Whats wrong with Zero?

[cjconcepcion]

I think Zero is sick, yesterday he started acting weird... can anyone help me figure out whats wrong? im leaving this thursday to go to mexico for a week and i have no one to watch him for me while im gone

Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? not yet, getting one soon
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? i alternate Atison's betta pro, omega one betta buffet, tetra betta floating mini pellets, and sometimes freeze dried bloodworms and ofl's homemade fish food recipe
How often do you feed your betta fish? one or two pellets in the morning and one or two at night, i fast him one day out of the week

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 10-25%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? prime, and theres probably some aquarium salt in there because i added some when i first set up the tank

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? i took it to petsmart a few days ago and they said the conditions were perfect, they didnt give any specifics though
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? a piece of his tail is missing, but hes always been a tail biter so that dosent worry me too much
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? hes been laying at the bottom of the tank or hidng behind the filter, not very interested in food
When did you start noticing the symptoms? yesterday morning
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? mabye a year or a year and a half... he had two previous owners

[aqua001]

First off, unless your tank is cycled, it needs 50 percent water changes once a week. also, an air stone is not nessecary because bettas breath from the surface of the air (unless u are planning to get tank mates) Ok, I don't know my fish meds but is prime a med or conditioner? If it is a med, you will need a conditioner. Now, u said he is a tail biter. does it always grow back? If not, you might want to keep adding the correct dosage of aq salt every time you change the water. I suggest you test the water yourself. Next time u go to petsmart, ask for specifics and post them here so that the members can tell you if there is a prob. Have you noticed any weird white stringy poop? if so, It might be a sign that he has internal parasites. Has he been gradually slowing down or just sharply being lethargic from a certain moment on? If it is gradual, It may been that he is just getting a bit old and the happens to everyone.

[Mo]

Hey. Jus to let you know. This could be normal, Lots of Thai fish dont last long in the US for unknown reasons and they die sudden

Also, Dont listen to most of the information in the above post. lots of it is incorrect. Fish don't need salt weekly, it lowers immune systems depending on the species, it is unhealthy for them, and they get used to it, as you would with antibiotics. it loses any beneficial effects after a certain period of time

you will NOT need to do 50% weekly water changes on an uncycled 10 gallon. I dont know where that idea comes from. The water changes needed arent a lot. ideally you should do 30-40% water changes weekly.

Prime is a water conditioner

She has owned this fish for a minimal amount of time, I dont believe she knows if it grows back but obviously with all fish, It will grow back if it is let to. He looks like he has more finnagge than when I saw him a few weks ago at the breeders house

While bettas do breath from the surface and air stones arent completely needed, bettas actually do attain a small amount of oxygen from the water

[cjconcepcion]

its been cycled, and prime is a conditioner that lots of people on here have recommended, his tail always grows back, still growing back right now (he ate about a third of it when he was being shipped here from thailand) and his poop looks the same as all the other fish poop looks. normally he would be swimming back and forth at this time, but hes still laying on the bottom, he does get up every few minutes or so to make a round around his tank but then settles back down

[cjconcepcion]

the air stone isnt for extra oxygen or anything, i just like bubbles :p

[Mo]

Do you have a picture of the tank? ive found some of my bettas like lots of cover or else theyll be a bit lethargic, also. I would crank up the heater to 80-82. the Thai Import I have it lethargic when its anything under that range.

[Aus]

If he's a year and half now - any idea how long the previous owners had him? If it was a year or more, it could be old age catching up to him.

Have you made any major changes to the tank/water in the past week?

In any case, if he's having trouble swimming up to the top, you could lower the water and see if that helps him.

[Mo]

Hey. I have the owner's number that you bought him from. Do you want me to ask her how long she had him and how old he was when she bough him? Or I can PM you her number

[caljamsam]

Too bad the fish can't speak and tells us what's ailing them.

[cjconcepcion]

Originally Posted by caljamsam

Too bad the fish can't speak and tells us what's ailing them.

so true haha. Mo, i already have her number, she dosent know how old he is

Aus, the year and a half is honestly just a wild guess. ive had him for about a month, the previous owner had him for mabye two. there havent been any changes recently, and i cant adjust my heater :/
hes up and about right now, a few more seconds and he'll lay down again..... yep there he goes. he dosent have any trouble going up for air, every time he does he also swims around for a bit looking at stuff before he goes back down, and he dosent sink back down, he swims there really fast like hes trying to get there in a hurry. like he dosent want me to catch him up and about. he also like.. circles? i dont know what to call it, it reminds me of a dog before they lay down they have to go around in a circle a few times and find the right spot where they want to lay down.