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Please Help: Is my betta baby just stressed or could he be sick?

1K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  ammv193 
#1 ·
I'm worried about my little guy. When I first got him he just swam normally through his tank and blew bubble nests every day. A week later I changed his water and now its been almost two weeks with no bubble nests and spasm-like behavior.

He's in a 1Gallon tank, I usually leave the light on from 4pm through 10pm.
I give him three betta pellets in the morning and two at night.
I use the water conditioning fizz tabs when I change his water.
His water temperature is always around 78 F.

I was advised to put in a moss ball in order to maintain the algae content low in his tank so I bought one and put it in when I changed his water a week and a half after getting him. It has been 3 weeks since I got him. I'm thinking the moss ball is what changed his behavior? I just took the moss ball out today but I'm still worried about him...might he need a heater? or could he be just stressed?
I posted a video of his behavior on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOJYZCUqUfE
 
#2 ·
The behavior on the video looks very normal to me. Bettas will often swim like then when you approach/are near the tank.....they're trying to get your attention in the hopes that you will feed them. ;) He probably has just finally started getting used to you/recognizing you as the one with food.
Bubble nests aren't really a sign of happiness, nor an indication of anything in particular. Its an instinctive behavior that males, and even some females, do when they are at the proper age for breeding and to mark their territory. Its nor uncommon for bettas to make a nest or two and then stop nesting all together, or to never nest at all. It just depends on the fish.

Over all he looks very lovely and healthy to me, but I did notice some things in your setup you may want to address to make sure nothing does go wrong in the future...
In a 1 gallon tank, you should be doing more frequent water changes. I'd say at least 2 50%s and 1 100% per week. Also, I would suggest looking into a 2-2.5+ gallon upgrade in the near future(in the next few months or so)as bettas are very active and intelligent fish that need and enjoy a nice amount of space to swim and explore. That extra 1-1.5 gallons even really does make a difference IMO/E

Also, I've never been a fan of those fizzy tabs and always question their effectiveness....I'd suggest picking up a good liquid conditioner like Seachem Prime instead.

When you say 'around 78', does the temperature fluctuate? And if so, how much regularly? If its more then a degree or two throughout the night/day, I would highly suggest investing in good adjustable heater to keep things nice and stable.
But if you live in a place where your tank stays about 78-80 constantly year round....well, probably no need for a heater then.

Moss balls really don't do anything for algae or the like....they're pretty much just like any other decoration. Not that it will harm anything, just letting you know.
 
#3 ·
I think he might have some sort of parasite judging by the quirky way he is moving and rubbing on things. But while I have kept betta for years, I dont have much experience with illness so wait for someone who knows a little more to tell you what exactly is going on.
But you definitely need a heater. He needs a temperature of 76-82. Even if your water stayed at that temp during the day the night causes a major drop.
 
#4 ·
I highly doubt parasites honestly....hes not flashing or rubbing on anything, and hes not swimming in short jerky bursts and then resting and breathing heavily.
Honestly, just about every single one of my healthy happy bettas displays this behavior to some degree, some more enthusiastically like this guy and others a little more mellow, but I'd definitely say it looks like the normal 'feed me' dance. ;)
 
#7 ·
Yeah i agree... He is beautiful by the way, cambodian is my favirate pattern! I have a veil that does this, though not as enthused as your's does! You have a active and healthy betta and i congradulate you on your hard work and care in keeping him that way. It is always safer to ask a question than to not know!
 
#11 · (Edited)
I definitely see a little twitch in there and he may be rubbing.. or he may be trying to get out of that current.. When he stops moving you can see how much the current blows him.. I would turn off the bubbler or at least add a valve in the middle of the line to turn it way down to a very gentle slow flow and see how he reacts. I think the current may be too strong to him, especially in something as small as a gallon. It's really not a good idea to add strong bubbles like that when he's in a container that small. Also he needs a heater unless your house never drops below 80 and an in tank thermometer to monitor it because ones for a tank that small tend to overheat and fry fish. If you had him in something bigger like a 2.5g you could add a good 25w adjustable heater like Marineland Visitherm and it would be a lot easier to keep him healthy.. just an idea.

Make sure you're getting at least 2 water changes a week in - one 50% and one 100% and you may even do a second smaller change during the week. The 100% should include rinsing the gravel. Fizz tabs aren't great conditioners because among other things they take a long time to work all the while your fish is being exposed to things that aren't nice.. and I don't think they tend to work on heavy metals either. Look for Prime or NovAqua Plus. You add this in drops according to the bottle.

What pellets are you feeding? Unless he's getting NLS Betta or similarly sized pellet I'd cut down to 3-4 a day. Also make sure he gets one fast day a week.
 
#13 ·
You're welcome. :)
Haha, after a while in the hobby you get used to spotting color patterns and tail types pretty easily for the most part. Your guy has a very 'thick' metallic coloration on his body, which is called Dragon because its supposed to make the scales look thick and robust like a dragons armor. Because of the bright red coloration on his fins and the white dragon scaling, he would be considered you're typical Red Dragon.
As far as the tail type goes, Halfmoons have Caudal(tail) fins that spread out into a full 180 degrees, like half of a circle/moon. Anything less then 180 degrees would be considered a Delta or Super Delta. Your boy doesn't look like he has the full spread so he is likely a Delta, but you won't be able to tell for sure unless you are able to get him to flare.

Here is a nice little stickies we have that offers some nice pictures of different colorations and tail types. http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=29868 :)
 
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