This is my first time keeping a betta in some time, and I'm a little worried about his behavior. The fish in question is a blue and red male Crowntail (seen as my avatar) who is, at present, nameless. I've only had him for about a week, but he's become sort of listless lately. At first he was swimming around the tank a fair bit and his fins were flaring some after the first day or so I had him. Unfortunately, it was about at this point that there were some issues. His tank mate is a black mystery snail (I've had him about two weeks and his name is Hershel) who was, for lack of a better phrase, befouling the tank. I got a filter that worked on my second try (the first one was too big) and, about a day later, the water was clear. But it's started since a little before I've had this filter that the betta hasn't been doing too much. The snail's far more active now that the water is cleared up, but the betta is truly concerning me. He sits on the leaves of the Anubias I have or hides beneath it. He's made slight divots in the gravel that he'll lay in or he ducks behind the rather large rock that's also there. He used to be far more active than this... Plus, he hasn't been eating. I've heard that switching his food or breaking the pellets might help, but I'm truly not certain if I should be worried about his behavior or if I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill. A little help would be greatly appreciated.
Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? N/A
Does your tank have a filter? Yes - a Tom Mini Internal Filter
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? A black mystery snail
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Top Fin Color Enhancing Betta Bits
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day, two to three pellets
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? I haven’t had to yet
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? I will be changing 10-15%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? N/A
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? The test was done a few days ago, so I’m afraid I’m rather uncertain on some of the results.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 120 or 180
Hardness: 150 or 300
Alkalinity: 300
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He’s gotten brighter since I first got him.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He seems to be a tad lethargic
When did you start noticing the symptoms? A few days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I’m afraid I don’t know what to do
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not that I’m aware of
How old is your fish (approximately)? I’ve only had him for about a week now. How long he was in the store for, though, I can’t say.
Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? N/A
Does your tank have a filter? Yes - a Tom Mini Internal Filter
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? A black mystery snail
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Top Fin Color Enhancing Betta Bits
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day, two to three pellets
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? I haven’t had to yet
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? I will be changing 10-15%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? N/A
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? The test was done a few days ago, so I’m afraid I’m rather uncertain on some of the results.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 120 or 180
Hardness: 150 or 300
Alkalinity: 300
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He’s gotten brighter since I first got him.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He seems to be a tad lethargic
When did you start noticing the symptoms? A few days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I’m afraid I don’t know what to do
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not that I’m aware of
How old is your fish (approximately)? I’ve only had him for about a week now. How long he was in the store for, though, I can’t say.