Suddenly he's not swimming :(

[heathbar]

I came home from work to find my betta laying on his side on the bottom of the tank! He was fine yesterday, swimming around his tank and being his usual active self. It looks a little bloated but not very much.

Housing
What size is your tank? 6 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? One nerite snail

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellets, Brine Shrimp and Blood worms
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 10%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

My good test kit is at work but I used the quick dip sticks to get these results

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10-20ppm
pH: 6.5
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? No
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Yes, isn't swimming. Only come up for air very very rarely. Just lays on the bottom without moving.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Today
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? Only had him about a month, he looks pretty young.

Here is some pictures of him. I don't see any signs of illness other then him not moving.

Here are some pictures of him. One if of him laying totally on his side on the bottom of the tank :(

[heathbar]

Also, I just want to add that I skipped feeding him yesterday and today because he looks a little bloated from eating too much frozen brine shrimp last time I fed him. I also did a 10% water change yesterday and he was acting normal then.

[vilmarisv]

Poor guy! I have no answer for you but I would place him in a shalow container so he doesn't have to swim too far to the suface.

[heathbar]

Thanks, not sure what his problem is yet but I did move him to a smaller and more shallow container earlier. Hopefully it's just SBD from constipation.

The only other thing I could think of is some kind of contamination when I did his WC yesterday.

[Pataflafla]

If your tank isn't cycled, then I think more than a 10% weekly is needed.

It might be constipation or contamination.

[narsaksas]

My fish isn't swimming either!! :( He just lies there on the bottom. I don't know what to do! I'm afraid he is going to die!

[Myates]

Nitrates are way up. I would suggest doing a 75% water change.
10% a week isn't enough for a 6 gallon- it's recommended to do 30-50% a week with regular siphoning. I think in your case you will probably do better in the 40-50% range. If you have live plants in there.. then I would do 30-40% per week. Unsure why you would have such high Nitrates with plants.. I would PM Oldfishlady about that..

As for feeding, to avoid bloating you should feed 2+ times a day. Feeding once a day you run the risk of either over feeding, or under feeding. Best to feed small meals at least twice a day- pellets 4-6 total a day (2-3 per feeding). Are the brine shrimp and blood worms freeze dried? If so, pre-soak them in tank water prior to feeding, as they expand greatly in their stomachs and cause bloating issues. They are also meant to be used as snacks, so only once or twice a week is what you will be wanting.

Poor guy.. right now other then getting the nitrates lowered, unsure if there is anything else you can do. If he is having trouble swimming up for air, put him in a QT container with about 3-4 inches of water, doing daily 100% water changes. Float it in his home tank to keep him warm.

[Myates]

Originally Posted by narsaksas

My fish isn't swimming either!! :( He just lies there on the bottom. I don't know what to do! I'm afraid he is going to die!

Go ahead and copy/paste the questions that the OP answered in their post above in your own thread, that way we can properly help you and not confuse the original poster's problems with yours.

[heathbar]

Thanks for the advice Myates, the tank is planted but not very heavily. Unfortunately my tap water had some nitrates in it last time I did a test but not enough to be considered dangerous, the Prime should be taking care of it though. According to Seachem's website the detoxified nitrates and nitrates from Prime still show up on most test kits since it can't distinguish between them. I'll be testing my water with my API test kit once I get home from work to confirm the results from the Quickdip strips.

The good news is he looks comfortable in his shallow QT tank and is hanging out near the top with some floating stem plants. He still has no visible changes in his appearance so I'm taking that as a good sign.

[heathbar]

Sad news... I came home from work to find him dead So upset.....

I tested his tank water with my good kit and it's was pristine.

0 ammonia
0 nitirte
>5ppm nitrate
6.5 pH
78F

I'm at a total loss as what could have caused it but now I'm worried about some kind of contaminant in the tank. Maybe I got soap it during a WC or something??? I just don't know.

What should I do to make sure the tank is safe before I put another other fish in it? I'm going to start by doing a 100% WC.

RIP buddy... sorry I couldn't save you.