Please help!

[dnw4614]

My betta will NOT eat and is losing color. I don't want him to die!

I got a male veiltail betta from the pet store about 2 weeks ago, he is in a bowl with some elodea plants. The first few days he was extremely happy, making bubble nests and eating whatever I gave him. I started out feeding him freeze-dried bloodworms as I accidentally picked those up instead of beta pellets or flakes, and figured he could eat those for a few days until I got to the pet store.

After about three days of feeding him the worms I bought some beta pellets, and he refused to eat them. He would sniff them and swim away. I figured he was being picky so I fed him the worms again, but then he wouldn't eat those! It has been 5 DAYS NOW and he refuses to eat anything I feed him. He will bite the worms and immediately spit them back out, and won't even taste the pellets. I broke up the worms because I thought maybe they were too large, but he would not eat even the tiny fragments.

I keep his tank clean and he actually is continuing to make bubble nests which I was told is a sign he feels comfortable in his home. i just cleaned his bowl 2 days ago though and it is already extremely dirty and has some sort of film on top? What could be causing this? I am going to clean it again now but why is it getting so dirty all of the sudden?

What am I doing wrong?! Please help my poor hungry fish.

[ARNOLDluvsYOU]

he probably got so use to the bloodworms he didnt wanna eat anything else. its ok to get blood worms they have almost the same amout of nutrition for your betta. dont worry i started feeding mine flakes but then i gave him pellets and he didnt eat them so i went back to flakes and know hes eating again!! and the color loss is probably from no food. Get the bloodworms as soon as possible

[dnw4614]

I have a whole container of bloodworms, I've been giving them to him every day and he refuses to eat even the bloodworms now ):

[Kuronue]

The film floating on the water is most likely a protein film.

How big is his bowl and how often do you do water changes? Do you use a water conditioner?

[dnw4614]

Just estimating here but it's about a 1.5 liter bowl, yes I am using a water conditioner

[dnw4614]

I have cleaned the bowl 4 times in the past two weeks

[Saphira101]

I'd definitely suggest getting a tank of AT LEAST 2.5 gallons, and not a bowl. You could try soaking his pellets in garlic juice, it makes the food super appetizing, apparently. Or, you could buy NLS (new life spectrum) Betta pellets, which are pre-soaked in garlic juice. Also, please fill this out. it will help us assess his condition:

Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?

[dnw4614]

Yeah I guess I will have to get this guy a bigger tank.

Housing
-He is in an approx. 1.5 liter bowl by himself, it is not heated or filtered but the room temp is always at 75F.

Food
-Started him on Aqueon betta treat freeze-dried bloodworms (accidentally bought these), Bought him Wardley betta food "color intensifier) but he refused to eat any of it.

Maintenance
-Performing 100% water changes twice weekly, adding in BettaSafe water conditioner

Have not done a water test

Symptoms and Treatment
-I noticed just today that his bright blue color has dulled significantly
-Continues to make bubble nests
-Refuses to eat anything
-Hangs out at the bottom of the bowl
-I've had him for two weeks

*I think that maybe the elodea plants in his bowl were dying from lack of sunlight and causing an ammonia build up in the water so I went ahead and removed them from the bowl. Any thoughts on if this is possibly the problem?

[Kuronue]

Okay, with a bowl that small you want to be doing daily water changes. What is likely happening is the ammonia from his waste and anything he doesn't eat that decomposes is giving him a case of ammonia poisoning which is spoiling his appetite.

Bubble nests aren't really a good comfort gauge. They do that to attract the girly fishies.

1.5 liters is kind of small. It'll be easier to manage if you go with something a bit bigger would be great. if you can't, try to squeeze in a few water changes.

edit: I posted after you and someone else, sorry about that. If you can squeeze in a heater, it'll help. The water in your fish tank is always around 2-3 degrees cooler than room temp and bettas like it at 78-82 Farenheit :)

[dnw4614]

Thanks for your help! I will definitely keep up the daily water changes until I can get him a bigger and better home. Hopefully he will start feeling better. Thank you!!