Not eating, hardly swimming, scared...?

[bloo97]

What could be the problem? Dragon always hides from me now, he never eats, I never see him out of his cave. I don't want to lose the little guy.

I havn't noticed anything on him. No spots, no discloration, nothing. What is it?

[bloo97]

I took away his cave so he has no hiding place. I feel bad. But he really needs to eat. ):

[bloo97]

I just gave him a waterchange. He didn't eat. ):

[Oldfishlady]

Got some questions...

How long have you had him, how big is the tank, how much and how often on the water changes, filtration, live plants, water temp, additives used if any, any medication or treatment tried and has he ever been sick before now-how long has he been acting this way and any other symptoms other than hiding and not eating?

[bloo97]

How long have you had him, how big is the tank, how much and how often on the water changes, filtration, live plants, water temp, additives used if any, any medication or treatment tried and has he ever been sick before now-how long has he been acting this way and any other symptoms other than hiding and not eating?

I have had him about half a year now.
The tank is an Aqueon 2.5 gallon.
I always do %100 water change every 2-3 weeks.
I do have a filter & heater.
I have not used any medication, only water conditioner from his last water change a few minutes ago.
He has never truly been sick before. Close calls, but not like this.
He has been acting this way/not eating for 3-4 days.
I noticed he was breathing EXTREMELY hard. Almost like a wave from his gills to his little "lungs."

BTW I'm snowed in so I cannot get fish supplies from the store.

He has also started moving more now.

[Oldfishlady]

Water temp???

Without knowing the water temp....my first thought is water quality issue....100% water change every 2-3 weeks???-in the long term- can really be hard on the Betta and the rapid breathing could be scar tissue related to ammonia burns on the gill plates and nitrite poisoning along with possible pH shock from the water change...as they get older they don't tolerate poor water quality along with the long term effect it can cause...check the water temp and keep it in the 76-78F range and start doing some 25-50% daily water changes for 4-5 days and then start a twice weekly 50% thereafter...he will start to eat once he start to feel better...hopefully its not too late.....but don't give up.....

[bloo97]

It is at 79.5 degrees. It is usually between 76-79 degrees.

[PewPewPew]

Maybe try a treat, like a brine shrimp?
If you use pellets, maybe pre-soak them?
My little guy did that for a while, so I tried that and it helped.

[bloo97]

I don't have treats.

Do you mean just soaking them in water?

[xswornxoffxjello]

You could try netting him to see if he has any appetite: holding him under the water and feeding him from there. He may want to eat something if it's right in front of his face...