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Betta is acting different

2K views 27 replies 10 participants last post by  Stillwater 
#1 ·
In the last two days, I have been trying to feed my betta. I use the pellets and I feed him one at a time.

Last night and this morning, he would take a pellet and then he would spit it back out. Sometimes when he does this some other stuff whitish is coming up too.

Can you tell me what is wrong with him and what I should do? I am very worried and I would be crushed if he got sick and I lost him.

Please help.

Thank you, Lis.
 
#4 ·
Betta acting different

Thank you! I will try to get some freeze dried bloodworms.

I tried new pellets today (different brand) and he still wasn't eating. Still spitting them out.

I did fish all the pellets he didn't eat out of his little tank - it's a plastic tank that is about 1/2 gallon.

He had been doing so well up until now. I changed his water which I had been doing every week - and I put in new gravel (Pro-V) the first night and day he ate, but Friday night he was not buying it. Didn't want anything and this morning the same thing. I was pretty upset because I'm really getting attached to the little bugger (His name is Major Minor)

I also bought a therometer (sp?) today too to check the water but I think the water is fine. I've been using spring water (bottled from Wal-Mart) just to make sure there isn't anything in our city water that might hurt him.

I change his water once a week - he gets mad at me for a day or so but then he builds his bubble nest and I know he's happy again with me. I talk to him when I get home at night from work, wave at him and we sort of walk back and forth along his tank together. Well he swims I slide my finger and he seems to like that. He follows my finger to get his food too when he can't locate it.

I just don't want him getting sick on me and leaving me, my heart would be broken.

I appreciate your ideas and I'll keep trying different things until he starts eating again, I hope!

Thank you! Lis.
 
#5 ·
Did you rinse the gravel in your local water? Do you use water conditioner?

You can use your local water if you use a water conditioner. Save money on buying water for his tank and buy a bigger tank. I keep a gallon jug (4 actually) full of water with the lids off going "stale" at all times and use that for water changes with Stress Coat water conditioner. There are lots of different water conditioners that will work. Everyone has their favorites.

You mentioned spitting out white stuff? Is that still happening?

What is the temp. of the water?

How do you know he's mad at you? Does he act different? Or are you basing this on the bubble nest? I ask just because I'm wondering if there is something about the water affecting him.

I'm thinking you should do a complete water change, take out the gravel (since the problem started after adding it) and see if he perks up. Since he's in such a small bowl, you might consider doing more frequent water changes until he's back to normal.

Yes, bettas are picky eaters but it is of concern if he's just gone off food that he was eating before. And spitting out white stuff, whatever that could be.

How long have you had him?

I'm hoping someone with more experience wanders on by.
 
#6 ·
Major Minor's Eating Problem

Susan,

Yes, I did rinse the gravel in local water! I never even gave it a thought when I did this!!! Dah...

No I don't use water conditioner for his water. I should probably go and by some tomorrow. Currently right now I have some regular tap water sitting out next to his tank getting 'stale' seeing if changing his water tomorrow will help at all. Tomorrow after church, I'll go back to the fish store and buy the water conditioner.

The water is about 73 -74 degrees right now.

No he is not spitting out white stuff anymore. That was this morning or last night I cannot remember. I was so sick with a migraine last night I don't remember which time it was that he did it but he isn't doing it now.

I don't know if he's mad at me but he hides from me down at the bottom of the tank behind one of the plastic bushes. Or he'll keep his back to me. He's happy to see me when I go to feed him though and he usually perks up then. I'm going to replace the gravel too and not rinse it with tap water this time.

I got him on December 22, 2007 - he's my Christmas present to me. I lost my niece this summer to cancer she was only 37 years old so I've been feeling so desolate that I thought getting a fish would help me as she always had fish at her house and when I would sleep over when she was getting chemo treatments I would sleep on the couch and leave the aquarium light on at night and have the fish to keep me company in my time of sadness. Now that I don't go up there as often since her passing, I thought Major Minor might help me through my sad times. I'll be very sad if anything happens to him so early on.

I so want him to be better. I'm going to try the water change in the morning once the water gets more stale. Although he was doing fine with the spring water (bottled) from Wal-Mart before.

Thanks, Lis.
 
#7 ·
I'm so sorry about your niece and your migraines. I suffer from them as well.

