Betta Fish is Sick

[brittanythib94]

So I've had this Betta for a while. I purchased him from walmart. He a red crown tail, I believe. For a while he has been acting strangely. He doesn't swim much, he just lays on the bottom of his tank. If he does swim it isn't very strong. He just kind of floats. His colours are fading and his appetite has died down. I keep him in a 1 gallon betta tank and I feed him BettaMin. I even switched his water to spring water from a gallon to help him. Can someone please help me? I have had 2 other betas die in the past. They acted strangely like he is, but their colours didn't fade and they died a lot sooner. I don't want to lose this fish!

[crowntaillove]

Originally Posted by brittanythib94

So I've had this Betta for a while. I purchased him from walmart. He a red crown tail, I believe. For a while he has been acting strangely. He doesn't swim much, he just lays on the bottom of his tank. If he does swim it isn't very strong. He just kind of floats. His colours are fading and his appetite has died down. I keep him in a 1 gallon betta tank and I feed him BettaMin. I even switched his water to spring water from a gallon to help him. Can someone please help me? I have had 2 other betas die in the past. They acted strangely like he is, but their colours didn't fade and they died a lot sooner. I don't want to lose this fish!

If you could fill out the following form, it would help provide necessary information that could help us figure out whats wrong with your little guy.

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)?

[brittanythib94]

Housing
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? not sure
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? small plants inside
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? bettamin tropical medley
How often do you feed your betta fish? every other day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? once or twice a month
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? in the past i used Bettasafe to make sink water safe for the fish. I have well water in my house. I currently don't use it now that i have switched to gallon water.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? no.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? colors have dulled, front appears almost white
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? slow, low appetite, inactive, breathing sometimes seems labored, can't swim correctly
When did you start noticing the symptoms? a few weeks ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? yes; changing to current tank size with filter, and changing to gallon spring water.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? maybe 1 year

[crowntaillove]

Originally Posted by brittanythib94

Housing
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? not sure
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? small plants inside
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? bettamin tropical medley
How often do you feed your betta fish? every other day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? once or twice a month
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? in the past i used Bettasafe to make sink water safe for the fish. I have well water in my house. I currently don't use it now that i have switched to gallon water.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? no.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? colors have dulled, front appears almost white
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? slow, low appetite, inactive, breathing sometimes seems labored, can't swim correctly
When did you start noticing the symptoms? a few weeks ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? yes; changing to current tank size with filter, and changing to gallon spring water.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? maybe 1 year

There will probably be other members along to help you more than I can, but I just want to touch on a few things.

First, it is possible to keep a betta in a 1 gallon tank, but you should really consider changing his water more often than you are now. Ammonia builds up pretty fast in a tank that small. Oldfishlady is really experienced with keeping bettas healthy and happy and she has a great post here http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=115758 that could really help!

The other thing I wanted to say is, bettas are tropical and they naturally do best in warm water around 80F. It would probably help your little guy to buy him a heater and a thermometer, you could actually get them both for about $20!

[LizzyP]

Well, couple things.

1. Bottled water isn't good for bettas. It doesn't contain the proper minerals, you're better off using tap water with conditioner. I'm on a well, too but I still use conditioner.

2. You really need to start cleaning your tank more. 1 gallon tanks need to be cleaned 3 times per week. 2 50% changes and 1 100% change. Ammonia builds up really really fast in those little tanks so water changes are crucial.

3. Bettas are tropical fish, meaning they like warm water between 76-82F. Anything less your fish will become lethargic, lose color and inactive. Like others have said you can get a good adjustable heater and thermometer for $20-$30 on Amazon. Just make sure the heater is adjustable.

As for your fishie. He is suffering from ammonia poisoning, I'm sure. Do a 100% change right now and slowly acclimate him back into the tank by cupping him, dumping the dirty water out from the cup he's in and add new, fresh water (don't forget the conditioner!) every 10-15 minutes. And make sure you stay ontop of these water changes. Remember, 2 50% changes and 1 100% change per week. Or you could get a larger tank and do less changes. But that's a whole new topic.

[aokashi]

Hi.
A few things.
Bettas need warm water...
it should be only slightly cool to the touch. 78-82F...
this is essential.
I recomment the hagen elite heater from amazon for about $13. 25w or 50w, either is fine.

you need a thermometer...

You also need to do one 50% water change half way through the week and 1 100% at the end of the week. gravel also needs to he cleaned weekly.

water changed in should be about 80F
....

both ammonia build up and wrong temperature may be the reason for your fish's deterioation.

welcome to the forum.

And good luck.