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Is My Betta Dying?

1K views 18 replies 5 participants last post by  Kim 
#1 ·
Hi all. I've owned a male Betta Fish, Oscar for about 3 months now. He's always been very active. Responded VERY quickly to food, came to look when somebody would look at him through the glass, overall it's always been a busy fish. Up until recently that is. About 2 days ago his entire behavior has changed drastically to the point of concern. He stays at the very bottom of the tank now, occasionally swimming up towards the top momentarily until swimming back to the bottom where he'll change positions. Typically staying behind something and out of site, even recently huddling next to the heater. The temperate is set at approximately 82 F or so, though it does for some unknown reason chill off quite a bit at night and later parts of the day. My thermometer is jammed so I can't even get a precise reading. Temps aren't that much of a concern to me though, water is at it's warmest in the morning-mid day and he's never had a problem with it. We've also been changing the water every few weeks, replacing a gallon of bottled fresh water. Aquarium was cleaned out thoroughly before placing him inside. I've had the water tested just today as a precaution and only thing that drew attention was a moderately high level of PH. Though I was told if it's used to living in such condition, it essentially can't really harm him. Tank is roughly 5 gallons, plenty of space.
So just a quick sum of behavior at the moment to be clear:
-Does not respond to feeding time and eats very little, if at all. He's fed once a day with the *occasion* of twice.
-Is very inactive, barely swims and every once in a while changes places in the bottom of the tank. As I said above, he does swim up somewhat but it's very brief and he appears to be struggling and making weird movements with his back tail. Almost as if it where glued together I guess, if that makes since. I do have one small stone in there. It is possible he could have injured himself on it.
-His color looks good still. Darker blue looking color, normal for him. I'm afraid the worst may happen...
Would appreciate any information.
~Thanks
 
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#2 ·
Please fill this out so it's more clear. :)

First off, it's good that you have a heater, and even though it cools off at night the heater should keep it around 82. I might even suggest dropping the temp a degree since 82 is higher on the perfect betta temperature. You should get a thermometer to make sure the heater is working properly.

Second, and I think this might be more of your problem, a 5 gallon tank needs to be cleaned every week. You should be doing 50% water changes if you also have a filter in the tank, and even more if you don't.
 
#4 ·
Here are the questions :)

Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?
 
#15 ·
Apologiesfor such late reply. A bit shaken up by this happening. Really liked having the little guy around. He was a cool fish, great personality. It really is a pitty.
So to answer your questions VivianKJean:
Housing
The tank holds roughly 10 gallons, about 3 feet in length.
Temperature was set at about 82 F, though it was usually a little cooler than that.Got a little colder than I'd like at night.
I had just installed a filter.
Tank does indeed have aeration.
Most definitely yes the tank was heated at all times.
He was alone, however in an active spot in the house. He always had company around and seemed very curious. Caught it even glancing over at the TV before.

Food
Fish was fed Standard Betta Flakes, he seemed to love eating it as he'd come the tank every time we encountered him.
Was fed usually once per day, with the occasion of twice.

Maintenance
I would replace about 1 gallon every 2-3 weeks.

Water Parameters:
I believe he died over Ammonia. Also PH was a bit high.
 
#5 ·
@The tank is about 2 and half feet in length, and about a foot deep. I believe it holds 5 gallons of water. Like I said I do a water change every few weeks, but from the looks of it I don't think that's enough. My fear is there is collected bacteria in the tank. I feed him just the typical Betta flakes I suppose. Also no I did not have a filter until just recently. I think the tank is in need to be cleaned out thoroughly. Assuming I just place him in a jar of the tank water while cleaning? How long until water is safe again?
 
#6 ·
Please answer ALL of the questions above. Copy and paste the questions and put the answers next to them. We can't offer you accurate advice until we FULLY understand what your set up is and what your care is.

There are also website that will tell you how many gallons your tank holds, just measure the length, width, and height.
 
#9 ·
I've removed him from the tank and into a small jar with fresh water. Still not doing to well. No I can't see anything wrong just looking at him. Whatever this is it is probably an internal bacterial infection of some sort. I'll have to bring him up somewhere to be looked into.
 
#13 ·
I'd be willing to bet it was ammonia poisoning. I think you had a lack of beneficial bacteria, not an overgrowth of harmful bacteria. Here's a good link about the nitrogen cycle: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...nners-guide-freshwater-aquarium-cycle-353074/

Essentially, if your tank is not cycled (or heavily planted) you need to do 100% water changes periodically (how often depends on the size of the tank) or ammonia will just continue to build up and eventually kill your fish. Even in a cycled tank water changes are a must, and most recommend anywhere from 20-75% weekly, depending on the situation.
 
#16 ·
If you just installed a filter then that could be the problem. With a 10 gallon tank you still need to do 50% water changes every week. this keeps ammonia levels down and also makes sure that your fish are getting nutrients from the water that they need.
 
#18 ·
#19 ·
I'd only get live plants if you have the knowledge and time to care for them...otherwise they tend to end up as brown goo polluting your water.

The BEST thing you can do is to cycle your tank now, before you get any more fish. A fishless cycle is much safer for your fish, effective, and much less worrisome than cycling with fish in the tank. A death by ammonia poisoning is a painful one, and should be avoided at all costs. The links posted above should explain fishless cycling, but I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
 
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