If you use a water conditioner, rinsing the gravel in tap water isn't a problem. It just might have been that one time because of the chlorine/chloramine/heavy metals. The water conditioner will take care of that in the future.

I'm glad he's not spitting out that white stuff any longer.

I think Major Minor is a cool name. I'm glad he's able to bring you solace. I spend lots of time staring at my betta and my snail, lost in thought.

If you can afford it, you might want to consider purchasing a larger tank. Give him more space to swim plus he'll be less susseptible to water changes (like the little bit of chlorine that might have been in with the gravel-if that was the issue). Mine is in a 5 gallon tank (that I got from freecycle) with some silk plants, gravel, a sponge filter, and a small heater. He's on the bar that separates the kitchen from the family room, so I get to spend lots of time watching him. You don't actually need the filter since they like still water. The only other expense was a $10 gravel vaccuum and a $2 bucket from home depot for water changes.

Keep us posted on how he's doing.
 
#8 ·
Or you could go for craigslist. I see 10G tanks all the time with filter, gravel, etc. for $20. It would keep you totally set, and you could even get a friend for major minor. He sounds like a really intelligent fish, I hope he does well.

If you're going to the fish store to buy water conditioner, you could bring a sample of the water to the pet shop. Usually they'll test your water for free, and that way you can find out if there's anything wrong with the water in his tank and we'll help you fix it.

Best of luck!
 
#9 ·
Thank you Susan and all others that have replied. I am truly baffled. I have tried everything...

New water. I tried flakes, he does just like with the pellets. Sticks it in his mouth, spits it out. I tried bloodworms (freeze-dried) did the same exact thing.

He is acting more perky today for the first time and looking at me but I think he's hungry and he cannot tell me why he is doing this!

Does anyone know what it could be? How about constipation? What happens when a betta is constipated? Any clues and any ideas, please I am so worried about him now. I took a half day off today to go out and buy him all this stuff and he won't eat anything. I couldn't locate the brineshrimp except for the frozen kind and I just wasn't able to deal with that right now.

I didn't really want to get him a bigger tank. He's been happy for over 30 days in his living arrangements. What's going on with the spitting out or throwing out of food is beyond me. But he's breaking my heart looking at me like he wants to tell me something but I just don't know what.

I've asked the pet stores around here. No one has ever heard of a betta doing this. Of course, I have to have the one betta that does this and no one else knows about it!

HELP! Anyone... please.

Thanks, Lis.
 
#10 ·
Hi Lis,

First, I read on this forum that a fish can go a week or longer with out eating and usually be just fine, means there is still time to try to get this solved. I hope this will easy your worry a little bit.

Try crumbling some of his foods into smaller pieces, flakes,bloodworms, and try pre-soaking til soft all foods before feeding.

Do continue to try to find the freeze dried brine shrimp, call ahead to the stores to find who has it in stock.

Are any of the foods that you are feeding the same as what he was being fed at the store where you purchased him?

As suggested in a prior post, did you get the results of your tank water parameters= ammonia,PH, nitrites, nitrates.

Is there any possibility that he has now or could have had any thing lodged in his mouth or further back?

Is there any possibility that he might have gotten any thing in his mouth that might have injured his mouth even if he spit it right out?
Might explain the white stuff you at one point were seeing and his not eating. Injury that got infected.

Were there any pieces of gravel that were in his bowl that were small enough to fit in his mouth? What is the texture of this gravel.

Ref. constipation, you could try feeding him some small pieces of a pea, wont hurt him if hes not constipated. Thing is, he has to eat it for it to do any good. Take one frozen pea, completely thaw, remove and discard outer skin, only feed in side portion, pinch off small piece, squish between fingers,and feed either by placing in his bowl, between your fingers, or with a tooth pick carefully.

You could also do the following,I know I would, remove all the gravel from his bowl, and leave it out for a couple of days, watch for evidence of fish manure. If you should find some, it would rule out constipation, and indicate that he is getting some food in.

As was suggested in an earlier post, did you get the results of his bowl water parameters= ammonia,PH, nitrite, nitrate.

When you are able to deal with the frozen brine shrimp, also try frozen daphnia, the daphnia I feed is very very tiny. Very easy for them to get down.

And last but not least, try to PM bettababy.

