# Sick Wild Betta



## Hooky (3 Jan 2018)

I have a sick male Betta Simplex, I am not entirely sure what is wrong with him but he inst eating (from what I can tell) has occasional clamped fins (does flare from time to time) and is generally pale in colour. This particular fish seems to favour a spot at the back of the aquarium in the dense stem plants so is incredibly difficult to get a photo. I cannot be absolutely sure that he inst holding eggs as this young group have just starting breeding although I haven't seem any fry and can only assume this is down to inexperienced males or infertile eggs? All water params are fine but have increased small water changes to every other day, I have also ordered some IAL, but do you think I should dose some ESHA exit as well to rule out velvet ?


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## roadmaster (3 Jan 2018)

Male Bettas do not hold eggs.
Would be good to know water parameter's.
Descriptions such as fine,good,normal, have little meaning with respect to fishes health.
You want ZERO for ammonia and Nitrites, and nitrates around 10 to 20 ppm. Temps on the warm side.
I would see if the every couple days water change with dechlorinator such as PRIME does not bring improvement.
Variety of foods with removal of same if not eaten within a few minutes/


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## dw1305 (3 Jan 2018)

Hi all, 





roadmaster said:


> Male Bettas do not hold eggs.


 I think <"_Betta simplex"> _is a bit of a strange one because it starts the incubation period as a paternal mouth-brooder, but sometimes then spits the eggs into dense vegetation before the fry have hatched._


Hooky said:



			but do you think I should dose some ESHA exit as well to rule out velvet ?
		
Click to expand...

_I probably would as I know they are very prone to velvet. 

Do you have any live food you could give it?

cheers Darrel


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## greenmac75 (3 Jan 2018)

Join Chen's Bettas on facebook the sell wilds regular and the group are very helpful.


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## roadmaster (3 Jan 2018)

My apologies to OP with regards to breeding habit's of the Betta simplex
I was reminded of a post not so long ago on another forum where the person wondered if her male betta which was quite swollen was egg bound.


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## alto (5 Jan 2018)

Some history on the fish & setup details might help with more accurate guesses 

Is this a species only tank?
How long have you had the fish?
Source?
Did you treat fish upon arrival? 
Are other Betta simplex active & eating? & only this single fish seems a bit under the weather?

Compare how your boy looks with the holding B simplex shown on the IBC Betta page (you may need to scroll down for the photo) - my experience with (breeding) chocolate gouramis & Betta hendra is that fish look stunning rather than pale or washed out

I don't know what IAL is 

You might try a fairly large water change (depending how closely you can match tap vs tank) or frequent smaller water changes (daily or even every 12hours) 

If fish seem happier but still not as active as they should be,
I'll add in a dose of Formalin (still one of the most effective meds for various external parasites, & minimal side effects - unlike the dye based meds which have become much more popular & accepted - though needs to be handled & dosed with more care) - if this is the right guess, fish are generally "happier" within 30-60min post dosing

Some fish seem to be much more tolerant of Formalin than some of the alternate (anti) external parasite meds which is why I still use this as my first (trial) med

External parasite infections are still one of the most common ornamental fish diseases


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## MirandaB (5 Jan 2018)

alto said:


> I don't know what IAL is


 Indian almond leaf/Catappa


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## Hooky (7 Jan 2018)

dw1305 said:


> Do you have any live food you could give it?
> 
> cheers Darrel



I currently feed a mix of dry and frozen, what live food would you suggest I have microworm but assuming they are too small


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## dw1305 (8 Jan 2018)

Hi all,





Hooky said:


> I currently feed a mix of dry and frozen, what live food would you suggest I have microworm but assuming they are too small


<"Grindal worms"> are easy to culture. _Daphnia_ and vestigial winged Fruit-flies are a bit more fiddly, but worth the effort. 
Springtails are another option.

When the weather is warmer the best food is Mosquito larvae.   

cheers Darrel


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## dean (19 Mar 2019)

Firstly we need to know where you got them from and have they been quarantined or treated with anything - as you say wild Bettas - as in collected from the wild or as in wild type and not betta splendens ?
We need more specific information 

You will find the people on here are more knowledgeable than on Chen’s fb group 
If you really want advice from a fb Group then join a specialist one such as Anabantoid Association of Great Britain


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Fiske (19 Mar 2019)

Hooky said:


> I currently feed a mix of dry and frozen, what live food would you suggest I have microworm but assuming they are too small



My wild B. coccina (rip) disregarded anything that didn't move. 
Microworm should be ok, grindal probably better. 

Do you only have the one fish? Or if others, do they eat? We need more info.


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## dw1305 (19 Mar 2019)

Hi all,





dean said:


> as you say wild Bettas - as in collected from the wild or as in wild type and not betta splendens ?


It is <"_Betta simplex">._


Fiske said:


> Do you only have the one fish? Or if others, do they eat?


The OP @Hooky  posted the thread about 14 months ago, and hasn't visited UKAPS since October, so my guess is we will never know the answer.

cheers Darrel


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## dean (19 Mar 2019)

Weird it popped up as a new topic on the app today. Oh well I’ll have to check dates before I reply 


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## alto (19 Mar 2019)

Maybe these posts will show in @Hooky inbox & we’ll find out how this colony fared

My experience (since this posting) with B simplex was rather negative (in part due to my own stupidity ... OK a lot due to my idiocy) 
Someone had ordered a B simplex pair, but then was no longer interested in the remaining male ... but didn’t communicate this for a couple weeks (fish was “holding” at a local shop in a typical Betta container with lid)
When I was offered the fish, he was very stressed

So (& this is the idiot part) I just dumped him into my low light planted tank hoping to alleviate his environmental stress at least ... long story short, he was also ill           
And managed to thoroughly share it 

I lost most of my _S_ _selatanensis_ over this ... whatever it was, nothing I did made any difference to the slow progress of this disease (fish died singly over 2-3 months, then I left the remaining fish for another couple months before moving them to another tank and rescaling the DeadZone)
Ironically, the B simplex was still alive (though failing to thrive) after nearly 2 months, at which time, I finally euthanized 
Once he was gone, only a couple more fish died, then the remaining fish seemed to stabilize ...


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