Betta swimming a lot, eating very little

[arkhamresident]

I have a male betta in a 10 gallon. On Sunday I changed the 15 watt incandescent bulbs for 600 lumens CFLs. Since then all he does is swim back and forth in front of the tank. Before this when I opened the lid on the hood to feed him he'd come rushing up and wait to eat but now I have to tap on the hood to get his attention and he only eats about half the food before rushing back to patrolling the front.

I assume he sees his reflection created by the new bulbs and he's just thinking there's another fish trying to invade his territory but this has been going on for almost three days and I'm getting worried. He's slowed down quite a bit since Sunday but he's still just going back and forth...

Ten gallon tank with Tetra 10i, Aqueon 50 watt submersible heater and temp @ 78 (confirmed w/analog therm). I'm feeding him Omega One betta pellets and the occasional freeze dried blood worm. I use API tap water conditioner for PWCs and the tank has been cycling for 11 days.

[Myates]

Possibly could see his reflection - especially if the tank light is on and the room light is dim/off.

He won't kill himself swimming too much.. possibly the light is a bit bright and he would rather not look up at it as much while feeding.

How many pellets does he end up eating?

[arkhamresident]

Originally Posted by Myates

Possibly could see his reflection - especially if the tank light is on and the room light is dim/off.

He won't kill himself swimming too much.. possibly the light is a bit bright and he would rather not look up at it as much while feeding.

How many pellets does he end up eating?

I usually feed him 3 pellets a day but now he's only eating one or two before he goes back to swimming. I'm going to get some dimmer CFLs today and see if that helps.

[Myates]

Hope so.. I understand though, I have a male in a 10g that just won't stop.. I just end up tossing in a bunch of pellets and let him do his thing because all he does is swim swim swim. The snails will grab any he doesn't eat. I have used different bulbs on his tank - even forgoing them all together, with no change to mine's behavior. But he has always been that way.. yours changing his behavior is a bit different.

[arkhamresident]

Originally Posted by Myates

Hope so.. I understand though, I have a male in a 10g that just won't stop.. I just end up tossing in a bunch of pellets and let him do his thing because all he does is swim swim swim. The snails will grab any he doesn't eat. I have used different bulbs on his tank - even forgoing them all together, with no change to mine's behavior. But he has always been that way.. yours changing his behavior is a bit different.

When we first got him he was pretty active but I took him out of the .5 gallon bowl he was in and put him in the 10 gallon. He hid behind the filter and heater a lot but after I got some plants and decor he would come out more. The day before I got the new bulbs he would stay on the right side of the tank up against the glass going back and forth but I moved the Squidward house that was near the glass because I thought that was causing a reflection on the glass and he stopped. When it's dark he chills out and just swims around the tank in more relaxed fashion. Maybe he's just gotten used to the new decorations and the bulbs are making a reflection on the glass. He seems fine other than being overly active and eating less.

I did a water test today (API Freshwater Master Test kit) and the NH3 was looked just under 2, NO2 was 0, NO3 was 0 and pH was 7.4. I've been doing 10% PWCs every other day (did one today) as suggested by a web acquaintance of mine.

I don't know how fish think but IMHO if he were human I'd say he looks bored.

[arkhamresident]

Oops I meant the ammonia was just under 0.2.