Betta swimming weird after water change

[BlueBetta17]

First off, basic information. She's two years old and I have her in a 1.5 gal bowl with sand and artificial plants. There is no heater or filter and I have raised all of my bettas like this for years. Yesterday I cleaned out their bowls after having them dirty for quite a while. It was the longest I had their bowls dirty. There was algae in there before cleaning, but it was green, not brown. Whenever I clean their bowls I always add in aquarium salt and purifying drops.

This morning I woke up and noticed that my female was floating. (My male is fine, but his bowl wasn't as dirty prior to cleaning.) She's acting normal aside from floating, with the exception of her tail being crooked. She isn't floating on her side, but her top fin is sticking out of the water a bit. If she goes to swim down she floats back up. My guess is she got into shock, or some sort of bacterial infection from the sudden water change.

[Little Leaf]

It's called Swim Bladder Disorder. How many times do you feed her?

[BlueBetta17]

Thanks for your response but I don't think it's swim bladder, mainly due to the fact that it happened right after I did the change. I feed my bettas three blood worms every other day.

[Lizzie the Badger]

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)?

Answer these, please.

[BlueBetta17]

Thanks for the list of questions. I mentioned most of the answers to the questions in my first post. The only thing I didn't answer is the water change amount. I normally fully change the water once a week but waited two and a half weeks this time.

[Little Leaf]

Originally Posted by BlueBetta17

Thanks for your response but I don't think it's swim bladder, mainly due to the fact that it happened right after I did the change. I feed my bettas three blood worms every other day.

3 bloodworms are too much! use bloodworms as a treat. pellets should be for food. and I think it is SBD because floating + overfeeding = can result in SBD

[BlueBetta17]

Thanks but I've never had a problem with 3 blood worms before. The last time I had a betta get Swim Bladder was from feeding five worms at a time back when I was way less experienced.

[LizzyP]

Well, one thing for certain you need to clean your tank more, especially if its a 1.5 gallon, and you at least need a heater. Those are the basic necessities for betta keeping. Just because you have had them for years like that doesn't mean it's right or they are happy.

Secondly, why do you put salt in there tanks if there is no issue? Prolonged salt exposure damages their kidneys.

Bloodworms are not a staple diet. Especially 3 per day. My guy gets 1-2 bloodworms per week as a treat. You need to be feeding them betta pellets, I recommend Omega One betta buffet or New Life Spectrum.

[LebronTheBetta]

Actually, those are signs of SBD. There isn't really another sickness like this. Is she bloated at all? Bloodworms don't provide the needed nutrients for them so I suggest high-quality pellets. Variety is key in every diet! :)

I recommend for you to treat her with an Epsom Salt treatment. Just dissolve 1-3 teaspoons of ES in a cup and then into her tank in the next 100% change. Remember to add her after you added in the treated water and to acclimate. Good Luck. :D

[LebronTheBetta]

Originally Posted by LizzyP

Well, one thing for certain you need to clean your tank more, especially if its a 1.5 gallon, and you at least need a heater. Those are the basic necessities for betta keeping. Just because you have had them for years like that doesn't mean it's right or they are happy.

Secondly, why do you put salt in there tanks if there is no issue? Prolonged salt exposure damages their kidneys.

Bloodworms are not a staple diet. Especially 3 per day. My guy gets 1-2 bloodworms per week as a treat. You need to be feeding them betta pellets, I recommend Omega One betta buffet or New Life Spectrum.

+1

I agree to what Lizzy has said. (;

Oh, and make sure to do 100% daily water changes every day for the next 10-12 days. And remember the ES in each change until treatment is over!