concern about a lethargic betta

[Domino]

I don't know if my fish is sick or just being lazy. Whenever I check the tank, he's usually lying on the gravel. He's not leaning to the side, but instead is sitting upright. He doesn't seem to be gasping for breath, though his gills are working a bit rapidly. To be fair, I haven't paid attention to that before, so I don't know how normal it is, but as mentioned before, he's not gasping. He will swim around if I agitate him, and he looks fine. Specifically, he's hanging out in cozy places, like under the decorations.

The tank is a 5 gallon with a filter. I tested the water last night and everything came out within normal parameters. The water is on the warm side, since we don't have air conditioning.

[Kenny G]

So far nothing sounds out of the ordinary. Has his eating habits changed? Also how long has he been in this tank? If he is new he might just need time to get acclimated to his new environment. Monitor his behavior to see if there are any sudden changes. Please keep me posted.

[Domino]

His eating habits haven't changed. He's still a little pig. I've had him for about 8 months. I read somewhere that he may have a type of swim bladder disease from overfeeding and that fasting him for a few days might clear it up. Should I give him a piece of pea as a laxative, or just fast him and see what happens?

[Kenny G]

I would just fast him. I never use a pea.

[LebronTheBetta]

What do you mean "Normal Parameters"? And what's the exact temperature? Has red gills? Using a bit of pea this big won't hurt: o
Frozen Daphnia is better as peas are prone to hurt their digestive tract because of their roughness. Remember! Bettas are insectivores, not vegans.

[Domino]

Normal Parameters mean: pH around 7, Ammonia and Nitrites at 0, Nitrates at around 5 ppm. The temperature right now is around 85. His coloring is orange with a few black spots here and there. His gills are orange, but the insides are black.

He recently swam around some more, and he appeared well balanced, but now he's being cozy with the decor again. I'll go ahead and see if fasting him helps, and I'll do another water quality test tomorrow.

[Kenny G]

Domino when people are treating a sick betta the water temperature is between 80-82 degrees but that is short term. It is very possible that the warmer water making your betta lethargic.

I know with my betta's I cannot leave their tank lights on with the heaters because my water temps spike above 85 and they become very lethargic. In my opinion if you are using a tank light try getting a lower wattage bulb that doesn't heat up your tank water or try moving your tank to a cooler room so the water temperature can come down.

[Pilot00]

It might also be a lack of light. Does your tank receive sunlight? I was wondering the samething for my betta awhile back and it turned out the lack of light caused him to be sleepy hehe. I switched the lights on for a larger period and now he seems ok.

[Domino]

I was thinking the light might be involved as well. He doesn't get a lot of sunlight because of location, but he does have a tank light. I'm not sure of the wattage (it came with the tank). I left it off longer than normal, and the temperature did drop. He is being more active today, and his swim bladder seems to be fine. He is upright and balanced when he swims. I'm thinking he may be trying to get out of the light, so I'm going to increase his dark time to see if that makes a difference.