Pan is not eating and has no energy

[creame172]

I am sorry if this is a repeat of another post, but i cant seem to find any with these exact symptoms.

Pan is my male CT, I got him from Petsmart about 2 months ago.
he is usually very energetic and begs for food all the time. i had never seen him rest on a plant or at the bottom, he is usually swimming around.

Now he will not eat and simply sits on his leaf and blows bubbles and seems to be breathing heavy(i dont know how he normally breathes) his fins work just fine he just seems very tired. not injury or fungus or parasite that i can see. no bloat. he responds only when i poke something at him(very gently of course! i wanted to make sure he had not lost mobility)he is blowing bubbles where he sits, very close to the surface on his leaf.

-gets fed once a day aqueon betta pellets. will eat about six, and i usually give into his begging and let him have a few more later in the day(but not every day)
-2 gallon fish bowl
-about 80 degrees F (he has a heater specially for betta fish)
-50% water change about every other day.
-ph, etc tested and is normal. i started closely monitoring it when i noticed his symptoms
-i live in tn so the water is hard
-he has been like this for about two days now.
-he has a live plant(i think is devil's ivy) my sister keeps her betta with one and has had no problems. i added the plant about 3 weeks to a month ago.
-ammonia was .25 so i treated for it. the bottle didnt say how long it took so i gave each treatment 20 min and retested. this was about 3 this afternoon and so far there is no change.
-no loss of color
-no filter or air stone

is it ammonia poisoning and just needs time to get out of his system? have i stressed him with too frequent water changes? water too hot? please help! thanks

[creame172]

i just went to get a picture of him he seemed to cough bubbles up??

[Aluka]

6 pellet is alot =< 3 is enough at a time =<

Thats probbaly not the problem, but just wanted to point it out =<

[creame172]

Originally Posted by Aluka

6 pellet is alot =< 3 is enough at a time =<

Thats probbaly not the problem, but just wanted to point it out =<

he has always been that hungry and begged all day for more even after the six. im afraid he may have some kind of parasite?

[Perseusmom]

The best way to control ammonia is with water changes and since your bowl is 2 gallons you need to do a 100 percent once a week and 2 50 percents. Prime is a great water conditioner and will detox the ammonia for 48 hours then do a water change and add more, its 2 drops per gallon. Do you see any white spots on him ? Get a flashlight and check him out really good. 80 is fine for the temp of his water and when you change the water be sure its as close as possible to that same temp he is in.

Keep and eye on him and keep us updated on how he is doing. As far as feeding I would give 3 or 4 pellets in the morning and 4 at night but no more then 8 a day.

[creame172]

Originally Posted by Perseusmom

The best way to control ammonia is with water changes and since your bowl is 2 gallons you need to do a 100 percent once a week and 2 50 percents. Prime is a great water conditioner and will detox the ammonia for 48 hours then do a water change and add more, its 2 drops per gallon. Do you see any white spots on him ? Get a flashlight and check him out really good. 80 is fine for the temp of his water and when you change the water be sure its as close as possible to that same temp he is in.

Keep and eye on him and keep us updated on how he is doing. As far as feeding I would give 3 or 4 pellets in the morning and 4 at night but no more then 8 a day.

i just checked for white spots he does not have any that i can see. i think he is breathing easier now, and he is swimming around a bit but still nowhere near usual for him. i am thinking it must be ammonia but with him being so weak will i do more harm by changing out his water now?

[callistra]

Too many pellets for one feeding. That's a lot even split up. I suggest splitting that up into two feedings. Bettas are pigs.. they will beg and gorge themselves until it kills them.. literally. He also needs one fast day a week.

At this point I would fast him 2-3 days and see if that works. You should see a lot of poop. If not, you may need more treatment.

[creame172]

Originally Posted by callistra

Too many pellets for one feeding. That's a lot even split up. I suggest splitting that up into two feedings. Bettas are pigs.. they will beg and gorge themselves until it kills them.. literally. He also needs one fast day a week.

At this point I would fast him 2-3 days and see if that works. You should see a lot of poop. If not, you may need more treatment.

Pan is moving around better so i went ahead and did a 100% water change. he is swimming around almost like normal, but is not asking for food. he looks a lot better. i will try fasting him for the next couple of days, and begin feeding him properly from now on. thank you so much for your advice! i will keep you all updated.