Manny gone mad!! Help

[mannyp]

I got Manny from fish street in hong kong 4 weeks ago. Got him a 1/2 gallon tank then upgraded to a 1++ gallon. Use tap water treated with water treatment, no heater, temperature in HK was about 20 degrees celcius.

Initially he did very well, looked very healthy, fed him betta flakes. Also bought live brine shrimp which he chased down and ate. Would feed him 2 to 3 brine shrimp and 1 flake (which he always ate pretty quiclk. Also I would let him look at a mirror and he would flare and he built a huge bubble nest. So all in things looked great.

Last Friday, I went home to Singapore. Did 1 total water change before I left, fed him as normal. Got back to HK on Tuesday, was sure he would be fine but he looked very inactive. My part time Maid had come on Monday and probably overfed him as there were about 10 flakes on the aquarium floor. I changed the water immediately. Also temperature in HK had dropped to 10 degrees. As the maid had put too much food in the tank, I left him alone on Wed. Thursday I fed him but he did not eat and looked inactive.

Last night, I thought maybe he was too cold I took the tank into my bedroom and put it fairly close to my portable heater. Not sure what the temperature is. After getting back from work today, I noticed he was swimming and darting around the surface in an extremely agitated manner. Also he kept trying to leap out of the tank but could not as I have a lid on it. He did not eat the food I put in today. Basically he keeps darting around the surface and banging his head on the glass. Tries to leap out of the tank and hits his head on the lid many times, then after doing that for a while swims to the bottom for a while. Can someone tell me whats wrong please?

Weather in HK will get warmer in the next couple days (15 then 20). If its an emergency, I will go get more stuff for him tomorrow, a thermometer or heater?? I don't even know whats causing the problem. Thanks in advance.

[kelly528]

Hmm where to start.

1) You will definitely want to get a heater and a thermometer, as the heater will act to keep temperatures way way way more stable. They have a thermostat and will adjust to keep the temperature at a steady 80 degrees which is really handy. You may not be able to find a heater that will 'fit' a 1g, ie keep the water warm without boiling it, so you may want to upgrade tanks.

2) A 1g is better than 1/2g, but it still needs to be cleaned every 2-3 days to keep it free of ammonia. Therefore you came home to a really rough-looking betta when he had gone a few days between water changes. If you upgrade to , say, a 3 or 5 gallon his waste will be more dilute and therefore the tank will require less frequent cleanings.

3) Flakes and freeze-dried food are the two most notorious foods for causing bloating. Furthermore they are severely lacking in nutrition and are easier to 'overfeed' because of their small size. A few types of specialty betta pellets will offer a far more complete diet for your betta and their pelleted format makes for fewer leftovers. Hikari Betta Bio-Gold, Atison's Betta Pro, Kent's Betta Crumble and HBH Betta Bites are all awesome foods. You can then supplement his diet with frozen or live foods such as bloodworms, blackworms, brine shrimp or tubifex worms.

[mannyp]

Hey thanks a lot for the reply!! I will go out and try to get a better tank with heater today. Hopefully he recovers.