Depressed Betta

[Eveh]

Very gently with a cup then he didn't want to move out of the cup I don't have any stress coat so I couldn't help him.

[AyalaCookiejar]

How dirty is the water he's in currently?

When acclimating with a cup, you'll want to float the cup in the tank you are moving him to. Float it for awhile if the temp in the new tank is different than the temp in the old one so his water in his cup will adjust. Periodically add a small amount of water to the cup. If say for the first hour floating him, add a spoonful of new tank water to the cup every fifteen minutes. For the second hour, add every ten minutes, and for the third hour or half hour, add every five minutes. You could slowly increase the size of the spoonfuls each hour as well. Check the temp in the cup with a thermometer and the temp in the tank to be sure its the same.

Some bettas will get stressed from being cupped. Mine got stress stripes when I cupped him and moved him for treatment. If the water in his current tank is dirty and hasn't been changed in a while, the pH might be lower than the pH in the new tank and he will need to be adjusted slowly. Moving him quickly back and forth between tanks will stress him more.

Sometimes a little stress is unavoidable. After you finish acclimation and release him into the new tank, give him some space and darkness for awhile so he can adjust. Instead of dumping him into the new tank, just hold the cup sideways into the tank and eventually he should get curious and swim out of it on his own. I would wait for him to regain color before trying to acclimate him again.

[AyalaCookiejar]

Also, what size is the old tank and what size is the new tank and how much decor do you have in the new tank? How long has it been since the last water change in the old tank? Are you using a different water source and conditioner? You need some type of conditioner. What is the exact temp of both tanks?

[LugiaChan]

Sand is very dirty and some sand takes a couple of days just to settle. I love it the most, but because it's so dirty- I use marbles now. It was very hard to keep clean and my fish got sand in his gills with crazy clouding.

I suggest having a 5 gallon tank the most might help your fish and the heater stay more temperature consistent as soon as you have the money.

A really nice product is Indian Almond Leaves. Be sure to have your water checked by a pet store that does water testing for free, i'm curious if your water has something bad in it because grey is quite a rare color for a betta fish.... It's worrisome.

[prettykitty123]

Originally Posted by Artist with a betta

He is probably stressed out because of all this. You can buy bettasafe (water conditioner) very cheap at Walmart and you should get a very reliable heater.

I agree with getting the water conditioner at WalMart. I got some that was just for Betta fish for only 2 dollars.

[Tikibirds]

The grey may just be from stress of the change as someone else said. I have a dark blue CT and everytime I change the water, weather I cup him or not - his fins will turn a greyish color. I also have a red female that turns almost white when stressed

[LugiaChan]

Originally Posted by Tikibirds

The grey may just be from stress of the change as someone else said. I have a dark blue CT and everytime I change the water, weather I cup him or not - his fins will turn a greyish color. I also have a red female that turns almost white when stressed

That is crazy weird! :0 lol