Is my betta sick, or is it normal behaviour?

[kald]

Hello,

I have a male double-tail betta. It's a very beautiful and healthy-looking fish, and eats very well. He lives in a filtered (not heated, no petshops around to buy a heater anymore, but I will work on that at a later time) three gallon tank with live plants and moss. His environment seems great.

The behaviour I notice is that he tends to lay down a lot, sometimes at a small angle on his side (kinda like / ). When I come closer to check him out, he usually gets very active and hyper, darting about and flaring at his reflection. But other times, he just sits and seems to almost be gasping. The tank parameters are fine.

Besides this, nothing is wrong with him. I just want to make sure he's alright; he's a very bright purple double tail betta with a great personality! :)

Thanks!

[JamieTron]

I have a male who acts like that as well, he likes to sit on the bottom and just chillax a lot :) I would say your betta is doing fine by the sounds of things

[5green]

my betta does the same but just to be safe, is he eating well?

[doggyhog]

What is the Temp of the water? Colder water can make them more sluggish.

[Jupiter]

You said he doesn't have a heater, so it's probably the cold water. They usually lie down at the bottom if their water is chilly.

[kald]

Originally Posted by 5green

my betta does the same but just to be safe, is he eating well?

He will eat literally everything I put into the tank. He even nibbles at the moss now and then.

The temperature is probably the problem. But, I only ever see heaters for 5gal+, not small tanks (3 gal for example). Will a 5gal heater be okay for a 3?

[LaniBaby]

i've used a 50 watt heater (i think that's good for 10 gallons?) in a one without problem. right now i use both a 50 and a 25 watt in each of my two 3 gallon tanks without issue. they are perfectly stable (knock on wood.. last time i said that i had to replace one).
my guys also lie around and their water is 80 degrees. i think it's just habit. they don't like to swim all day long. sometimes they sleep in their leaves, but sometimes crumb just lies on the sand and waits for me to look at him, then he comes over.