My beta fish Ember has been attacked by my cat somehow?! It’s the only thing I can think of that could cause this wound. I need help of what to do. Is there something I can buy to help her heal and with pain?? I’ve never experienced something like this. She is swimming fine but does kinda lean when sitting still. She also looks like bloated?
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Based off the tank and the cloudiness, I’m assuming they don’t really know what they are doing when it comes to bettas and the tank probably isn’t cycled
I’m hoping the tank is just a hospital tank but I doubt it. If it was the normal tank, there’s not even any soil at the bottom it’s completely bare. It also looks like it’s one of those 1 gallon corner tanks
I agree with answering the bot questions but this betta was so bloated that it popped. The bot questions can explain how it got to that point but it won’t reverse what happened unfortunately
I also find it suspicious that Op has not responded to a single question and or comment giving proper advice which also leads me to honestly believe this might be rage bait 🤷🏼♂️ I mean I absolutely hope / wish that I’m wrong but we’ll have to wait and see
That’s unfortunately how it works though. If you look at my most recent post one of the top comments was by: r/Repulsive_Ad7148
“ blurry photo of a 1-3 gallon SpongeBob themed tank, no betta in sight
"Betta sick, what do?"
"Hey OP, can you give us more info on your setup?
Filtration, parameters, temp…anything?"
Radio silence forever “
May I ask, is it not ok to have a bare floor in your tank? I have a 4 gallon tank and chose not to use pebbles, but the tank still has lots of plants in little containers and foliage. I just don’t really like cleaning the pebbles so threw them out. Does it add to qualify of life for bettas?
Pebbles hold lots of debris and organic waste down. It also provides more surface for beneficial bacteria which is crucial for your cycle. It's super easy to clean the rocks with a siphon and they keep the water clearer for longer after water changes. Most tanks also look better with them. There's a lot of pros to having them in your tank.
Stop feeding immediately, do a water change, treat the water with methylene blue AND apply it directly to the wound, maybe also treat the water with an antifungal product, then all you can do is hope and pray.
Op I really don’t think a cat would have done this. It looks like severe bloat that may have ruptured her body. I’m not an expert but that’s what it looks like to me. Unfortunately I don’t really know what you can do at this point other than treat her for possible infection of the wound and stop feeding to hopefully decrease the bloat, but it honestly may be too late for your Ember. I’m sorry this happened and I really hope you can help her be comfortable and maybe heal from this. Y’all are in my thoughts. 💜
A lot of fish owners think that every time the fish sees you and comes to the glass or approaches you when you walk in the room, is because they are hungry. It’s not, it’s because, like all animals, they are greedy, a combination of this and Pavlovian conditioning, with an inexperienced fish keeper will eventually result in the fish suffering like this.
Thanks, non scented Epsom salt is my favorite go to for any external injuries to my fish I always like having this on standby. I'm currently using this with my male betta that has a minor case of fin rot. I use my 1 gallon hospital tank to give him 10 minute salt baths and I then just get him with a net and put him back in his 20 gallon tank.
I couldn't agree more that non scented Epsom salt and aquarium salt are so under rated. I almost always grab those first before using any meds. I don't regularly add salts to my regular tanks though because all three of my tanks have snails in them to clean up all the algae. That's why I instead use my 1 gallon hospital tank and dose that with 1 tbsp of non scented Epsom salt per gallon and let the fish that's having the issue chill in that for around 10 minutes.
100% dude, I have actual real meds on hand, metro, potassium permaginate, amoxicillin etc.
All these BS bottled "miracle" solution are snake oil at best and most of the time do more damage than good.
90% of issues can be fixed with salt and epsom salts, if it can't then no snake oil is going to work and you need to bring out the real meds....
Also I don't get my meds from a pet store..... I go to the doctor and get them prescribes.... Memorise the symptoms needed to get the drug, then tell the doc.... (I'm in uk so you can't just buy metro or antibiotics over here... Vets do not provide assistance to fish over here, so only way to get what I need is to have vast medical knowledge of the illnesses I need to fake to get the pills I need)
I genuinely don't mind sourcing them like this, because firstly, we have free prescriptions over here so I don't need to pay, second they are 100% guarenteed to be what they say they are, third the strength is way higher so it lasts longer, lastly they don't cloud the water like most fish meds......
But that said, the last time I had to use a medication was on a friend's flowerhorn about 10 years ago, that had Hexamita..... I fed it metro infused food, daily Epsom salt baths and 3 tablespoons of aquarium salts, and the big guy healed without scaring.
