[Bettafishy17]

I have had my betta for five days now and he is not eating. I have him in a 1 gallon bowl with lighting, a bridge, and some betta rocks on the bottom, so i do not know if it is the scenery or what. I don't see any symptoms of disease, at least not what i can see, and i don't believe he has swimming bladder, but he still won't eat. I feed him a little bit of betta pellets and betta flakes, but he just looks at them and then turns away! I don't know what to do!:-(

 

[LeoTheLakerBetta]

How often do you clean the tank, what is the temperature of the tank, and is the tank filtered?

If your tank is not heated and is below 78 degress F, you need to obtain an aquarium heater which can be found at Petsmart for around 17 or 18 bucks.

If your tank doesn not have a filter, you should be changing his water 3 times a week and 100% water change each time. If it is filtered you can probably get away with 2 changes but usually 1 gals aren't filitered...

 

[callistra]

Please provide more info. We want to make sure we're not missing anything: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233 Photos would also be helpful.

 

[Bettafishy17]

Info about betta

Housing
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 76 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? yes
Is your tank heated? no
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? betta pellets and flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? once every day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every other day
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? aquasafe water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
I have not tested water parameters.
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? no
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? has not changed
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 12/28/12
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? unknown
How old is your fish (approximately)? unknown (Came from petstore)

 

[Bettafishy17]

This is my fishy. hope you can see him good.

this is phoenix. hope this pic helps

 

[Kithy]

How long have you had him? (edit, sorry, I see you've had him 5 days)

He could be cold. You may need to get a heater or warm him up with a space heater and towels.

Do you remove the uneaten food within 5 minutes? What brand food?

Is he pooping? Sounds odd but if he's constipated he won't really want to eat.

If you can upgrade to at least a two or three gallon, that would be best but I understand not everyone can afford or deal with that. Petco is having their $1 a gallon sale at most locations so you can call around and at least have the tank and get bit by bit as needed.

Are his fins unclamped?

 

[Bettafishy17]

Phoenix

here's another pic

 

[Bettafishy17]

if he is cold, would adding a little warmer water work? and how can u tell if he is constipated? are his fins clamped? his brand of food is bettamin tropical medley.

 

[Kithy]

That I'm not sure, generally it needs to be stable and too hot could scald him. Your best bet is find a space heater if you have one and keep it in your room a few feet away and wrap the bowl in a towel on the sides and back to keep warmth in.

You can tell if he's constipated if he hasn't pooped in awhile. It looks like you do frequent water changes so that is good. Just watch for new poop after you change the water. If he hasn't pooped in awhile he's likely constipated.

His fins don't look too bad.

If the first two ingredients are fish based, that's good. If not, you might want to look for other foods. New Life Spectrum is what I give mine.

 

[ChoclateBetta]

Internal Parasites. Dont add warm water that causes shock. Heaters are best.

 

[Kithy]

Internal Parasites. Dont add warm water that causes shock. Heaters are best.

What makes you think parasites?

 

[ChoclateBetta]

Lack of Appetite.

 

[Kithy]

Could be but there's more than one reason he'd be refusing food. We still need a bit more information before an accurate diagnosis can be made.

 

[Bettafishy17]

I put a blanket under his tank and around. I also took a look at his food and it said fish meal and brine shrimp meal. is that good? when i clean his tank tomorrow i will have to make his water a little warmer and get a thermometer. thanks so much for the help i also look out for him being constipated.

 

[Kithy]

I put a blanket under his tank and around. I also took a look at his food and it said fish meal and brine shrimp meal. is that good? when i clean his tank tomorrow i will have to make his water a little warmer and get a thermometer. thanks so much for the help i also look out for him being constipated.

Should be good. When you put warm water in it might take longer to cool down though so you might want to set the water out tonight and just put in room temp water. The food sounds okay, no wheat or anything so it should be fine.

If he still doesn't want to eat you can try soaking the food in a bit of garlic, they usually can't refuse it (too yummy).

But as Choclate said, it could be parasites as well so if he does poop make sure it is the same color as the food you're feeding him as well as there's nothing white or stringy attached. If he's swelling anywhere that could be another sign. Keep a close eye on him and I'd suggest a heater if you can get one.

 

[Bettafishy17]

if one of the ingredients, 6th or 7th from first ingredients say wheat gluten, is this okay? also if parasites is the case, what can i do to get rid of them? also, my tank has an led light, does this help?

 

[Kithy]

As long as the first two or three are fish or meat type meal, it should be okay.

Parasites, I'm not too sure. They usually pop up when you're feeding too much or water quality is bad. It might depends on the type of parasite. I've heard some foods can help.
http://www.petco.com/product/112087...lar-Formula-1mm-Sinking-Pellet-Fish-Food.aspx
This claims to have anti-parasitic properties. NLS is a pretty good brand so I suppose this might be a good try. I know it looks expensive but it'll last awhile. Only feed your betta 2-3 pellets two times a day with one day where he does not get fed.

 

[Bettafishy17]

oh i forgot to metion that i ordered parasite and disease prevention stuff, its called betta revive .08 Oz. is this stuff good to use because it said that it would help with diseases, but i'm not sure. would it work?

 

[Kithy]

oh i forgot to metion that i ordered parasite and disease prevention stuff, its called betta revive .08 Oz. is this stuff good to use because it said that it would help with diseases, but i'm not sure. would it work?

I've not used it before so I can't help, I'm sorry :<

 

[Bettafishy17]

what do u use when your fish get sick?