my betta is acting strangely. not sure what it is, possibly just tired?
His dorsal fin is clamped, and hes lying on the gravel on his side. i havent seen him do this before, and ive had him almost 8 months. when i walk up to the tank he swims up and he eats well when i feed him, im just worried about the lying on the bottom of the tank. All the water parameters are perfect, and ive tested and re-tested the water numerous times today.
Hes in a 5 gallon tank with a heater and aquaclear 20 filter.
He's always been healthy, swimming around. Im quite worried. Any suggestions of what the problem might be? He was in a tank with another betta, also male, but i had a tank divider in it. That bettas fins all pinched, i moved him out and he died within the hour. i dont want this one to die aswell!
I put some bettafix in, only 10 drops. it is much to little for a 5 gallon tank, but i thought i should try something incase something was amiss, which is what i am suspecting, seeing as his dorsal fin is so clamped and hes lying at the bottom all the time. I took some plastic from one of those background things, which you slide behind your aquarium to make it look better, and stuck it in the gravel so he lies on that and not the gravel, incase its some case of fin rot.
Last edited by coolcucumber; 01-15-2011 at 08:40 PM.
my betta is acting strangely. not sure what it is, possibly just tired?
His dorsal fin is clamped, and hes lying on the gravel on his side. i havent seen him do this before, and ive had him almost 8 months. when i walk up to the tank he swims up and he eats well when i feed him, im just worried about the lying on the bottom of the tank. All the water parameters are perfect, and ive tested and re-tested the water numerous times today.
Hes in a 5 gallon tank with a heater and aquaclear 20 filter.
He's always been healthy, swimming around. Im quite worried. Any suggestions of what the problem might be? He was in a tank with another betta, also male, but i had a tank divider in it. That bettas fins all pinched, i moved him out and he died within the hour. i dont want this one to die aswell!
I put some bettafix in, only 10 drops. it is much to little for a 5 gallon tank, but i thought i should try something incase something was amiss, which is what i am suspecting, seeing as his dorsal fin is so clamped and hes lying at the bottom all the time. I took some plastic from one of those background things, which you slide behind your aquarium to make it look better, and stuck it in the gravel so he lies on that and not the gravel, incase its some case of fin rot.
What's the tank's temperature? That could be it. If its too hot or cold, the'll act weird. My fish did that when he was chilly, so Im leaning that way.
Maybe lower the water level, so things are easier for him when he gets air?
I think the plastic is a good idea. I dont think its fin rot though, youd know if he had fin rot bad enough to get him that sick, I think! D:
How long has this been going on for, btw?
Best of luck <3
Thanks for the reply :) The tank is at 80 degrees, it doesnt fluxuate much at all. When I open the lid he swims up and looks normal, just when hes at the bottom i get worried. I thought the light of the tank was too strong, but im not sure anymore. That wouldnt cause fin problems hehe. He kind of lies on the plastic, but leans on the rocks on the side. Hes been like this since i cleaned the tank yesterday, which makes me think i may have done something wrong. There was an algae in the filter, which i scrubbed with a toothbrush, but other then that i did everything normally.
Last edited by coolcucumber; 01-15-2011 at 08:56 PM.
Thanks for the reply :) The tank is at a solid 80 degrees, it doesnt fluxuate much at all. When I open the lid he swims up and looks normal, just when hes at the bottom i get worried. I thought the light of the tank was too strong, but im not sure anymore. He kind of lies on the plastic, but leans on the rocks on the side. Hes been like this since i cleaned the tank yesterday, which makes me think i may have done something wrong. There was an algae in the filter, which i scrubbed with a toothbrush, but other then that i did everything normally.
No praab! That's good.. Hm. So the temp is quite nice...
Im glad to hear he move around like he does when youre interacting with him. To be honest, my betta does this, too (though not really on his side, more on his belly on the bottom), hes just a lazy boy but is very healthy.
If this hasnt been going on long, it might be a fluke thing. :c
Bettas do notttt like direct, bright light from what Ive noticed and heard, so try keeping his light off and just allowing him an idirect source of light. Itll relax him too.
***WAS THE TOOTHBRUSH NEW?!?!
If not agh! It could have nastiness and toothpaste on it which is nottt good. Itll poison the betta. You cant ever use soap, etc when cleaning a tank, btw D:
I suggest doing a full change. Do it, put the reccomended amount of conditioner in, and make him cozy cozy. Perhaps keep the filter out and see if he improves. If youre using medicine and have a filter in there, remove it promptly and leave it out until youre finished, as it soaks the medicine up and renders it useless D;
Keep an eye on the little guy, give him love and let us know :B Can I see a picture of him interacting with you and sluggish on the bottom? Maybe we'll notice something. :3
Welcome to the forum..sorry you are having problems...have some questions...
What was the time line between the time you made the water change and the death of the Betta and the Betta that is now sick
Did you clean or change the filter media and if so, how did you clean it
Do you use carbon and if so when was the last new insert
Before this last water change when was the last water change and how much water did you change then and the current water change
How much dechlorinator did you use-what is the expiration date on it and what kind is it
Can you post your water pram numbers-ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and what kind of products are you using-strips or reagent
Any live plants
Right now I would go ahead and make a 25% water change and use a little extra dechlorinator for the next couple of days and lower the water temp to about 78F
hes the only fish in the tank, other then a snail, so id assume it was a QT tank? Unless it was too big, i dont have much bettafix left, ill have to run out to the LFS tommorow and get some more medication. In the picture you can kinda see the top fin. hes a VT and im not sure whats going on with that. the other betta had ALL of his fins pinched, he couldnt even swim, the poor guy.
Anyways, my sick betta is possibly looking like he is breathing hard?
I just changed the water after the other fish died, i changed about 20%. I use carbon and i changed it yesterday, no live plants. i use about 2.5ml for the 20%, and its aquaplus the dechlorinator.
PH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0
Nitrate:0
Nitrite:0
Im a bit confused about the nitrite/ate. is there supposed to be any of either in the tank?
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