Still confused by these fish called Bettas

[crazyoverfish]

I'm so confused with these fish. When I first purchased Lucky two weeks ago he didn't do much; I'm now realizing that was due to the water being somewhat cool in his 2.5 g. I purchased a heater and didn't really notice much of a change. He's still not eating. He comes up to the food when I drop it in, looks at it and then he goes back to laying on the plant. Today I did a 100% water change and then when he got back in his tank, he started spazzing out. He's done with that at this moment. Now the tank says it has an underground filter, although I don't see how it works, but it is hooked up to a small airstone and pump. Do Bettas like the airpump and bubbles? Could that be why he's not eating? I've given him the Top Fin Betta pellets, freeze dried bloodworms and even my homemade gelfood I give my goldies....and NOTHING!!!! He's very boring to watch, the spaz out session was the most active I've seen this fish.

[BlueHaven]

Did you get him used to the temperature when you put the heater in?
It has to change slowly and when changing the water make sure the temp is the same as the water he's already in. Too much of a difference will shock him, maybe that is why he spazzed out.
Do you use a dechlorinator?
(Seachem Prime is great)

Give him some time, he should be more active and show more of himself once he feels better.

[crazyoverfish]

yes, I added my water conditioner prior to putting him back in his tank, and I did acclimate him to the water before transferring back in. Right now the temp is at 78 and he's just laying on the bottom under the heater. His breathing looked a little labored earlier, but now it's back to normal.

Originally Posted by BlueHaven

Did you get him used to the temperature when you put the heater in?
It has to change slowly and when changing the water make sure the temp is the same as the water he's already in. Too much of a difference will shock him, maybe that is why he spazzed out.
Do you use a dechlorinator?
(Seachem Prime is great)

Give him some time, he should be more active and show more of himself once he feels better.

[fishmansam]

i recamend a bigger tank at least 3.5 gallons i have a five gallon ps it will take time for him to start to like you

[BettasForever]

^Amen to that, but I have a 2 gallon and my betta thrives.

A great example is the Photo of the month- the betta has to like you for it to trust you enough to go in that person's hand.

[crazyoverfish]

Eventually he will get a bigger tank, but for right now, this is his home. Okay, so Lucky was sitting on the bottom of the tank and hardly ever ate. If he did eat, I never saw it. I was getting some advice from another fellow Betta enthusiast, (who in my opinion, is just awesome) and thought perhaps he had an infection of some sort. He looks good and he has color but he wasn't doing anything.

I just re-read the Betta FAQ's and saw they don't like water movement. Well my little tank came with an air filter and I had it going. Almost immediately, once I removed the air filter/stone, Lucky came to life and is swimming all over. I still haven't seen him eat, but I also don't see the two pellets I put in his tank earlier. To think I tormented my fish for almost 2 weeks. I hope he will forgive me.