Hang in there, and don't give up.
 
#11 ·
with the pellets he could be trying to soften them up, however if he is not eating them, then thats not the case. like some people said keep trying and if you can get a bigger tank. usually a sign of constipation is a swollen 'stomach' however you never know.
good luck and i hope major miner gets better :D
 
#12 ·
Stillwater said:
Hi Lis,

First, I read on this forum that a fish can go a week or longer with out eating and usually be just fine, means there is still time to try to get this solved. I hope this will easy your worry a little bit.

Try crumbling some of his foods into smaller pieces, flakes,bloodworms, and try pre-soaking til soft all foods before feeding.

Do continue to try to find the freeze dried brine shrimp, call ahead to the stores to find who has it in stock.

Are any of the foods that you are feeding the same as what he was being fed at the store where you purchased him?

As suggested in a prior post, did you get the results of your tank water parameters= ammonia,PH, nitrites, nitrates.

Is there any possibility that he has now or could have had any thing lodged in his mouth or further back?

Is there any possibility that he might have gotten any thing in his mouth that might have injured his mouth even if he spit it right out?
Might explain the white stuff you at one point were seeing and his not eating. Injury that got infected.

Were there any pieces of gravel that were in his bowl that were small enough to fit in his mouth? What is the texture of this gravel.

Ref. constipation, you could try feeding him some small pieces of a pea, wont hurt him if hes not constipated. Thing is, he has to eat it for it to do any good. Take one frozen pea, completely thaw, remove and discard outer skin, only feed in side portion, pinch off small piece, squish between fingers,and feed either by placing in his bowl, between your fingers, or with a tooth pick carefully.

You could also do the following,I know I would, remove all the gravel from his bowl, and leave it out for a couple of days, watch for evidence of fish manure. If you should find some, it would rule out constipation, and indicate that he is getting some food in.

As was suggested in an earlier post, did you get the results of his bowl water parameters= ammonia,PH, <span style="color:#3300FF;" onmouseover="return escape('A poisonous substance that is caused by the breaking down of poop and ammonia via the presence of beneficial bacteria.')">nitrite</span>, <span style="color:#3300FF;" onmouseover="return escape('It is considered as the final product of the nitrogen cycle. It is harmless when kept under 40 ppm however anything higher than that poses a health risk to the fish.')">nitrate</span>.

When you are able to deal with the frozen brine shrimp, also try frozen daphnia, the daphnia I feed is very very tiny. Very easy for them to get down.

And last but not least, try to PM bettababy.

Hang in there, and don't give up.
This is about the best bit of advice you could read.

I'm a bit baffled myself and was going to offer some of these remedies, but they're covered :wink: . I'll second this advice.

.... Try raising his temperature a bit (buy a cheap heater from wal-mart). This raises his immune system in case anything bacterial is going on. Not the most likely solution, but I tend to find bettas within 78-80 degrees F do much better overall.
 
#13 ·
Stillwater, ReMz, Southafrica100, etc.

Thank you for all the advice and all the help. I did try several of the things and you'll all be pleased to know that Major Minor is eating again! I am so happy and so thrilled. He is also very happy, swimming about, wagging at me, and he's done a bubble nest too.

Right now I am just sighing a big sigh of relief over this because I think I couldn't handle if anything happened to him. It's all too soon. And I think we are still bonding nicely.

The only thing I haven't done so far is the PH testing. I'd been using the bottled spring water from Wal-Mart so I didn't think I needed to do that. Although everyone is assuring me I can go to tap water as long as I leave it out next to his acquarium for a few days before changing his water.

I just would like to get one more opinion if I can, do everyone not take their betta out the acquarium or where ever his/her home is and only clean out 75% or 90% of the water? Or do you take them out put them in a small container - drain and clean everything out and put him/her back into the newly cleaned home? I'm getting mixed answers on this and need some advice and/or opinions.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and maybe a long weekend as Monday is President's Day.

Lis.
 
#14 ·
I'm glad Major Minor is doing better! Yippee!

I think you could clean his tank either way, whichever works for you and him. Doing it the partial way might mean doing it more often. Like 50 - 75% twice a week instead of 100% once a week. I'm not 100% sure though. Hopefully someone with more experience will wander through.
 
