[Tianaran]

Hi there,


I got my own very nice blue Betta fish 2 days ago and at first he was swimming a lot and his fins were wide and out. 2 days later hes looking like these pics here He barely moves and his side fins are so so thin and his "beard" fins are always by his side. He usually sits at the top corner of his bowl and eats only if the food is dropped exactly infront of his face.

He is in a 1 gallon tank (I just bought a 2.5 gallon) with a automatic heater that keeps the temp to 78oF. This all started when i changed his water. Does anyone recognize this? I went to 2 Aquariums, 1 guy says put a bit of salt in his bowl and increase the temp until he gets better. Another guy says nothing is wrong. I'm taking care of my GF's red betta and hes in a half gallon bowl and hes swimming like crazy and his color is fantastic and fins are wide and thick.

 

[Myates]

Welcome.. and poor little guy..

He is definitely stressed out.. the stripe you see going down his side is what is commonly called a "stress stripe". Between that and clamping his fins he is telling you something isn't right and/or he isn't happy.

When you changed his home, did you do a complete water change, to where it was all new water? And if so, how did you acclimate him to both the temp and the chemistry of the new water? What is the water source? Tap, well, etc.
Is the tank filtered?
Did you add in water conditioner?
Is there plenty of medium and tall plants, along with a cave for him to hide in? Some bettas do not like bigger tanks, even two gallons.. so you will want to make sure he will feel secure when upgrading them.
The temp looks to be 76ish.. which is fine.. was the water that temperature when you added him into it? Or was it less and the heater eventually brought it up?

Without a little more info on how you changed the water and what you have done.. it's hard to say exactly why he is stressed out- whether it be from the new home/move, or how he was moved...

Keep in mind, some bettas will tolerate more then others..

 

[Tianaran]

Yea I did a complete water change(I hear from different ppl that becasue its only in 1 gallon it should be 100% or should be 50%... what is the real answer?), i placed him in a bag with the old water then filled up the bowl and conditioned it.

Then let him float in the new water still in the bag and put an ounce of the new water inside the bag to let him get used to it for about 20 minutes. I believe that the water was 4-5 degrees celcius above what it was. I thought becasue they were tropical fish that he would be fine, with the type of acclimation i used.

I put 10 drops of the Tetra conditioner inside the bowl.

I used to have a tall plant inside but with the heater is doesnt fit... it will with the 2.5 gallon tank. There is currently a large rubber algae plant in the bowl he used to bite at but doesnt anymore.

How do i DE-stress him?

 

[Myates]

Sounds like you did everything right when moving him.. he may just need time to adjust. I would keep the tank dimmed- not completely black, but dim for a bit. Sometimes with new fish you never know what exactly is going on with them, or if they have any illnesses. But my bet is that it's the move to the first tank, and then the new one that is causing this.

 

[Tianaran]

Oh! Well that sounds good, so they destress themselves ? I have a really low dim light i will keep beside him. How long should it take for him to destress himself?

Also so i do it right, if hes stressed when should i move him to the 2.5 gallon tank anddddd how do i do it properly?

 

[Bombalurina]

To answer your water change question: the general recommendation for a 1 gallon is 1x 50% change AND 1 x 100% per week, so both of the suggestions you've heard are partially correct.

I think it may have been the 4-5 degree temperature change that stressed him so much, combined with all the moving. If his immune system was already compromised in some way (by poor petshop conditions or some other cause), then all that may just have been a bit much for the poor little dude.

I hope he recovers soon! Wrapping the bowl in a towel to give him a bit of darkness (though as Myates says, don't make it completely black - leave one side uncovered to give him some light) may help destressing him.

 

[Myates]

D'oh! I completely forgot the water change question.. good catch B! Spot on of course!

 

[Tianaran]

Thanks sooooo much guys! I will do that right away and update u on his condition. Hopefully he gets better soon