He's acting... weird

[Artist with a betta]

This morning he got his fins caught in the intake tube cage thing of an HOB filter. He's been wrapping his fins around the filter and dashing off like it was a game for him for a few days and was just acting in general weird. So now his tail fin is shredded on the end and I removed the HOB filter and replaced it with a sponge filter....But now he is still acting weird. yesterday sitting here procrastinating studying for my finals i noticed he was swimming a little sideways and when he was just swimming from one side of the tank to the other it seemed like he would drop down for no reason.


Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 80 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? sponge fillter
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? Omega One Betta Buffet
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 pellets twice a day (Sunday and Wednesday is bloodworm day so 2 pellets in the morning and 2 freeze dried blood worms before bed)

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50% with gravel syphon
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Stress Coat or Bettasafe

Water Parameters:
pH: 7.0
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?[color="red"] just some serious ragged tail fin from getting stuck in the filter/COLOR]
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He is acting weird swimming real low and hiding behind the filter
When did you start noticing the symptoms? a day or two ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Stress coat
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Fin Blowouts and Fin Rot
How old is your fish (approximately)? 1 year

[MattsBettas]

A picture would be nice. Sounds to me like sbd, I would fast him for three days and keep his water pristine.

[Artist with a betta]

I won't have access to a camera for another week. I thought it might be swim blader....how do I fix my fish

[Artist with a betta]

Well I made the water shallow and added some Epsom salt here's hoping he's still alive when I wake up.

[callistra]

You can just prefilter the hob if you want:http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...ords=prefilter

He sounds like he may have just been sucked to the filter and could only fight it so long. I doubt it was a game to him.

Replacing the filter has restarted your cycle and you will now have to start all over, testing daily and doing a water change any time you see as little as .25ppm ammonia or nitrite. It shouldn't take as long as the first time since you still have the gravel and decor which is holding some of the bb. I suggest a drops kit as the strips aren't accurate.

I would do a series of 50% water changes over the next 2-3 days and get your water tested.

Is he bloated at all? What color is his poop? Can you share photos?

[Artist with a betta]

Originally Posted by callistra

You can just prefilter the hob if you want:http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...ords=prefilter

He sounds like he may have just been sucked to the filter and could only fight it so long. I doubt it was a game to him.

Replacing the filter has restarted your cycle and you will now have to start all over, testing daily and doing a water change any time you see as little as .25ppm ammonia or nitrite. It shouldn't take as long as the first time since you still have the gravel and decor which is holding some of the bb. I suggest a drops kit as the strips aren't accurate.

I would do a series of 50% water changes over the next 2-3 days and get your water tested.

Is he bloated at all? What color is his poop? Can you share photos?

I I will not be able to give pictures for another week because of my crazy Timetable (i have digital media and photography and you have to turn in your camera whether you in the next semester or not -_-) his poop is of normal color and consistency. and he is not bloated and his belly is purple like the rest of him. his color is looking kind of dull though.