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Hi folks! I'm new to betta keeping and the forum. I'm hoping that someone will be able to steer me in the right direction, here.
I purchased my first betta on Thursday. A blue halfmoon male. In the little jar at the store, he was active and blowing a large bubble nest. I brought him home and put him into his tank where he was happily exploring his surroundings and chasing his reflection. As of last night, however, he has become fairly listless. He sits on the bottom of the tank most of the time, coming up only to take a breath. I cannot get him to eat much of anything. This is not at all the behavior he had yesterday.
His tank is 2.5 gallons (small, I know, but the largest I can fit in a dorm). His water is heated to 77 degrees during the day and at night. Yesterday and today I fed him Hikari BioGold Betta Pellets and a freeze dried bloodworm. The tank is planted with live plants and he has a little cave to hide in.
I am concerned that I may have gone wrong in the feeding. I tried to feed him only what he could eat in 2 minutes yesterday and today, but that ended up being about 5 pellets (maybe 6) in the morning and at night which was probably way too much. By this morning he was just sitting on the bottom of the tank, stopped blowing bubble nests, and could not be coaxed to eat. The water was incredibly murky, so I did a 100% water change, which was probably an added stress to him but I thought it might be an ammonia problem.
To clear my conscience, I checked the water quality again and everything seems to check out except that the water may be a touch acidic. I moved him to the little plastic jar he was sitting in at the store and am floating it in his tank, just so it is easier for him to get to the top of the tank for air (he seemed to be breathing hard) and he continues to rest on the bottom of the jar.
Anyone have thoughts on how to proceed? I'm concerned about his health and what to do next.
Thanks!
I purchased my first betta on Thursday. A blue halfmoon male. In the little jar at the store, he was active and blowing a large bubble nest. I brought him home and put him into his tank where he was happily exploring his surroundings and chasing his reflection. As of last night, however, he has become fairly listless. He sits on the bottom of the tank most of the time, coming up only to take a breath. I cannot get him to eat much of anything. This is not at all the behavior he had yesterday.
His tank is 2.5 gallons (small, I know, but the largest I can fit in a dorm). His water is heated to 77 degrees during the day and at night. Yesterday and today I fed him Hikari BioGold Betta Pellets and a freeze dried bloodworm. The tank is planted with live plants and he has a little cave to hide in.
I am concerned that I may have gone wrong in the feeding. I tried to feed him only what he could eat in 2 minutes yesterday and today, but that ended up being about 5 pellets (maybe 6) in the morning and at night which was probably way too much. By this morning he was just sitting on the bottom of the tank, stopped blowing bubble nests, and could not be coaxed to eat. The water was incredibly murky, so I did a 100% water change, which was probably an added stress to him but I thought it might be an ammonia problem.
To clear my conscience, I checked the water quality again and everything seems to check out except that the water may be a touch acidic. I moved him to the little plastic jar he was sitting in at the store and am floating it in his tank, just so it is easier for him to get to the top of the tank for air (he seemed to be breathing hard) and he continues to rest on the bottom of the jar.
Anyone have thoughts on how to proceed? I'm concerned about his health and what to do next.
Thanks!