Depressed fish?

[chenghenryhan]

Greetings all,

I'm new to the boards and am just desperate to see if anybody can shed shed some wisdom to me. I've been the caretaker of a betta for a little under a year. The previous owner bought him from a petstore ~ 1.5 years ago.

He was in good health before I left him in the care of a friend during summer break (I fly to college). However, he's much different now that I finally got him back.

Since ~June he's been lying at the bottom of the tank, always limp and sometimes on his side. His energy level is down and when he swims to the top for air, he seems as if his back half can't keep up with his front half. It appears as if hes almost swimming vertical, almost in a swaying motion sometimes.. it looks strange. He still eats (although not as much) pellets and freeze-dried bloodworms and sometimes (a little more recently after a fresh tank change) perks up when I approach the tank.

He's in a 2 gallon tank with a water heater that normally keeps the tank between ~ 75-78 degrees. Since his behavior has been pretty much constant all summer and continuing into the fall, I think something is wrong with him but I cannot pinpoint what it is. He is not darting around, or displaying any sort of spotting. His last tank change was Friday, and I plan on cleaning it again either Tuesday or Wednesday. I have attached pictures to this thread.


If anybody has any sort of help/advice they could lend, it would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want this fish to suffer anymore than it already has if there's a real problem.

[kelly528]

Give him some new furniture. Really. Some silk plants, makeshift caves-- he needs some stuff to swim around and hide in. Despite the java moss (which is awesome styff) his tank looks markedly sparse. Also, I would put the thermometer on the other side of the tank so you can be sure that the temperature is consistent throughout the tank. In tanks without circulating water (not a must with bettas) the heater-side of the tank may become warmer than the other side.

Provide some stimulation by placing a mirror for him to flare at (no more than 5 minutes) or letting a ping-pong ball float on the water's surface (they love to flare at it and push it around). Another boredom buster is live food... if you can find a pet store that sells live brine shrimp or blood worms he will love to sadistically hunt 'em down :)


Also, is it possible that he is just mad that Jessica Biel is there staring up at him day in and day out?