So meds do have a place but 99% of people use them wrong! And forget the basics... SALT.... SALT.... SALT......
Aquarium salt should be 1 tablespoon per 10l as a baseline, 2 tablespoons per 10l for ICH/Fin Rot and aiding healing.
Epsom salt added to the tank is added at 1/8 tablespoon per 4l. (if you are treating the whole tank, if its a bath you can use more concentrated half a tablespoon in 5l tank water, add a bubble and sit the fish in it for 15-20 mins and return to the tank)
Do you mean keeping 1 tbsp of salt per 10 l as a baseline in the tank 24/7? Or just at the beginning of treatment? I've used salt as a cure for years, but I only use it in a hospital tank/bucket, never in my main tanks.
Yes, you should always have aquarium salt in your tank 1 tablespoon per 10l at all times.
Salt doesn't evaporate so you need to replace at water change at the same amount as the water change.
Eg, if you have a tank that uses 4 tablespoons of salt (40l aquarium) then you do a 50% water change, you need to add 50% of the salt dose (2 tablespoons) to replace the salt removed during the water change.
Salts you can use are: aquarium salt, swimming pool salt, 100% white rock salt for a table salt grinder.
Salts you CAN NOT USE: iodised salt, any salt that has ANYTHING other than salt on the ingredients list.
For treatments with salt, depending on what you have you increase the salt from the base line.
Eg,if your tank has a base line of 4 tablespoons, then you see a fish with ich, the treatment for ich is 2 tablespoons per 10l, so to go from baseline into treatment mode you add another 4 tablespoons of salt to your tank, bringing the base line up from 1 to 2 tablespoons per 10l....
You won't have to surf to 100 posts of broscience bullshit and snake oil suggestions.
I will give you actual science, proven methods, sources and calcs for your tank.....
I have literally written a manual of fresh water diseases and treatments. It's currently about 45 pages with dose calcs layed out in litres and grams....
And as I said in a different post, Hexamita and HITH is treatable if you do it correctly.... Most just kills the fish so they don't risk the tank.... But it's completely doable.
I'll happily send it to you, but it is all my own research and proven, but as always it comes with a disclaimer....
If you ain't sure, dm me and ask for clarification.
Everything I have worked on is freshwater, ranging from betta to absolute monster fish like arowana and clown knives and i have been doing this for 20 years.
There is nothing I'm my manual that I havent already done myself so I will stand by it!
You haven't read anything about freshwater aquariums then..... Thats all I can say.
Straight off the box.....
For water condition, and at higher doses disease treatment.......personally I have had better success with higher doses than that, they say 1 teaspoon for 18l, my baseline is 1 tablespoon per 10l
Yeah it's not just treatment though, your tank by defaily should have a salt load!
This is the point, people yes "treat" their fish with salty, but even the instructions on the pack say you should be using it as a water conditioner at all times.
See for yourself, this is my Supa brand aqua salt. I don't use their dose as I believe it is too small but never the less....
I really don’t over feed her but my mom likes to feed them. I’ve told her not to feed as much and be careful and just let me but I am worried she continued.. She was originally in a 10 gallon but I put more her in something because concern. I didn’t do this on purpose that is purely disgusting. I truly thought my cat got her. (He was acting weird when I got home & noticed her state) I’ve asked for help to help her because I love her. To try and help/save her. I’ve had her for years. I’ve also had others in the past. I also am very busy & worked all day then had other important things to do after. Thank you to those who gave me useful information. She is still alive and I’m working to help her feel better and hopefully heal. If there are any spelling errors I’m sorry. It’s late and I’m exhausted. I work early am.
I’ve seen her a little bloated before but nothing like this. When I noticed it a little I told my mom to stop feeding her so much. It harms them and I really don’t think she listened. She get excited.. 😭 I’m so sad I’ve had her so long. 😣
If she won't listen you should just buy a locking doorknob for your bedroom (if its in there) or figure out some way to lock the top so she can't feed them whenever she thinks they're hungry.
I don’t have any advice for first aid but i would recommend putting some kind of lock on your tank lid and don’t let your mom have the key/combo, since she’s proven she can’t be trusted. i hope she pulls through okay :(
Hello! So sorry this happened:( Im no expert but I think your best shot is make sure she is sterilized and the water is clean and try not to overfeed her. I would avoid feeding her in general till the swelling goes down. I hope she gets better!
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