Hasn't eaten in 2 weeks!! Floating at top sideways!
I have a lovely Crowntail Betta that I purchased from Petsmart for my office. He has a delux setup in a 1 gallon tank with bamboo and pretty rocks and everything! Since I brought him home 2 weeks ago he hasn't eaten at all! I don't know what to do and I've talked to people at Petsmart multiple times. I try to feed him 2 pellets every day. The first day he grabbed one with his mouth and spit it back out. Since then he hasn't paid any attention to the food. He floats on his side most days at the top of the water, unmoving, and most people mistake him for dead. Sometimes he tilts his head to the surface of the water and his mouth will come out of the water and it looks like he is burping.
Housing
What size is your tank? 1 Gallon
What temperature is your tank? 71 Degrees
Does your tank have a filter? No
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? None
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? 2 Pellets Once a Day
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? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Top Fin Betta Water Conditioner
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Yes, at Petsmart they tested it and said that everything was in balance.
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? No change
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He doesn’t move, stays at the top of the tank. It sometimes looks like he has a hiccup or burp- he turns his head up and bubbles come out of his mouth/gills, and he hasn’t eaten in 2 weeks! Also, he floats on one side and it seems like his gills quit moving for in 1 minute intervals.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 2 weeks ago when I first brought him home
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? API Betta Fix is what I’m putting into the water daily which is a natural treatment to help heal damaged fins and skin. He doesn’t seem to have either, but this is the only thing Petsmart recommended.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not that I know of.
How old is your fish (approximately)? Just purchased from Petsmart 2 weeks ago. Please help! He is not getting the nutrition he needs! And I haven’t gotten any further help from Petsmart except the fact that I can return him when he dies I don’t want him to die and I don’t want to return him. I want to help him. So please help me and let me know what I can do for him!
He's cold. He needs a temperature of at least 76F to be happy. Don't use medicines if he doesn't have those symptoms! He's going to get worse because of that. You also need to do more water changes. Ammonia is in there and he might die from it! Do 1 100% and 1 50% per week. Bettas have a organ called the labyrinth organ that lets them get air from the surface. The bubbles that are coming out of his mouth is a side effect from doing so. Stop the medication, get a heater to make the water at least 76F and take the bamboo out of the water. It's not fully submersible.
Nutrition is not the problem right now. He needs warm water to be healthy and more water changes. If you can't do these things when you're at your office, please rehome him. I hope he gets better. Can you post a picture about him sideways? He might have a problem with his swim bladder.
Hi all I'm new and not sure how to post a new message so here is my story I just bought a twin fin baby betta. Since home for two days he stays at the top, will float on his side for a little bit, won't swim much, won't eat and his fins seem to look like they are curling at the bottoms. He is in a 1 gallon cube, I have a plastic soft plant the water is about 78. He will swim a little bit but his body curls and it looks like a little lump on his side but not too sure. I have 7 betta's and have never seen this before. Can someone please help me. I feed him Aqueon natural pellets. Any help would be needed, all petsmart said is save the receipt in case he dies. I do have salt and two medications I have the API water conditioner in the water. Please help I wanna save the little guy.
Alyssa, you should also know that the bigger the tank the better! With smaller enclosures like your one gallon, ammonia builds up and can make them really sick. If your tank is unfiltered you will need to do frequent water changes, at least 1 100% a week and a 50% once or twice a week in between the full changes.. I think that's about the ratio for a one gallon.
Make sure your bamboo does not have leaves in the water, they'll be rotting and adding to the wastes he's already living in.
Quote:
Also, he floats on one side and it seems like his gills quit moving for in 1 minute intervals.
A healthy betta's gills don't move much unless they are being aggressive and flaring. They surface for air, and the gills are pretty still most of the time. My sickly boy's gills are always 'gasping' because he had ammonia exposure in the store.
It will be easier to make sure he gets the clean water he needs in a larger tank. Heat and clean water do wonders for these fish..
Hi all I'm new and not sure how to post a new message so here is my story I just bought a twin fin baby betta. Since home for two days he stays at the top, will float on his side for a little bit, won't swim much, won't eat and his fins seem to look like they are curling at the bottoms. He is in a 1 gallon cube, I have a plastic soft plant the water is about 78. He will swim a little bit but his body curls and it looks like a little lump on his side but not too sure. I have 7 betta's and have never seen this before. Can someone please help me. I feed him Aqueon natural pellets. Any help would be needed, all petsmart said is save the receipt in case he dies. I do have salt and two medications I have the API water conditioner in the water. Please help I wanna save the little guy.
Starr70,
Welcome to the forum! I don't know enough about baby bettas to help with your situation, but it looks like your request for help got lost because it was posted as a reply to this thread instead of as its own new thread. Here is how you can post your very own thread:
Go to the BettaFish.com home page.
Click on the category, “Betta Fish Diseases and Emergencies”
On the left side of the page, about 1/3 of the way down, you will see a link called, “New Thread”
Click that link, and you can start your very own new thread!
Good luck, and I hope someone can help you with your baby betta!
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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Hasn't eaten in 2 weeks!! Floating at top sideways!
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