#15 ·
Hi Lis,

Thank You for letting us know how Major Minor is doing, was very happy to read your post. :D

All my Betta boys are in 10gal. tanks, so I can,t help much with what is best ref. water changes, remove, don't remove betta. But I think SST,s advice is good.

I can share some thing I do that might help,...when I do remove a betta from its tank, I prefer to use a clear plastic cup/container, rather than a net if possible. For me any way, I have found this to be less stressful on the fish, as long as its done gently, and might be less damage to fins.
If I'm wrong in this practice I hope some one will advise.
 
#16 ·
Hi Lis,

Thank You for letting us know how Major Minor is doing, was very happy to read your post. :D

All my Betta boys are in 10gal. tanks, so I can,t help much with what is best ref. water changes, remove, don't remove betta. But I think SST,s advice is good.

I can share some thing I do that might help,...when I do remove a betta from its tank, I prefer to use a clear plastic cup/container, rather than a net if possible. For me any way, I have found this to be less stressful on the fish, as long as its done gently, and might be less damage to fins.
If I'm wrong in this practice I hope some one will advise.
 
#17 ·
IME, I use something called a "betta scoop" It's similar to the conventional net only that instead of a mesh net, it utilizes a waterproof cloth. This way, the betta will be staying with water during the time you are cleaning/changing his water. Using a cup will suffice, only if done gently. Actually it uses the same principle but for easier use ;)

Re: water changes, it all depends on your tank size. Smaller tanks tend to need or even require 100% water changes. A half gallon tank will indeed require a complete water change within a week :) Remember to acclimatize him to his new clean water before pouring him in! Regardless if it's treated, aged water, you still have to take your time in pouring him back in:D

Hope this helps(?)

Best of luck! :D
 
#20 ·
Hi Tenpaull,

Where did you get the Betta scoop from? I have not seen one and this sounds like something I would like to have. I do have what is called a specimen container, but it doesn't sound like the same thing.

Should I have posted this under a new topic? :?
 
#22 ·
You can fashion it out for yourself ;)
get wood or anything for that matter, to serve as your handle.
Attach it to a metal wire[shaped like a circle or square] which will serve as the frame for the scooper.
Sew in the waterproof cloth, fasten it onto the wire :D
it should look like a big spoon. lol
 
#24 ·
Um...

Sorry about your neice my aunt died of cancer to so I've been there and I know how you feel and I got my fish for that reason too! Wow...well okay I use distilled water and try one freeze dried blood worm or a brine shrimp and a couple pellets/flakes and it works fine I think they just need variety
 
#25 ·
I have a picture of Major Minor, I took it the other day and I sent in e-mail to friends and family who have not seen him yet, but... for the life of me I cannot figure out how to put it in my profile to use!

I have hard time with this site a lot of the time. I keep getting booted out and have to start all over again. I've sat here and tried and tried to figure out why but to no success. I use Safari as my browser - maybe that's got something to do with it.

Thank you for all the great advice, and thank you for the kind words about my niece. She was only 37 and she was mom to Ashley who was 5 at the time she died in August, and Zachary her son was 3. Ashley is having a very hard time with this all. Zackie is still young - he will probably not remember as much. Her husband Scott is also having a hard time dealing - they too had fish and after Kim died the two fish (I don't remember what they were but they were huge - the more room they had in their tank the bigger they grew) also died. Now they have some other kind of fish, smaller and they have 6 or did the last time I was up there. Obviously the children and Scott love to have the fish around also. It is comforting to say the least.

Must be Kim missed Angel and Chocolate because they didn't stay much longer after she passed on. But in their defense they were very old, older than Ashley's 6 years (that she is now), so they lived a very good life and Kim loved them very much.
 
#26 ·
Hi Lis,

Ref. the problem with getting booted off, I am also having this problem, but only when posting a reply, it happened when trying to post this reply to you. I'm using Internet Explorer.

Ref. the getting a User Pic. to show up in your profile, I also had allot of trouble. May be the following will help...

Go to the Fish Forum index, then go to..How To Use Fish Forum.
There is a sticky there about posting pictures.

Also I posted a question there...user pic in profile, the info I received helped. But I still had to figure out how to resize the image to get it to show up.

I can go into a little more detail, but will first wait to see if any of the above helps. Let me know if it doesn't.
 
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