OK so I am looking for some input on my fishes behavior recently, I am not extremely worried but still a little especially since I am new to the fish world. But recently my fish has seemed a little lethargic and he has not been eating as much. I put in his usual amount and instead of gobling the pieces up right away he'll maybe eat one pellet, try and eat another and the. Just give up and go sit somewhere. I've checked the temp and it is at the same it always is, and initially I thought it was maybe due to an algae growth I had but I cleaned that out a few days ago and it has still persisted. So I guess if anyone has any input onto what it may be or what I need to do that would be great.
Well, to have algae appear you need to have food for it and that would be ammonia/nitrate. Have you tested your tanks water? Algae is a plant and as such can help keep water in the safe zone.
Housing
What size is your tank? 3 Gallon
What temperature is your tank? 78-80
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellets, can't recall brand off the top of my head
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2x a day, 2 in the morning 3 in evening
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Aquasafe water conditioner, and >1mL of fertilizer every other week
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? Have not done so yet
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Has not changed, actually looks healthier and more vibrant after I cleaned the algae out
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Slightly less active and doesn't seem to be eating
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 4 days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? Less than a year, got him at petco about 2 months ago
I have one small anubias, and it is doing very well, nice and green, a brown spot on maybe one or two leaves, but other than that it seems to be doing nicely. The fertilizer I add is florapride.
I'm honestly starting to wonder if it is stress of some sort..reading through the disease page, the issue is I am not entirely sure from what and why this happened suddenly oO I've had for two months now and he's been fine until recently and honestly nothing has changed in how I care for him. I'm startin to worry a little though because he hides all the time usually at the bottom and will literally just lay on the bottom
Okay...what I would recommend-remove the filter to start-you can either add it back later or remove it all together. But for now turn if off and make 50% water only change for the next 2 days-then twice weekly for the next week-1-50% water only and 1-50% with light vacuum in all areas you can reach without moving anything-leaving him in the tank for the water changes-Then re-eval............ If he has any behavior changes or change in symptoms he may need a treatment-but until then I think a reduction of stress is a good first start.
If you have access to live mosquito larva-offer several rinsed a couple of times a day-otherwise-good quality varied diet fed in small frequent meals.
Hold food for the next 24h-unless you have some live food to offer.
Don't add anymore ferts-Anubias are not big eaters to start with and the ferts are most likely just feeding the algae.
Sometimes the water movement even a slight amount can be stressful-especially on the Long heavy fin males and this stress alone can compromise the immune response.
Alrighty thank you, and yes I've buffered his filter a lot already, there is almost no current from it, because that was bugging him when I first got him.
I also got some stress coat for him and am basically goin to follow what you said and leave him be and hopefully that helps.
Also what kind of plant would you recomend for a good ammonia eater? I just realized a local pet store has a pretty good selection of live plants, and wouldn't mind adding another to his tank when I can
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