New Betta Having Trouble Eating and Swimming

[alisonelisabeth]

Hello. I got a betta from PetSmart last night and put him in what was going to be his new home, a 10 gal w a Tetra Micro filter, which produces very little water movement. He seemed to be having trouble swimming in that he was being blown all over the tank by the filter and would end up on his side or back when he tried to turn around, but I chalked it up to exhaustion and turned the filter off for the night. I turned it back on this morning, and same thing, so I turned it off again. Even w the filter off, he has difficulty swimming, especially turning and swimming up or down. Also, when he goes to eat (I'm feeding him Hikari Bio-Gold), he misses the food more often than not, and when he gets a piece in his mouth, he'll sometimes spit it out. He's just acting so differently than my other betta, I wonder whether something's wrong w him. What do you think?

[callistra]

It sounds like the filter is just too strong for him.

Can you link to the exact filter?

[alisonelisabeth]

This is the best I can find: http://www.aquahobby.com/products/e_whispermicro.php

I called Tetra, and they said that it's for 5-10 gallon aquariums. It has an adjustable flow, which I have set to low. However, he seems to struggle even w it off. When he swims he looks bent and wiggly, whereas my other betta is flowing and graceful. Maybe they're just two different fish?

[sainthogan]

He could be struggling with a swim bladder issue, especially if he's struggling to swim without the filter. You can treat swim bladder disorders with epsom salts.

[callistra]

Can you share photos? How did you acclimate him to his new water?

[alisonelisabeth]

Unfortunately, he didn't make it. Thank you both for your help.

[sainthogan]

I'm sorry to hear that.

[callistra]

I'm sorry to hear this :(

[alisonelisabeth]

Thank you.