Betta Fish Won't Eat!!

[Bettafishy17]

I have had my betta for five days now and he is not eating. I have him in a 1 gallon bowl with lighting, a bridge, and some betta rocks on the bottom, so i do not know if it is the scenery or what. I don't see any symptoms of disease, at least not what i can see, and i don't believe he has swimming bladder, but he still won't eat. I feed him a little bit of betta pellets and betta flakes, but he just looks at them and then turns away! I don't know what to do!

[LeoTheLakerBetta]

How often do you clean the tank, what is the temperature of the tank, and is the tank filtered?

If your tank is not heated and is below 78 degress F, you need to obtain an aquarium heater which can be found at Petsmart for around 17 or 18 bucks.

If your tank doesn not have a filter, you should be changing his water 3 times a week and 100% water change each time. If it is filtered you can probably get away with 2 changes but usually 1 gals aren't filitered...

[callistra]

Please provide more info. We want to make sure we're not missing anything: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233 Photos would also be helpful.

[Bettafishy17]

Housing
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 76 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? yes
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? betta pellets and flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? once every day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every other day
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? aquasafe water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
I have not tested water parameters.
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? no
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? has not changed
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 12/28/12
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? unknown
How old is your fish (approximately)? unknown (Came from petstore)

[Bettafishy17]

this is phoenix. hope this pic helps

[Kithy]

How long have you had him? (edit, sorry, I see you've had him 5 days)

He could be cold. You may need to get a heater or warm him up with a space heater and towels.

Do you remove the uneaten food within 5 minutes? What brand food?

Is he pooping? Sounds odd but if he's constipated he won't really want to eat.

If you can upgrade to at least a two or three gallon, that would be best but I understand not everyone can afford or deal with that. Petco is having their $1 a gallon sale at most locations so you can call around and at least have the tank and get bit by bit as needed.

Are his fins unclamped?

[Bettafishy17]

here's another pic

[Bettafishy17]

if he is cold, would adding a little warmer water work? and how can u tell if he is constipated? are his fins clamped? his brand of food is bettamin tropical medley.

[Kithy]

That I'm not sure, generally it needs to be stable and too hot could scald him. Your best bet is find a space heater if you have one and keep it in your room a few feet away and wrap the bowl in a towel on the sides and back to keep warmth in.

You can tell if he's constipated if he hasn't pooped in awhile. It looks like you do frequent water changes so that is good. Just watch for new poop after you change the water. If he hasn't pooped in awhile he's likely constipated.

His fins don't look too bad.

If the first two ingredients are fish based, that's good. If not, you might want to look for other foods. New Life Spectrum is what I give mine.

[ChoclateBetta]

Internal Parasites. Dont add warm water that causes shock. Heaters are best.