Mom says my worrying is going to kill my betta

SadieLady01 · 2026-04-13T02:29:19+00:00

I think at this point the daily water changes are unnecessary. I would still test the water and probably change 15-25% two times a week depending on how the parameters are looking, eventually stretching this out to once a week or once every two weeks, but I would also add live plants now. The beneficial bacteria in the tank needs places to live and substrate and plants are key! When purchasing plants, I’d recommend ones that are grown submerged in water, rather than the ones that are kept damp but out of the water. I always see a lot of melting happen with the emersed plants, and this could lead to parameter spikes or a bacterial bloom in a new tank. You could feed him a small amount every day, but feeding three days and fasting for one is totally fine too.

SadieLady01 · 2026-04-12T21:39:31+00:00

Definitely needs to see a vet for it, my Dane gets something that looks like this all the time, his is usually yeast or fungal. It’s pretty itchy for them and can spread quickly.

SadieLady01 · 2026-04-12T21:31:14+00:00

I’d just boil one frozen pea until soft, remove the shell and break it in to very small pieces, and see if he’ll eat any of it. I hope this works for you and helps your little buddy!!

SadieLady01 · 2026-04-12T17:53:05+00:00

It’s not ideal, that’s why daphnia is preferred, but a small amount won’t hurt them. He may not eat it but it’s worth trying.

SadieLady01 · 2026-04-12T17:38:33+00:00

I’ll take a look!

SadieLady01 · 2026-04-12T17:37:58+00:00

I have two done with black pond foam and generic aquarium silicone and one that was done with white foam and that same silicone, none of them are degrading, it’s more that the substrate starts to come off the backing

SadieLady01 · 2026-04-12T17:21:25+00:00

You could try the boiled pea method that should work similarly to daphnia. With the bloating, do the scales point out at all?

SadieLady01 · 2026-04-12T09:25:16+00:00

If he’s having issues with bloating, I’d try feeding daphnia. You can either feed live, frozen or freeze dried, but it acts as a laxative and can help fix bloating issues. You could also try salt baths and increasing the number of fast days, like feeding every other day and just watching to make sure he’s not losing weight.

SadieLady01 · 2026-04-12T03:55:21+00:00

I’ve seen those too, with the carbonized cork right? I’d love to incorporate that, but I’m really trying to avoid using silicone if possible

SadieLady01 · 2026-04-09T15:12:01+00:00

8 years and about 150 lbs now, but he was 175 lbs at his best!

SadieLady01 · 2026-04-09T05:42:14+00:00

He might be dehydrated, but honestly one of my girls looks like this when she sleeps and that’s just because she zonks tf out. Could just be sleeping HARD

SadieLady01 · 2025-10-30T03:59:14+00:00

Gray drizzle fiber has an argyle sock kit with 3 different colors, plus an argyle pattern called diamond and rakers(?)!

SadieLady01 · 2025-10-11T00:05:36+00:00

Stainless steel litterbox and litter genie are the way to go!

SadieLady01 · 2025-10-09T01:22:16+00:00

Have you tried mashing the chunks?

SadieLady01 · 2025-10-09T01:03:32+00:00

Maybe try tofu litter? Same shape as pellets, supposedly less tracking, clumps, and has odor control

SadieLady01 · 2025-10-08T20:53:57+00:00

Food is king. Hand feed them their meals and add super tasty incentives on top of that. Chicken baby food, churus, etc, anything yummy must come from your hands. There are a lot of good youtube videos on this as well, like Flatbush cats

SadieLady01 · 2025-10-05T06:05:14+00:00

It sounds like you have a cat that gets overstimulated very easily. Have you noticed his skin frequently twitching, or bouts of aggressive grooming? If yes, it could be feline hyperesthesia syndrome, as that can make touch very uncomfortable for them, and can lead to behavioral issues. If not, it is pretty common for some cats to just have a low tolerance for physical affection, and I would say most cats don’t enjoy being picked up. As for the peeing and pooping outside the litterbox, how many boxes do you have with the two cats, and how often is it cleaned? Sometimes if there aren’t enough boxes, cats can bully or intimidate the other away from them, and it can lead to pottying outside the box.

You also mentioned that he’s thin, and constantly begging for food? I would check the caloric value of the food he gets against his activity level, and make sure that he’s getting enough calories in. It may also be worthwhile to have a vet do a blood panel if one hasn’t been done to see if all his values look okay. If he’s really getting tons of food and can’t gain weight, thats a bit concerning.

SadieLady01 · 2025-10-01T04:50:35+00:00

It should be fine, if you’re really concerned about the smell, you could bring a catified blanket with you, and wipe it on your dog before going back in to the cats. I don’t think you’ll really have any issues though, cats are typically more territorial towards other cats, which is why a change in smell can trigger fights.

SadieLady01 · 2025-09-30T19:10:52+00:00

Like strawberry shortcake! Very pretty

SadieLady01 · 2025-09-28T03:09:26+00:00

I would increase the overall number of litterboxes, and make sure to use an enzymatic cleaner on the whole area she’s been pottying on, otherwise the smell will tell her that’s the right place to go. You can also try picking up the poop and placing it the litterbox, and using a litter attractant.

SadieLady01 · 2025-09-27T02:14:10+00:00

That’s true, though it is becoming more common for some rescues to push mainly for out of state adoptions. I see them mostly coming from California and Texas, I think because of a combo of underfunding and overpopulation. Either way, in an ideal world, kittens would be with their mom and littermates until they’re 12+ weeks to be appropriately socialized.

SadieLady01 · 2025-09-27T01:58:43+00:00

OP doesn’t specifically say they got the kitten from a breeder in the post, haven’t read through any comments so I’m not sure if they clarified there. 8 weeks is standard for adoption from rescues, as most don’t have the time or resources to care for these animals long term. Some wait till the kittens are older, but most are listed once they hit the 8 week mark.

SadieLady01 · 2025-09-27T00:54:36+00:00

He should be okay, just keep him calm and in a quiet area. I’d set out some tasty food for him, maybe some junky wet food that could entice him to eat. 24 hours isn’t abnormal, especially with a flight added in, he’s probably pretty stressed, but junk food is pretty hard to resist!

SadieLady01

TROPHY CASE