Is my Betta dying?

[JohnCassata]

Bought a Betta about five days ago. My girlfriend and I chose the most energetic one we could find, and everything seemed to be going good until this morning when I found him stuck to the filter. I was running late, and assumed that maybe the fish had died. When I came home to remove the fish, I noticed that his gills were still moving. The fish is still alive, however, listless and very somber. At one point he even just sorta sank to the bottom. He is hanging out in the top corner of the tank now, and has been for an hour or so. We bought a small starter tank kit that included everything thing we would need, and have followed all directions since purchase, so I can't figure out what is going on. My mom suggested that maybe he is stressed from being in fluorescent light (the tank is in the kitchen), but I don't see how this is any different than the store we bought him at.

Help?!

[Sweeda88]

Fluorescent light is not the problem. The filter may be too strong for him. Go to the sticky in the Betta Habitat section about how to baffle the filter. Or you could just rubber band an aquarium sponge to the output part of the filter (the spot where the water flows out). That may help.

[futureislander]

I know this post is a month old but this little 'tidbit' is for future viewers who may wind up here after using a search engine (like me) who might have a problem that is similar to the one which this gentleman was facing...

If your Betta fish, or any other fish or creature in your tank has found its way into a water filter, please don't "assume" that the animal is dead; turn the filter off and look inside it IMMEDIATELY to check for yourself. The water inside can be very turbulent and fast-moving, obviously having the ability to seriously stress, injure and most likely kill your beloved pet if it's trapped inside long enough. Please never "assume" in situations like this, even if that means showing up late for work...just call and tell your employer what happened and DON'T speed or rush to get to work (you yourself don't want to die, either!). Your pet looks to you when in need...don't ever forget that.