Betta won't come out to eat

[NocturneFox]

I've had my betta for over a year. He used to know when ever the light turned on it was time to eat and he would come out of his castle.

He was recently sick and I had him in a different tank to treat him. After I finished treating him I put him back in his regular tank. When I turn on the light to feed him now he stays hidden in his castle. I never see him come out and I don't think he's eating.

Does anyone have any suggestions how to get him to eat again?

[Perseusmom]

What do you feed him ? If you use pellets you could soak them in some garlic juice to temp him to eat. Good luck keep us posted on how he is doing.

[NocturneFox]

Perseusmom - He won't even come out of the castle though and he never had a problem eating his pellets before.

[DragonFish]

There could be a lot of things going on here.....if you could fill this out as best you can with as much detail as possible, that would be very helpful. :)

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233

[NocturneFox]

Dragonfish- I don't really know much else to add other than what I already wrote. I was treating him for dropsy before I put him back in his normal aquarium. At first when he wouldn't eat I thought he was just stressed from being moved around so much. I was also doing daily water changes when I treated him. Is there anything else specifically you need to know?

[DragonFish]

Well....the information on the form I linked. Unless we know the basics of your setup and whatnot, its impossible for any of us to tell you for certain whats going on. If you could copy, paste, and fill out that form with as much detail as you can, then we can better identify whats going on and advise you on how to fix it.

[NocturneFox]

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 79 degrees fahrenheith
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
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? Tetra Betta floating mini pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? once daily

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? monthly
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? I never used any before but I bought conditioner when the betta became ill.



Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? color less vivid, signs of dropsy (slight pineconing, slight clamping of fins, etc.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms? about 2 weeks ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? yes salt bath using aquarium salt. Treatment is completed
Does your fish have any history of being ill? only this one time
How old is your fish (approximately)? I bought him at petco about a year ago

[callistra]

You're not doing enough water changes. You need large weekly water changes for a tank that small, even if it is cycled, and test the ammonia on a weekly basis too because the cycles tend to break down. You also need to always use conditioner.. Prime is a good one.

His problem is ammonia/nitrite poisoning, chlorine poisoning, any maybe at this point also an internal infection. I'm surprised he's stayed well this long.. hearty little fish.

Here's some links that can help you with water changes and cycling tanks: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=115758 I would say if you're not going to do the 100% change a week that's suggested in another sticky thread you need to test for ammonia on a weekly basis to make sure your bio filter hasn't broken down. http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=47838 for cycling

At this point.. He needs a 100% water changes - acclimate him don't shock him - with a good conditioner like Prime. You'll also need to get some epsom salts 100% pure with no additives as per the ingredient label CVS is a good brand. You'll want to mix 1/4 to 1/2 tsp per gallon predissolved and add it to the tank. You can increase it after a few hours up to 1 tsp per gallon. You'll need to keep up with the water changes and redose any water you take out with more epsom salts.. like if you do a 50% put back in 50% of the epsoms you had in before. At this point he may also need an antibiotic.. Can you show photos?

[NocturneFox]

I have Prime water conditioner and aquarium salt. Would the aquarium salt work the same as the epsom salt? I don't know if I can get a photo because he won't come out. I have to go to work all day also but I can try when I get back.