Hi all, just wanted to get your opinions on this...
As of the last two weeks (and he's been lazy but not unenergized for about a month), my fish Al has become incredibly lazy. At first I thought he was just doing what he would do every once in a while, just hang out in his cave, on his leaf, at the bottom, etc. However it's apparent it's more than that.
He hangs out on the bottom (mostly just laying on the gravel) all day. If something startles him enough or he gains the strength, he goes to the top for air, only to return to the bottom in a flash. It's been two days since I've last fed him because he just will not come and stay at the surface long enough for me to do so. You can tell he's TRYING to stay up top, but does not have the strength and he keeps floating towards the floor.
Since switching to the new tank almost a year ago, he's only had 1 case of sickness- fin rot. It was bad, but he fought through it and was OK after it subsided.
Not sure how old he was when we got him (got him from Walmart), but we've had him for just about two years now. I'm just thinking he's nearing his end at this point. His colors aren't as vibrant as they once where, the energy is gone, and he's even reluctant to come to the top for food (first time EVER).
Do you guys think he's on his way out? I hope not, but that's what I'm thinking. I'm pretty bummed. I plan on changing his water, cleaning his gravel/ornaments tomorrow, and putting in a new filter... so at least he can have a clean goodbye if it comes to that...
**Some Notes**
- 10 gallon tank.
- Filtered tank.
- Heated tank (77-80 degrees normally).
- When changing water: conditioner & aquarium salt is added..
I'm not in any way an expert on this type of stuff, but I believe I read somewhere that ALWAYS having aquarium salt in the tank can add kidney problems? I am not positive though. Do you ALWAYS add aquarium salt?
Also, maybe include how often you do water changes, and the parameters of pH, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia etc if you test for those.
Sorry Big Al isn't doing so well, I am crossing my fingers he gets through this OK!
I'm not in any way an expert on this type of stuff, but I believe I read somewhere that ALWAYS having aquarium salt in the tank can add kidney problems? I am not positive though. Do you ALWAYS add aquarium salt?
Also, maybe include how often you do water changes, and the parameters of pH, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia etc if you test for those.
Sorry Big Al isn't doing so well, I am crossing my fingers he gets through this OK!
Thank you for your response. As far as the salt- Not always, mostly when he was sick and when it is a big water change (I just copied and pasted those special notes from another thread I made). But more often than not, we do add according to the amount taken out during a big water change.
We do water changes once a week on the average (it is filtered & heated). When he was dealing with fin rot about 5 months ago we changed it much more frequently.
We do not have a testing system for the other things mentioned, but we have gotten our water checked out a few times and everything was fine and we try to change his water frequently.
Thank you for the well wishes! I have a bad feeling I'm not going to like what I see in the morning one day this week, though
Housing
What size is your tank? 10 Gallons
What temperature is your tank? 77-80 Degrees
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? N/A
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? N/A
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellets (used to feed flakes, but his eye got clouded over and he had trouble seeing)
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day, one pellet at each feeding time
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week, usually
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 30-50% water change (depending on if we went a little early in our schedule or a little late)
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Water conditioner & Aquarium Salt
Water Parameters
N/A, don't have the means to test. Tested water out at Pet Smart a few times over the last year and change, everything looked good.
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
See OP. Seems paler than usual, this could be a reach though.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
See OP. Lazy, tired, can't really swim without going back down to the bottom immediately. On his side a lot on the bottom of the tank, seems weak.
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
See OP. About two weeks ago when he started getting real weak/lazy/tired.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
No, other than changing the water. I don't see anything outwardly wrong with him. When this started I didn't think anything of it, cause from time to time he would just like to bottomfeed.
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
Before moving into the filtered & heated tank, he had a lot of illnesses (over a year ago). Cured everything. Had fin rot about 5-6 months ago, got through it.
He has been through the rigors. Had and fought through Fungus (twice... when he was in an unfiltered & unheated tank) & a bad case of fin rot (which we cured about 5 months ago). Other than the fin rot, everything has been great for the last year since he switched to the filtered & heated tank.
At this point my plan of action is to change his water tomorrow, clean everything, and put in a new filter. Outwardly nothing is really wrong, appearance-wise... and I guess hope for the best. Clearly something is wrong though, I just fear this might be the end. Maybe he's just getting old. Love the little guy though, hope he pulls through...
I think you need to feed him more. Two pellets is a very, very small amount to eat. He is probably very hungry and doesn't have the energy to move much. I would up it to 2-3 pellets twice a day.
Also, you must do a at least 50% water change every single week. I would only use aquarium salt when treating disease, not as a regular additive.
I think you need to feed him more. Two pellets is a very, very small amount to eat. He is probably very hungry and doesn't have the energy to move much. I would up it to 2-3 pellets twice a day.
Also, you must do a at least 50% water change every single week. I would only use aquarium salt when treating disease, not as a regular additive.
Thank you for your response. We usually do a 50% change weekly, the smaller ones are if we do multiple ones throughout the week. And thanks for the tip on the salt.
The reason I cut back on the pellets was because when I was feeding him the recommended amount (2-4, 2x daily) he was getting very bloated and backed up with poop. I cut it back for that reason and he was no longer with a bloated tummy, etc. I will up the amount though if he is willing. He hadn't had a problem with the feeding schedule since I could remember, but if this helps I will gladly try it out!
You could try alternating pellets and frozen bloodworms. The high protein could help. Most bettas go bonkers for them. Also, if the pellets have a lot of wheat (like if it's the second ingredient) that could be a problem for him with bloating.
Unfortunately as I suspected when I woke up this morning Al had passed away.
While he was "lazy" for the last 4-5 weeks, he was still responsive, eating, happy, and sociable when I would come in. However in the last week something hit him and he became incredibly weak. The last 2 days in particular he was too weak to even come to the surface.
I tried desperately last night to get him to eat (I fed him slightly more than usual the day before because I figured this would happen), but he couldn't get the strength. I could tell he wanted to swim, but he just couldn't anymore.
RIP Al. He was my first pet in the last 10 years, so I am real sad.
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