help! lethargic + loss of appetite... i don't know what to do!

[vlnr2]

My betta Sonatina has been, for the past two days or so, more lethargic than usual. She has this one artificial plant that she had been resting on, though today I haven't noticed her on the plant for too long. However, just tonight I noticed that she won't eat her pellets. Occasionally she will swim up to it and maybe bite at it, but she won't actually eat it. I've also noticed her swimming up to the surface for air, but I'm not sure if this is more than usual...

I did a water change tonight and I tested the pH level, and it turned out to be about 7.6, which I know is a little high.

Some background information about daily routines, and then I'll fill out the form. In the morning when I wake up, I turn on her aquarium light and feed her a pellet. I feed her either around dinnertime or whenever I get home, and her light stays on until I go to bed at night. This happens every day, with the exception of a few nights when I forget to turn it off at night.

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallon aquarium
What temperature is your tank? about 80
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? air stone, no, but i dont know about other aeration
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? wardley betta food pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? once in the morning, once in the evening

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? once every week-2weeks
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? approx 25%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Tetra BettaSafe water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
pH level of approx 7.6

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? she has a few "shiny" spots on her, but those have been there for a while now, but colors are good otherwise, and I haven't really noticed a big difference
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? see above
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 1-2 days ago
Have you started treating your fish? not really, i don't quite know what to do...
Does your fish have any history of being ill? nope
How old is your fish (approximately)? I bought her over the summer when she was just an itty bitty little thing, so I would guess about 6 months or so



I read somewhere that it might be water conditions (which doesn't really make sense because I did everything the same as before), or a disease or even maybe just stress from the water change or too much light (on one side of her she does have a very faint stress stripe, but not as dark as when I have to relocate her over school breaks).

Any thoughts? I just don't know what to do..... and I'd be eternally grateful for any help---Sonatina's the only thing getting me through an extremely difficult time.

[Hadoken Kitty]

Your last statement struck my heart. I totally understand your baby being your rock.

As far as Ph balances go, they are actually opposite from what the average person would think. This is how Ph acidity v.s. basic works. 0.1-6.9 means acidic 7.0 means ideal 7.1-10.0 is basic. This would mean that your water more than likely is not the issue.

Try making sure her light isn't on as much. Natural light isn't usually up for any more than 16 hours in a day.

Also, make sure she fasts for one day a week. This gives her lovely little bowels a chance to be clean and good to go for the week to come. If she gets big and puffy, she's eating too much. She'll act lethargic and not want to do much until she gets a chance to clean herself out.

[Demysta]

One thing I'm noticing from the information is that you only do a 25% water change once every week or two. For anything that size, you should most definitely try to do 1 50% and 1 100% water change every week. For now I'd focus on ensuring her water stays very warm and clean. Try doing partial water changes daily for the next few days and see if she perks up.

Also: have you noticed any loss of colour, fin clamping, or discolouration or any sort? Also, do those shiny spots on her look anything like gold dust or salt coating her?

I also want to know about that filter you have. How is the current on it? Is it strong? Bettas do not like strong currents in their water, and a filter may actually stress out your fish rather than help it.

[SharkyTheBetta]

I really hope that Sonatina would be alright soon.

In addition to what have been said before, you should increase your water changes. In a 2.5 g tank one change a week or even worse one change every two weeks of approx. 25% of the water is not ok at all. I would do a 100% water change as soon as possible.

Before putting her in the new water it is very important to acclimatize her properly. You should do it this way: While you change the water, move her in a plastic cup (on which have never been used soap or other chemicals) with tank water. After you change the water in the tank put the cup with your betta into the tank and let it to float. In this way the temperature from the cup will become the same with the temperature from the tank. Let her to float this way for a 15-20 minutes. Then start to add small amounts of water (1 tbs) from the tank into her cup every 10 min for at least an hour. Then release the fish gently in the tank and try not to put too much old water.

Increase your water changes to 2 per week: one 50% and the other one 100%. Choose the days for this according to your schedule.

What kind of shiny spots are on her? Please add a photo where they can be seen. This would be very useful.

[vlnr2]

Her filter kind of has a stronger current, but its been that way since I first got her in July, so i dont think that would have much of an effect?

Ive been doing the water changes but she still seems lethargic. I think i have gotteb her to eat twice since Thursday...which is why i tried the flashlight test for velvet. She has some reflextion but i cant tell if its velvet or just a natural reflection. I tried to get her picture but shes so camera shy that i was unable to do so.

Would it hurt to start treating her for velvet even if im not 100% sure its velvet? And if so, any pointers on treatment? Im such a beginner at this sort of stuff...

Also her stress stripes are showing more prominently than before...

Im at such a loss as to what to do.....

[vlnr2]

Oh and her shiny spits kind of remind me of a brand new penny....

[Bonzai]

My fish went through the exact same thing. Have you noticed that you fish comes up for air more often than before?
I went to the pet store and they told me I was overfeeding my fish.
By week 3, I had already gone through a small container.

Betta's should only be fed once every other day.

Change your fish's water, stop, let him rest, feed him less and just leave him alone. After a week he'll be fine.
If you want, grab some aquarium salts and put a bit in.
The overfeeding might have caused an ammonia poisoning.
My fish when he was sick, sat at the bottom of his tank or on his leaf and just moped around. It took him a week and a half just to get over it.

[SharkyTheBetta]

I would recommend some indian almond leaves in order to mimic the natural betta habitat. They will reduce stress.

[vlnr2]

Ok, so I did a full water change and added in aquarium salts. I think what is ailing her is ammonia poisoning, but I'm not sure the extent of how bad it is. Is there anything else I can/should be doing??

Thank you to everybody who has been helping me!!

[Bonzai]

Banzai had ammonia poisoning. Just wait. It took about 5 days for Banzai to get over it, about 2 weeks to go back to normal. Feed her a teensy bit once every 2 days or so until you see her start to become a little more active again. Make sure the temperature is at least 78 and just leave her alone. She needs to heal.

But she WILL heal !!!!

I went to the pet store and got 2 snails who eat waste (as recommended by the fish experts ). I don't know if that helps prevent ammonia build up but Banzai likes them. The fish experts were also the same guys who told me that Banzai would get better, and he did!!