Betta acting weird...need help

[Homer16]

I noticed today my Betta was laying down on the tank behind the pottery cave. Then, he swam up for some air and kinda floated down and laid on his side. Then swam up again, swam around for a bit and now hes back on the bottom. Fins/scales look great (no ich, fungas etc) I do notice he prefers to not use his right fin (but will he he has to). Tail isnt split or missing anything. Hes in a 2.5 gallon with a filter and heater. He just ate some Aqueon pellets I offered him (gave him 2 to see if he would eat)

Not sure what to do?

[Roemgie]

Originally Posted by Homer16

I noticed today my Betta was laying down on the tank behind the pottery cave. Then, he swam up for some air and kinda floated down and laid on his side. Then swam up again, swam around for a bit and now hes back on the bottom. Fins/scales look great (no ich, fungas etc) I do notice he prefers to not use his right fin (but will he he has to). Tail isnt split or missing anything. Hes in a 2.5 gallon with a filter and heater. He just ate some Aqueon pellets I offered him (gave him 2 to see if he would eat)

Not sure what to do?

Hey so I'm not an expert but he could be having some internal problems. Best thing to do is to not feed him. Also how often do you change your tank water? Unless your tank is cycled take the filter out and just do 100% water changes (since the filter will do nothing if your tank is not cycled). How is he doing right now?

If you haven't changed your water in a while he could be stressed from the ammonia build up. I change my guys water (when they're in a 2.5) every 4 days

[veggiegirl]

Hey there,

Sounds like a bit of a mystery...... I would probably do a water change and add some stress coat. He may be in the early stages of illness where his symptoms aren't yet notable. Keep a close eye on him and let us know how he is doing. Goodluck Also if you could post a pic it might be helpful in diagnosis. Is he breathing fast, rubbing against anything?

[Roemgie]

Originally Posted by Homer16

I noticed today my Betta was laying down on the tank behind the pottery cave. Then, he swam up for some air and kinda floated down and laid on his side. Then swam up again, swam around for a bit and now hes back on the bottom. Fins/scales look great (no ich, fungas etc) I do notice he prefers to not use his right fin (but will he he has to). Tail isnt split or missing anything. Hes in a 2.5 gallon with a filter and heater. He just ate some Aqueon pellets I offered him (gave him 2 to see if he would eat)

Not sure what to do?

One thing that would be good would be aquarium salt, it's simple to add and there are instructions on how much to put. I usually just add 1/2 a teaspoon because I'm always afraid to over do it BUT make sure to dissolve the salt BEFORE putting it into the tank. If you dump it in there raw it can hurt your fish

[Homer16]

I tested his ammonia levels and they were really high at 2. So I did a 75% water change and made sure the new water was treated and the same temp and added it. I do a 25% water change weekly im not sure how the ammonia built up so fast. I rechecked, and it is still high.

I may add ammonia neutralizer. He seems a *bit* better now and no hes not rubbing against anything.

[Roemgie]

Originally Posted by Homer16

I tested his ammonia levels and they were really high at 2. So I did a 75% water change and made sure the new water was treated and the same temp and added it. I do a 25% water change weekly im not sure how the ammonia built up so fast. I rechecked, and it is still high.

I may add ammonia neutralizer. He seems a *bit* better now and no hes not rubbing against anything.

Your tank isn't cycled so you have to do a 100% water change. I went through the exact same thing with two of my boys. I didn't realize though until one of them was acting very strange and stressed. I know you probably don't or don't want to believe me but you need to do a 100% water change at least every 4-5 days. I usually put my boys in cups instead of catching them in nets (less stressful).

Do you have plans to move him to a bigger tank?

[veggiegirl]

Hey there,

sounds like he has the beginnings of ammonia poisoning, keep testing the ammonia levels regularly and until it is 0 keep up large water changes.Keeping up the water changes will help to prevent permanent damage. Goodluck

[Homer16]

I was considering purchasing a 5 gallon tank for him in the next week or so. I am changing all my tanks over to sand and was going to leave the Bettas tank till last after I buy a 5 gallon for him

I just redid a water change and gunna test it again in a sec

ETA- I retested and its 0 now. He seems to be better. I have a 5.5 gallon that is fully cycled with some barbs in there. They were removed from the 20 gallon because they were being tards to the other fish so they were in the 5.5 gallon temp. until I figured out what to do (I know the 5.5 is to small for 5 barbs). Well I upgraded to a 35 gallon so they were put back in there to see how they do. If they continue to be tards, they will be rehomed. So the 5.5 gallon is now free for the betta.

Should I move him now?

[Roemgie]

Originally Posted by Homer16

I was considering purchasing a 5 gallon tank for him in the next week or so. I am changing all my tanks over to sand and was going to leave the Bettas tank till last after I buy a 5 gallon for him

I just redid a water change and gunna test it again in a sec

ETA- I retested and its 0 now. He seems to be better. I have a 5.5 gallon that is fully cycled with some barbs in there. They were removed from the 20 gallon because they were being tards to the other fish so they were in the 5.5 gallon temp. until I figured out what to do (I know the 5.5 is to small for 5 barbs). Well I upgraded to a 35 gallon so they were put back in there to see how they do. If they continue to be tards, they will be rehomed. So the 5.5 gallon is now free for the betta.

Should I move him now?

What are the levels in the 5.5? Since your boy isn't use to a cycled tank you may want to just let him rest for at least a day or two before slowly introducing the cycled water to him. I know currently my cycled tank's nitrate is too high for any fish not use to it so I have to do a 80% water change before I can add any beta from the shelf (I plan on getting one this weekend).

BUT if your betta starts showing signs of improvement to the point he's almost back to health than I would say plan to move him in two days, just make sure you test your water before that and that your ammonia level is 0, Nitrite is 0, and your Nitrate is about 10-20 (it should always be below 40 for betas, 20s is a LOT better).

And I also have to say my boys enjoyed their 5 gallons a LOT more than their 2.5 BUT I was clueless about cycling so now that I finally got what I needed I have cycled my 5 gallon and shall be adding someone soon :)

[Homer16]

The 5.5 gallon is perfect. Nothing is out of range. I think I may add him to that tank tonight. I just upped the heater in the 5.5 gallon to get it to 78 degrees which is what his 2.5 gallon is at. Then I will add some other compatible fish to his tank at a later date. Mickey (the betta) is back to his normal self. I think I caught everything early. Ive got lots of plants for him in the 5.5 gallon and lots of hiding spots. Theres a small algae eater in there but he does not bother anyone

He was in a cycled tank before the barbs went into the 5.5 gallon (he was removed when the barbs went in). Hes been out of the 5.5 gallon for a couple weeks