Worried about fish not eating and sluggish!!!!

[meganlbetta]

Okay so I know I did a really bad job on filling out the sheet.

I got a betta for work. He sits at the front desk of a hotel. He is in a old jar they used for cereal. I washed it in the dishwasher, Im estimating it is about a 2 gallon. He has rocks and a silk plant in there. I bought a little tunnel for him. The lights are on 24/7 so I am really not sure if the lack of darkness has a effect on them.

I am worried because he just chills at the bottom or shoots down to his plant. He is not active at all and wont eat. He wont even observe dropping food in the tank or even look at it. He is a petstore fish and looking at his topline, his back is bent so I am not sure if thats effecting him. I got him a week ago.

I am really worried because the one i have at home is in a smaller tank and happy as heck because he is active, I play with him and he loves attacking his dry bloodworms so it makes me feel really bad because the one at work seems miserable. Can someone please help!




Housing
What size is your tank? 2 gallonish (old glass jar)
What temperature is your tank? hard to say but warm
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? Nutrafin Betta Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2-3 pellets / 2x per day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every 5 days
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? full change
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? betta Water Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Ammonia: not sure
pH: not sure

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? no.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?Since I got him he doesn't really move and barely eats
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Week ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not sure only had him a week
How old is your fish (approximately)? Full grown but not too old

[VeilTail]

How long have you had him? He might be adjusting, or something is medically wrong.

[VeilTail]

Oh just read you've had him for a week:) I would say he is just new to the changes, if he doesn't improve in 2-3 days I would say he is sick.

[callistra]

Unless your work is 80F+ he's freezing. You need a good 25w adjustable heater like a Marineland Visitherm or Jager and you need an in tank thermometer to monitor it. Put the thermometer in first and see the temp. Set the heater below that. Slowly click it up until it just turns on. From there you can increase the temp by a degree or two an hour and no more than 5 degrees per day until he gets up to about 78-79 degrees.

Curved spine is malnutrition either due to disease or just plain starvation. Long term internal parasite infection can cause this, not getting good/enough food, and so can Fish TB. Occasionally spinal deformations are simply genetic.

I wouldn't feed more than 3-4 a day not 4-8 a day, especially since you're using a wheat based pellet and he's not in a very big container. He also needs a fast day a week.

What conditioner are you using? Prime or NovAqua plus is good for small containers as it renders some smaller amounts of ammonia harmless between changes.

Can you see anything wrong with him physically other than his attitude? Does he have fin rot? Salt sprinkles on his body? If you shine a light does it look like he's dusted in gold? Is he flashing? Is his belly distended or gray? Photos would be helpful.

[MSG]

Without a heater, the temp of the glass tank won't be stable. It'll fluctuate throughout the day & eventually front desk fishy will get sick.

Also if doesn't have any type of shade to seek shelter from 24/7 light, he could be stressed out/exhausted from not sleeping. Is he using the tunnel you bought him?

It would be easier to throw a unwanted coffee mug in there instead.

Some tunnels are kinda rough & jagged inside.

Toss some CLEAN but dried oak leaves in the tank. Take a photo of the fish when you have a moment. Everyone has a different definition for a "BENT" spine.

[meganlbetta]

thanks for the help, I am cleaning his tank today and putting a tunnel in there. I will switch him to dried bloodworms as the one i have at home loves them. I noticed he is clammed up and what i mean by a bent back is it curves at his mid section I will get pics when i clean his tank

[shellieca]

I agree with the others, he definitely needs a heater & the lights 24/7 probably are not helping. Blood worms are not meant to be their staple diet so you might try a different type pellet or crushing them up. His lack of appetite is probably partly do to the cold water.

[callistra]

I missed the lights being on.. that's a big problem. You can cover his bowl with a towl to keep the light out during the night if the lights in the building cannot be turned off.

[meganlbetta]

Hi everyone, thanks for the help. I have moved him to my apartment a couple of days ago and then I was away for a couple so he had plenty of darkness. I have both my bettas in smaller tanks for the time being so a heater in that small a tank will do more harm. When I buy a 10 gallon to split it will be better. He is doing way better now. He is more active, will follow my hand. I think his personality is now showing where he isnt extremely active like he likes to hide and such while my other one loves to chase my finger in his tank. I now believe the 24 hr lighting and being at the front desk where the doors always open played a part. They are in my apartment beside my heating so they are in a cozy spot for now.

Thanks again for all the advice!!!

[callistra]

Just a note, blood worms are great to entice him to eat again but once he's well they should only be fed as treats. It's like feeding candy or potato chips. Also any time you feed anything freeze dried make sure you give it a thorough soaking (several minutes) before feeding because otherwise they have a high risk of causing constipation due to how dry they are.

I would look for New Life Spectrum pellets - I know my local Petco has them. They're small so you can feed 5-8 split up into two or even three feedings a day plus of course one fast day a week. They have garlic and my guys all respond best to them so that may get his attention. Omega One are also ok. You can feed 3-4 of those.

It's great he's doing better! :)