removed so just store that for future reference. At the moment you just need to deal with the resulting ammonia and nitrite spike.



Please review the following article. It, and the links it contains, will detail what you need to know to get your Beta through this issue.



http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/water/189-ammonia-management-in-aquariums.html

Answer 3

1. you should have kept the filter pad, rinsed it maybe, but kept it dirty. Now you've lost some of the biologic filtration.

2. you don't cure ammonia poisoning, you wait for the problem to clear up and the biologic filtration to recover.



3. stop feeding, do small water changes, not 100%, never clean all the filter at once, you use a siphon cleaner to clean the tank, and do the water changes.



4. in the future, you tell someone to feed your fish only two or three times in a week so this doesn't happen again. .

Answer 4

Well first, NEVER do 100% water change. 25-50% at the most is okay once or twice a week. With the new filter you're going to go through your cycle again, so you're really going to have to keep up with the smaller more frequent water changes not large ones. She will be fine. Try adding some stress coat to replenish her slime coat and double dosage heals wounds.

Good luck!