Is he OK?

[bluebettafish]

Hello I'm new to betta fish and I just got my betta fish last Friday. I picked out this pretty blue one at Petco.

I'm very happy with my new companion but I'm concerned because he seems like he doesn't have much energy. My guess is that the water is cold but I wasn't sure. He seemed better when I put the tank near the window where there was sunlight coming in. I don't know the temperature because I don't have a thermometer.

I can't figure out how to upload pictures here...I just took one of him "sitting" on the plant. He positions himself on one of the leaves and stays still. He does this a lot. Is this normal? I'm thinking of going back to Petco to get him a better plant. This one came with the betta kit. He also doesn't eat very much.

I hope he's ok!

[dramaqueen]

Hello and welcome to FishForum. Cool temperatures will cause your betta to be lethargic. You might want to get a thermometer to monitor the water temperature. If you have him in a 2 gallon or larger, you might want to get him a heater. You've only had him a short time so he could be adjusting to his new home. Also,bettas don't eat much the first few days after bringing them home.

[Jynx]

Yes betta will rest and sleep on the leaves of plants to relax- I recommend either a real or silk plant rather than a plastic one because sometimes they can get their fins caught in plastic plants and it hurts them. Many have no problems with plastic plants though, so it's up to you.

[bluebettafish]

Thank you fot the replies. It's kind of cute how he rests on the leaves so I'm glad to know that he's just sleeping. I will look into getting him nicer plants since he likes it so much. While I'm there I'll also look for a thermometer. Right now the tank is 1/2 gallon (I believe) but eventually I'm thinking of investing in something a little nicer.

My betta looks just like yours, Jynx, except he has a longer tail.

Thanks again!

[Jynx]

yes that's because my little Lulu is a female- in real life she's more purple than in the pic- don't know why but the camera always makes her look blue.
Yeah I find that the larger tanks are easier to keep clean and you can also fit more plants and decorations in there. If you want something larger but still inexpensive you could try a big critter keeper. The grated top gives them good air flow.

[rb500]

Yes, I recomend a 5 gallon, but nothing smaller than 2.5

[bluebettafish]

Ok so it's starting to sound like keeping him in my 1/2 gallon tank at work is really not a good idea. My office is probably going to be too cold for him in the winter time so I might take him home eventually. He's too distracting, anyway! I keep looking at him.

[Jynx]

yeah a half gallon is really too small to have heated as well. Another reason we recommend larger homes for them.

[rb500]

a 1/2 gallon is only ever to be used as a quarentine tank or temporary placement, i.e. during water changes. There are so many benefits from having a bigger home for him.

[Jynx]

Yes the small tank may actually be why he seems to have no energy- if you can imagine trying to jog in an elevator, that's sort of how it is for a fish to swim in a very tight space. He may actually want to move around and stretch but so long as he doesn't have the space for it he'll probably just laze about. The more room these fish have the more active they become, those in tanks larger than 2.5 gallons really do a lot of patrolling in their little territory and the exercise gives them better color and fuller fins.