New to Bettas ... sick boy :(

[Rottnk9s]

Hello, I am new to the forum and new to bettas. We purchased our first fish, "Koi" on saturday and he was doing well but now just doesn't seem right. I will answer the questions that are on the sticky ...

Housing
What size is your tank? 3 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78F
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day, 1 pellet ... but he is not eating

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Only got him on Sunday ... was planning on doing it tomorrow
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? was going to do 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? when I started the tank I used TopFin Betta Water Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
No I have not
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Yes ... fins are curling
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Yes he was swimming quite a bit and would flare when he seen people walk by. He has always come tot he top when we feed him but he does not eat, now he just hangs out in the trees. He does swim around though just not like he first did
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Tuesday (Yesterday)
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No
Does your fish have any history of being ill? ?? Just got him
How old is your fish (approximately)? I do not know ... but he is orange and blue and very handsome :)

Any help would be appreciated. I don't know if Koi came to us with a problem but i would sure like to help him out if I can

Thank you
Dawn

[bettafish15]

All I can think of is if he's a Crowntail betta, his fins could be curling because of hard water. IDK about the rest :/

[Rottnk9s]

Thank you. I am wondering of I should treat his tank with salt. Would I changed it out every 24 hours until he is better? He is still swiming a bit but not the happiest little dude

[Oldfishlady]

Welcome to the forum....

He may be going through a normal adjustment period...at this point I would go ahead and make a 50% water change for a couple of days...then get on a regular schedule of 50% twice weekly thereafter to maintain water quality in a 3g filtered tank

Offer food daily and remove it after 30 minutes...give him time....

Look forward to pics....

[Rottnk9s]

I don't know if this is normal or not!! His fins are all tucked in tight to his body and he just lays on his hammock. Poor guy. I am doing the water changes ... should I try salt?

[carzz]

I wouldn't try salt quite yet. I'd wait for a week, maybe week and a half. You said you just got him, let him adjust before you try that, where it might traumatize him. I would look up 'drowsy'. This might be it. Check his symptoms with the listed symptoms. And forget 50% water changes. Try 100% water changes. there could b something in the water.

[Oldfishlady]

How is he acting after the 50% water change....did he unclamp his fins? double check your water temp with a thermometer..

[Rottnk9s]

No he is the same. I checked the temp and it is 78 F. Poor guy :(

[brittney0430]

He might have what is known as NTS(New Tank Syndrome).
When a tank is first set up with no fish in it, the tank has not started the "break-in cycle". It is when the Nitrate and Ammonia level rise to dangerous amounts due to fish waste and uneaten food is broken down by bacteria into nitrate, and which are again broken down by different groups of bacteria into nitrate. In a newly set up aquarium, those bacteria are not present in any quantity, and it takes time - about a 4 to 6 weeks under normal circumstances - for those bacteria to multiply to the point of being able to keep up with the waste output of the fish. “New Tank Syndrome” and “The Break-In Cycle” describe the period in which ammonia and then nitrite levels rise to dangerous quantities before being converted into relatively harmless nitrate.
For more information, go to http://www.bestfish.com/breakin.html
Also, for your first fish, you should get a strong, durable, hardy fish like a GloLite, not a Betta. Be sure not to be deeply attached to your first fish for it will likely die from this syndrome. After a couple weeks of buying GloLites or any other hardy, cheap fish that die, you can buy your Bettas. (: hope this helps!

[Rottnk9s]

He looks much better today and is swimming around a bit. I will read about the break in that you described but I am not going to not get attached because I am new to fish. That seems silly to me. I am not completely new to fish as I have had a tropical fish tank for years but I am knew to bettas.

Oldfishlady - his fins seem much better today but his dorsal fin still has a curl on the end. is there anything that I can do to help that? I can now see the blue ends of his fins and his orange is starting to get brighter!! He still loves his hammock though :)