Jaju's acting funny

685 Views 8 Replies 3 Participants Last post by earthworm88, Feb 29, 2012

flickaroo

Discussion Starter · Feb 28, 2012 (Edited)

I may be jumping to conclusions but Jaju's acting a bit strangely. Usually he comes right up for food, but he was in a deep sleep at the bottom of the tank, almost on his side (even though he's always slept in funny positions) so now I'm worried.

Housing
What size is your tank? 1.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 73ish F if the new thermometer is right (he's never had a heated tank before though and has always been fine and active)
Does your tank have a filter? No (moves the water too much for him)
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? No

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hikari Betta-Bio-Gold
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day

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? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Water conditioner

Haven't tested the water.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
He looks paler and almost greyish around his mouth. Not cottony or anything, just greyish, though it looks better in some lights than others... so i'm not confident at my ability to pick out symptoms based off of appearance...

How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
Hanging out at the bottom of the tank, sometimes almost on his side (though he is known for being in funny positions) He didn't come up for food like he usually does, though I do think he ate a pellet or two when I went to get my computer. When he's not at the bottom, he's just completely still, lingering around the top, and doesn't seem to care about food or interacting like usual. Though I see his eye move so I know he notices me.

When did you start noticing the symptoms? This morning, though I thought he was acting more lethargic last night.

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
No, I'm worried to start treatment ignorantly and making it worse. I do have Quick-cure on hand and am going to see if someone can drive me to petco to get aquarium salts if need be.

Does your fish have any history of being ill?
No, except for occasionally getting fat. He still looks a little round, but not horribly so.

How old is your fish (approximately)?
1.5 - 2 years

I don't think he looks too different, mostly just acting funny. He's under his light in this picture.

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flickaroo

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 28, 2012

After looking at some old pictures of him I think appearance wise I'm just paranoid. He's always seemed to have a whitish belly and greyish mouth. I'll do a full tank change when I get back from class. Should I get him a new tank that's a bit eAsier to clean if this is something that will require daily cleaning? I'll only have a chance to go to petco this afternoon.

What kind of heater is best and how would I make sure to adjust it slowly? Since his tank is only 1.5 gallons I worry about consistency and too much change

I also worry he's not eating enough last weekend since I noticed leftovers at the botom but I don't know if that was him ignoring food or my roommate putting too many at once

Thanks and sorry I'm just worried about him. How long do they usually live? Petco says 2 years but they also take crappy care of their fish

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flickaroo

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 28, 2012

He seems to have perked up since this morning, he's interested in food when I dropped one in, and when I came back from class I noticed he had a long, stringy, big(ish, I don't know how big it usually is) poop that's hanging off him. He's hanging out vertically in his corner again (which while sounds strange, is normal for him).

So maybe he was just constipated? I changed his food from the crappy Tetrabetta brand to Hikari... last week or the week before, I think (weeks get mixed up in my brain). I also just bought a higher quality New Life Spectrum betta food (also in hopes my mom's fish will eat it) but it won't be here until Thursday. Though should I be cautious to change food twice in a short period?

When I was thinking over it too, I think it's been a while since I gave him new rocks (though I clean them each time I clean the tank). Should I replace them, or will that be too much change for him at the moment?

I'm hopefully going to get a heater for him today too (someone said lower temps can cause constipation too). And some aquarium salts since I don't have them on hand. I also heard frozen daphina helps constipation, should I try and find that?

Anything else you think I should get, just in case?

(sorry for so many questions! I'm just so paranoid now, I spent my two morning classes crying because I've been so worried about him ._. )

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flickaroo

Discussion Starter · #8 · Feb 29, 2012

Yeah, his poo was the same color. Not white or anything. A bit stringy, in that it was like a single string of poo with a clump at the end.

Ever since I got him he's always had that funny sleeping habit -- he'll take naps in the corner of tanks, moving upright so he's rather vertical. (I can try to get a picture, but of course he's not doing it whenever i have my camera ready). It's been normal for him since day one though. There's sometimes when he's turning around, especially when trying to lock on to a food pellet, where he swims a bit awkwardly, as in he doesn't exactly turn on a dime, but again that's been since day one. I've never figured out what it was. I was worried for a while when first getting him, and varied up his food, fasted him, but he's just always been that way. He still moves around and interacts with things and has no trouble moving in general.

Yes I just ordered him the brine shrimp he likes -- the old one he wouldn't eat but my local stores didn't stock his favourite brand, but I found it recently on Amazon, so yay!

He has perked up since this morning, and his behavior over all is more normal. I still think he's hanging out at the bottom a tad more than usual, but not to the extent he was this morning. I'm keeping an eye on things.

I went to get a heater, but found all the ones at my petsmart were non-adjustable, nor did they have the recommended brand. I just looked on amazon and found the Elite Heater, which from the reviews looks good especially for my tank size. What do you think? Is that the right one to get?

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