First time Betta owner

[Dreamweaver]

I have had my first Siamese Fighting Fish/Betta since about November of 2007 and when I fist got him he used to swim and was mostly always on the go.Every morning and evening when walking to the tank to feed him he would automatically swim to the top to meet me for food.

I have a 5Gal tank with a filter system and a top to his tank. I never use light on top,he seemed to hate that from the get go.

But now all he seems to do is stay on the bottom of the tank and sometimes on his side like he's dead. He used to stay close to the filter when he was sleeping. Anyway, I nearly tossed him out one day about 3 weeks ago because I thought he was dead. When I touched him with the net he took off like crazy but 5 minutes later he was back on the bottom of the tank. I change his tank weekly and use stuff to treat the water like I'm suppose to. His fins and tail and whole body looks fine. He does not look lke he's in any distress. I still feed him twice a day and he's eating it because it's not anywhere in the tank at a later time.

What could be wrong with my Simon?

Thanks :(

[ErinBBC]

What are your water parameters? Ammonia poisoning can lead to inactivity...also I believe that resting on his side might be a symptom of constipation, in which case he needs a pea.

[Dreamweaver]

Originally Posted by ErinBBC

What are your water parameters? Ammonia poisoning can lead to inactivity...also I believe that resting on his side might be a symptom of constipation, in which case he needs a pea.

Not sure I know what you mean when you ask water parameters? And how do I go about feeding him a pea? Just a store bought frozen green pea?

Thanks for your help with this. :)

[Meatpuppet]

water parameters are leveles of nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and ph (messured with a master liquid test kit) the nitrite and ammonia should be 0 the nitrate should be under 20ppm and ph should be 7 or even just a hair lower. these test kits are good to have so you can monitor your water quality.

to feed a betta a pea you just defrot it in 15 second microwave in a little bit of water, remove outer shell and cut up into (betta) bite size peices. somtimes bettas like it to be fed to them on the edge of a toothpick or finger.

and do you have a heater? bettas need 78 degree water constantly. or else they become prone to illnesses and such.