poor betta fins

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my poor male, zen, got sick and i thought he was dying, thankfully he has survived but now he wont swim at all and just floats at the top of his tank on his side kinda bent. he wont eat and his fins are awful looking. i have tried and tried to make him better but with no success. i feel like an awful parent!!:( any help or suggestions would be awesome. i am just overwhelmed with what to do to make him feel better. his coloring is still beautiful except for on his belly and it has turned a really murky white color. i treated him for ick but it has not went away. please help!!!

My two 'sickys' that I put in an isolation tank side-by-side (my Copper started getting 'stiff fins' and listless Friday night) are already appearing to feel better. They don't look much better, but they're starting to flare the faces at each other and act like macho men again. Hope this is a sign that they're getting stronger!

I've been using Fungus Guard + Parasite Rid + fresh Garlic tea + dash of sea salt - and 90% water changes each day.

Copper's now completely healthy again. Still keeping him out of the communal tank though.

Multi HM is also recovering well. His appetite returned yesterday and he's voracious. His fins are also filling back out and no longer stiff.

Now I understand WHY PetSmart puts parasite guard in all of their betta shipments. Don't know how these Thai breeders get so many parasites, but it is definitely a problem I'm glad to now be aware of.

He's looking much better a week into treatment.
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Whisper, I did end up tearing it down and bleaching it. Kept the three males in separate containers and treating all for parasites.

Now the tank's back together and did a quick cycle by filling it with water from my planted tank and soaked the sponge filters in a bacterial startzyme. Threw a molly in it for a week to get the cycle rolling. Finally added the Cello and Snowball in it today. I'll wait another few weeks before putting the ones I've nursed back to health in it.

i put some garlic in the tank with zen and let it sit with him for a day and did a complete water change and he is like a new fish, eating and swimming. his fins are slowly coming back...thanks guys for all the help

Glad to hear everyones getting better. Good work .

Yay! im so glad!

wow! i never would have thought about the garlic. i will certainly keep that in mind for any future problems with my 4 bettas. i always use aquarium salt, especially with fin rot. cures it every time. as a matter of fact, i just had to treat my 2 in the split 10 gal tank and within 24 hours their fins were growing back.

You can add the garlic like once a month too as a precautionary measure. Garlic won't hurt them infact it's good for them just like in humans.

thanks so much for the tip. i will be buying some garlic to add to their tank this weekend. how much do you use?

Buy the jarred crushed ones. then take home and grind it smaller. then add some water to it. This is what you use. Just put some of the juice and a few pieces of the garlic in the tank. They like the garlic. Just make sure it's ground up small enough for them to eat it. You can keep what is left in the frig til the next time. This is good for all fish not just Bettas. Keeps the parasites at bay.

thanks soo much whisper for that tip, without it i dont think zen would have lived. i just used fresh garlic and cut it up really tiny and dumped it in and the next morning he was eating and swimming around

it is a great tip, i just wish i would have known about it and this site a couple of weeks ago so that i might have helped to save my friends betta. she tried to treat him with tetra lifeguard and it did nothing. he still didn't make it.

So sorry to hear that nat. Well now you'll know for the next time.