[Karson Canterbury]

she’s been acting funny for the last week I put her in with her other sister in a huge 40 gallon and she just sat at the top and didn’t move she has ate
-it doesn’t swim much it can swim
-it will set at the top and just float around
-it will set at the bottom and not move
-it lost it colors
-we moved her to small tank to big tank and back in it’s original tank
-It’s top fen is a little damaged not a lot
-it hasn’t been bullied
-it does eat
-it all so had had water changes
-she doesn’t interact with other fish

 

[Nova betta]

Hello! Could you fill out this form? I know you will be repeating yourself but it will give us all the information we need in a concise way. Could you also include some pictures? Thank you and welcome to the forum!

*****PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Fill out this form so...

Many thanks to BF/TFK Member Mike for developing this questionnaire. It is the same form with a few additions. Please copy and paste into a new message and fill out this form when seeking help for your Betta. This information and a clear photo posted directly into the thread will help us give...

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[Karson Canterbury]

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 1.5 moved to 40 and back in to 1.5
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater?yes
What temperature is your tank? 77
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Yes
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? Yes other female bettas and corys bottom feeders in the 40 and In the gallon in half 3 other juvenile bettas that we let grow out I tell there big enough to go in the 40

Food:
What food brand do you use? Flake food and blood warms
Do you feed flakes or pellets?flaks
Freeze-dried? Dried
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 1 some times twice a day and enough for all of them

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? 1 every other week on the dot
What percentage of water did you change?25%
What is the source of your water? Tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? vacuum
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? Stress coat plus stuff to get the Chlorine out and aquarium salt

Water Parameters:
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0
pH:7.5
Hardness (GH):150
Alkalinity (KH): 6.5

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? About a week and a half ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? It’s lost it’s colors
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? It’s doesn’t swim much anymore it’s just glides around on the top of the water or lays down and doesn’t move
Is your Betta still eating? Yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?
I put by it’s self away from everything still has a heater and running water
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?
No
How long have you owned your Betta?
4 months
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?
No
PLEASE PROVIDE CLEAR PHOTOS

It’s the one at the top the top right red with blue tail

 

[X skully X]

In the gallon in half 3 other juvenile bettas that we let grow out I tell there big enough to go in the 40

Your females look to be big enough to me. I would move all the females to the 40 and leave your ailing female in the 1 1/2 gallon. Housing those females together in such a small space with no plant cover is a bad idea. #1 reason fish get sick is stress. Even juvenile bettas need more growing space than 1 1/2 gallons. If you really don’t feel comfortable moving the other females to the 40 gallon you can pick up a cheap storage tote of 10 gallons or more and house them in that for a few more months, toss some fake plants in there with a filter and a heater. Space issue solved. Bettas are shade loving fish. The really will do much better with any kind of plant cover. Your koi female was probably being bullied in the 40 with the other female. The nips in her tail fin indicates that there IS some chasing and nipping going on. I hope you can find a good balance with the fish and tanks you have set up. Keeping groups of females together is always a roller coaster. I’ll be moving two females out of my sorority today actually because of issues that just cropped up. They are fine for a few months and then dynamics change and I have to re evaluate the tank and the females to see the problem.

 

[imaal]

@X skully X has given you great advice. It's entirely possible to keep a single betta in a 1.5 gallon if you are vigilant about water maintenance and parameters, but four fish that size is 300% overload, let alone 4 female bettas and no plant cover in a tank that is more vertical than wide. That's a bomb waiting to go off.

I'm not clear about some of your answers in the questionnaire. Are those water parameters for the 40 g or the 1.5g? Zero nitrates? What sort of test kit are you using? Same question about the 25% water change every other week--which tank?

Also agree with X skully X about cutting out the salt with water changes and salt sensitivity for cories.

Flake foods are not recommended. Good quality pellets--Omega One, Bug Bites, NLS etc---and frozen foods (not freeze dried) are greatly preferred.