Bored betta?

[BarefootPixie]

I think Bentley is bored. I've had him for about a month now, and he was acting normal the first couple weeks- eating like a little pig, flaring occasionally, and exploring his tank. But lately he's gotten really lethargic, and just sits on the gravel or hangs out pressed to the front of the tank. I got him a new cave for a change of scenery and now he just sits in there all the time. He's still eating normally and wiggles around asking to be fed when he sees I'm awake in the morning, but the rest of the day he just sits there looking sad. He's losing color too. I tried giving him a ping pong ball to play with but he's scared of it. (he always was skittish.) His tank is heated to a constant 79 degrees so it can't be that he's too cold. I took away the filter because the flow was too strong, should I put it back? And if so does anyone have advice on how to cut the flow? It's a small Whisper filter.
He currently lives in a 1.5 gallon until I get the money for a bigger tank, and I use a filter pitcher and Betta Bowl for his water changes. I feed him freeze-dried bloodworms, mysis shrimp and daphnia. I started culturing some live daphnia for him, so maybe that will make him happier. Any other ideas on how to entertain him? I can't stand to see him so sad.

[Bladezero]

Can you please fill out this, and add a picture?
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)?

The reason I'm asking is to rule out anything but boredom..
Is it live plants or decor? Try changing things around the tank, something new to look at.
Open the filter and clog it with http://www.jbl.de/en/aquatics-freshw...2403/jbl-symec, Worked great for me on 2 filters that were to strong :) (in addition to the sponge)

Update us :)

[Hallyx]

Welcome to the forum, Pixie.

Betta don't think like you and me. They don't really get "bored." A change of behavior is suspect and should be taken seriously. That said, every individual is different, with different behavior that changes as they age, just like you and me.

As a first step, you might try upgrading his diet. Freeze-dried food has less nutritional value that frozen. A high-quality pellet (New Life Spectrum, Omega-One, Hikari Gold) would make a good staple. A little brine shrimp or frozen daphnia a couple times a week (for digestion) and frozen bloodworms for an occasional treat.

79* is not too warm. Some fish perk up when it gets above 80*. Not saying this will do anything for you fish.

1.5 gal is fine if you're changing most of his water every 3 days or so with a quality conditioner.

Answering that questionaire is boring, but will help us help you.

[BarefootPixie]

Housing
What size is your tank? 1.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 79
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? freeze-dried bloodworms, mysis shrimp, daphnia, occasional frozen bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every 2-3 days
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 30-45%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Betta Bowl Plus water conditioner

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

Ammonia:safe
Nitrite: safe
Nitrate: safe
pH: 7.5
Hardness: moderate
Alkalinity: low

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? slight loss of color
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? yes- has become lethargic
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 1 week ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? replaced filter, changed scenery, did a 50% water change
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? A few months maybe? I've only had him a little over a month.

I replaced the filter and he seems to have perked up a little, he has 2 silk plants and a cave. I'll be going to Petsmart to get some of that filter wool you mentioned, and as I mentioned before I'm culturing some live daphnia so when they're big enough maybe that'll make him happy. :) I'll keep you posted!
Here's Bentley and his current setup:
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...i/IMAG0142.jpg

[Bladezero]

Sounds like you are taking great care of him :)

I would add aquarium salt just because it can help treat most common stuff at their early stages, he doesn't have visual symptoms yet so I think that might help as a start.

I just don't see anything wrong with him and as hallix said it might be a underline symptom the boredom.

[JKfish]

Hey there :)

Personally, I think you need better food ( look into omega one betta buffet pellets! They're wonderful), and a better water change schedule. One 50% and one 100% ware change A week would improve the water quality, which would help... If that doesn't work, and he is still lethargic after a few days of clear water and better food, try adding one teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon. When you do water changes, add the proper amount of salt back in. After about a week from starting, you'll have yo do a 100% water change to remove the salt.

[lelei]

He sure is a pretty fishy:) Yea I agree, change the food..I use the Haikari Gold micro pellets, and I see our Sammy always has quite the bit of energy..and always looks his best..:)

[BarefootPixie]

Thanks for all the advice! :D I'll be going to get some new foods for him soon, so we'll see how that works out. My heater isn't adjustable though, so the tank's gonna have to stay at 79. :/ I'll have to do something about the flow of the filter, too.

[JKfish]

79 is perfectly fine. You can baffle the tank by using a rubber and to attach a filter media sponge to the inlet and or outlet.

[Thomasdog]

:D Hope he's feeling better. I feed New Life Spectrum Betta Formula, and there is tons of it in one jar. My bettas LOVE it.