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betta fish not eating and barley moving

2K views 16 replies 4 participants last post by  88camaro 
#1 · (Edited)
I think something is wrong with my little buddy named zeus. Got him about two weeks ago from petsmart. The first week he seemed very happy and active and had a healthy appitite. Ive had the water checked and all levels are are good. He is in a 2.5 gallon tank. Ive read that they should be in atleast 5 gallons but unfortunately i dont have the cash for a new tank. His water temp is between 75 and 80. It has a filter and ive made a small baffle so it doesnt create too strong of a current. Within the last 5 days he hasnt eaten and either lays on his side at the bottom of the tank or floats near the top in a corner. Occasionally when i take the lid off he swims frantically and almost jumped out yesterday. I was wondering if anyone had any insight on what the problem could be. Any advice would be greatly appreaciated. Oops, just noticed i spelled "barely" wrong on the headline. Ugh its been a long day haha
 
#2 ·
Sounds similar to what i'm going through right now. My little guy is 1 year old and had been lethergic and not eating for several days and when i got home from work last night he was laying on the bottom of the tank, on his side and struggling to breathe. After a little research, I discovered it was swim bladder disorder. So, this morning, I have moved him to a small container of water, with a just a few inches in eat, so he can get breaths from the top, Epson Salt treatments and its floating on top of the heated tank. In just the last hour he is no long on his side. He is upright, but still letheragic as heck. I'm planning to change his few inches of water about every half hour for a couple hours and see how he responds. You could give this a try and see how your little fella responds. Good luck. I know I'm saying little prayers for my Sushi boy
 
#4 ·
Dollar store, walgreens, walmart... Use 1 tbsp per gallon. I took a standard pitcher and mixed just shy of a tablespoon in there, along with water treatment. Its a God send to have places like here to go, where we can get advice and share with one another. Hope you're little guy pulls through, too
 
#7 ·
Your betta has pretty advanced fin rot adn is bloated.. is his eye cloudy? That would also be an infection..

More info please: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233

But based on what you said, I have some concerns..

Most people will tell you that you can't ever fully cycle a tank under 5g, despite your filter, and you will always need these changes.. you can try, but careful daily monitoring and reliable test kits should be used. This is for tanks 2.5G+. Anything less and there’s no point in even trying. You need to be testing daily with a reliable drops kit for ammonia and nitrite and doing an extra 50% change any time you see either. In addition to this a weekly 50% with siphon or new fresh turkey baster that has never seen chems is needed to remove poop and other debris from the gravel. It is not enough to just scoop water off the top ever. I actually suggest a turkey baster or very small siphon because your tank is so small an average siphon will remove water too quickly.

First you will see ammonia, then nitrite. Eventually, hopefully, you will see ammonia fall and stay at 0 even after a week of no water changes, and finally nitrite. At this point you will be left with only nitrates after a full week of no changes and these can be kept <20ppm by twice weekly 50% change with baster/siphon. However, cycling will take up to two months to complete and many if not most people will tell you that you can't cycle a tank of this size and you will always need twice weekly 50% and 100% water changes or you will always see ammonia continuing to build and the cycle will never finish..

Bettas are tropical fish and must be kept at a temp between 76-82, with 78-80 being ideal. The temp must be stable and not be dipping or jumping around. In a 2 gallon you can get an adjustable 25w heater. Any new heater should be tested for 24 hours in similar size container with in tank thermometer to make sure it will hold a constant appropriate temp between 78-80F. Then the betta must be acclimated to higher temp either by floating in a cup inside the main already fully heated tank for an hour, or by adjusting the heater to increase the temperature of the tank no more than a degree per hour and 5 degrees per day.

Flakes aren't good nutritional value, and especially with something this small they muck up the water quickly causing excess ammonia. You should look for a good quality pellets whose first two or three ingredients are whole fish, not fish meal or wheat. He should be fed two small meals a day (how many depends on the pellet you pick up) and one fast day a week.

It seems like feeding and water quality is an issue.
 
#8 ·
Housing What size is your tank? 2.5 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 75-80
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day

Maintenance How often do you perform a water change? Once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? I forget the name but its the typical beta water treatment stuff.

Water Parameters: Have you tested your water? Yes (at petsmart)
If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: Nitrite: Nitrate: pH: Hardness: Alkalinity: N/A

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Slight discoloration, fin rot, foggy eyes.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Not eating or swimming
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 5 days ago
Have you started treating your fish? NoIf so, how? I dont know how, thats why im here haha
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not that im aware of
How old is your fish (approximately)? Not sure, got him from petsmart two weeks ago, im not too sure how old they are there.
 
#9 ·
Exactly what pellets are you feeding? how many per feeding? he needs one fast day a week at least, but the quantity and/or quality may be an issue.

You need to find a stay to stabilize his temps. What are you using to monitor temps? It should be 78-80F stable, unchanging like that. Leaving fish on exterior walls and next to windows, exterior doors and also heating/cooling vents can cause wide swings like this. Otherwise your heater may not be up for the job. I use 25w Marineland Visitherm heaters in all my smaller tanks

His problem is what I thought it was.. lack of water changes.. wildly fluctuating temps, and possibly feeding. So if you pay attention to everything above he will be okay.

For now, he will need more specialized care. He is in no shape to use for cycling a tank, especially one so small that likely won't ever fully establish. So forget about the cycling process and that can be dealt with (as above) once he is well again.

For now do 50% water changes every other day and 100% including rinsing the gravel thoroughly by week's end. Add 1 tsp per gallon Epsom salt - must be 100% pure magnesium sulfate. Must be predissolved outside the tank in a separate cup/container with some of his tank water and added slowly over an hour to avoid shock. I get mine at CVS Pharmacy. I would also add 1 tsp per gallon aquarium salt (not marine or people salt.. from your fish store). It also needs to be predissolved but you don't need to worry about adding slowly. Salts will not break down or even evaporate. So you only need to add more along with a water change,a nd only add back as much as new water you add.Additionally I would fast 3 days to a week until he moves a lot of poop and his bloat goes away.

Hopefully at this point his fins will start to see some regrowth and his constipation issues will be gone, and not have spread to actual internal infection. If he does not seem to be getting any better after about a week you may need actual antibiotics, but we'll cross that road when we get there.
 
#10 ·
Petsmart is not a reliable source for water tests. They use strips and the strips are not accurate. I was "having" nitrite problems with my strips. Bought a master kit and they read 0. Also a temperature slightly over 80 will help with fin rot. Good luck
 
#11 ·
ive been feeding him the aqueon betta food. i usually feed him 3 twice a day. his water temp seems to be holding at about 80 right now. unfortunately im struggling money wise so i cant afford any water testing kits at the moment. i got home from work today and noticed that it appears now he has "popeye". and hes floating on his side. ill do everything i can from the advise given to me. thank you for the help, ill keep you updated, hopefully he makes it.
 
#12 ·
Do what I said in post #9. It doesn't require buying any test kits but you do need epsom salt and aquarium salt ASAP.. what you are describing is very worrysome.

I also asked questions there about temperature and feeding habits..
 
#14 ·
Everyone has to learn sometime. Don't worry.

At this point he needs fasting and water changes salt etc to recover anyway, so don't worry he won't eat.

What brand of pellet are you feeding?
 
#16 ·
It's not the best but not the worst either. If you continue with this I would cut him back to 2 twice a day with one fast day a week, once he's recovered.
 
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