Lying on bottom of tank not eating

[Torres91]

Hi,

I've had my Betta since January but recently he hasn't been himself.
I recently bought a new 23Litre (5 gallon) tank but didn't put him in straight away as it was going through the nitrogen cycle.

About 3 days before i planned on putting him in the new tank i noticed he was mainly staying at the bottom of the tank, not moving much, only going up for air. Also he wasn't eating as much as usual (flakes once a day)

I did a water test on the old tank and the new tank:
Old Tank: New Tank:
Ammonia 0.5 Ammonia less than 0.5
PH 7.6 PH 7.6
KH 270 KH 270
GH 250 GH 250
Nitrate N03 100-250 Nitrate N03 10
Nitrite N02 0 Nitrite N02 .05


I went to my local pet shop and they recommended putting him in the new tank which i did, slowly acclimatising him and gradually adding new aquarium water into his plastic bag and then gently tipping him in

I did this yesterday and im aware he won't get better overnight but he still isn't eating and is still at the bottom of his tank.
The temperature is 79 in his tank which is pretty constant, there is a filter which is on it's lowest setting.
He has no other tank mates.
I normally change 25% of his water once a week, however whilst he's been ill i've done it once a day

Sorry my post is a little messy I'm in a bit of a panic

[sythka]

Hi there!

Betta fish have been known to not eat for a month. Keep introducing fresh food into his tank. When he wants to eat he will. There is such a thing as betta fish depression, and sadly we haven't figured out a way to cure it yet. Your water levels look perfect though, and there's no reason he should be ill.

I would recommend trying bloodworms, cause they sink and look appetizing.


Have you noticed any bloating?

[Aus]

Old Tank: Ammonia 0.5

^ That'll likely be why he's feeling poorly, 0.5 is pretty high. How big was the old tank? If it was a small bowl, and you were changing it 25% once a week, your betta was probably getting a lot of ammonia exposure.

Is the tank heated? I get the feeling it isn't.. if the smaller tank wasn't heated, temp fluctuations can be rapid, even in warm weather in small amounts of water, so maybe that is a factor, too. An adjustable heater is pretty essential to keeping swings from happening, they hate sudden change.

Don't worry about not eating. New fish can do that a while until they settle in. I'd recommend some decent high-protein betta pellets 2 x per day and occasional live food rather than 1 x flakes per day. Flakes can add to ammonia levels, and generally aren't as high in protein as good quality pellets.

I've used Stress Coat on new fish since my first came home, and I really notice the difference. A drop or two of that per gallon really helps them during changes to new tanks.

If he doesn't pick up in a few days, do let us know.

[Torres91]

Thanks for the replies!

I'll get some bloodworms asap as I like that they "look appetizing" :)!

He doesn't seem to be bloated.

The old tank was 19lr (4 gallon) and did have a heater although it was a cheap one so might not have been as effective as his new one for the new tank.

Glad to hear that they can go a while without eating as he's only eaten half a flake in about 4 days now I'd say.

I've been using tap water conditioner and I bought something called "Health Guard Fish Treatment" which i've been adding to my daily 25% water changes.

I've also bought pellets since he's been ill but he hasn't shown any interest in them as he hasn't really been near the top looking for food so i've ended up taking them out after 15 minutes.

Thanks for the advice!

[sythka]

No problem, Torres! Keep us updated and let us know if he starts feeling better!


I hope the best for him and you!

[Torres91]

Just to update those that helped,

About a week after my original post the ammonia levels were still a little high so I managed to get my hands on an emergency ammonia removal thing.

Overnight I noticed a change, he was much more active and the night after that he was back to his normal self :)

I've changed from flakes bloodworms as he seems to love them.
I don't bother with the pellets as they more often than not sink straight to the bottom of the tank and he ignores them, on the rare occasion that they have floated he goes to eat them but then just stares and ignores it haha :)

Thanks for your advice, really happy to see him back to normal!

[KevinPham123]

Make sure not to feed him too many bloodworms a day. maybe 3-4 is good.

[Torres91]

Well,

For some reason overnight things took a sudden and drastic change for the worse at I woke up today and he'd died :(

I did an ammonia test today and the levels were as they were when he started getting ill. I have no idea why though. Yesterday he was fine, eating fine, swimming normally.

Thanks for your help anyway guys,

RIP Emilio aka Torres

[Torres91]

Can anyone tell me what I'm supposed to do now actually?

Do I leave the tank running? Leave the plants in there? Do a water change etc

I plan on getting new fish eventually once I can find a way of controlling the ammonia levels in the long term