Betta looking off :/

Sep 18, 2011
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#1
Hi there, I'm new to this site :)

So, I got two male bettas to take with me to college, and though I tried very hard to find healthy-looking fish to buy, they've both been looking peaky on and off for the past three weeks or so.

One of them had been doing very well again until quite recently. I'm worried about him now because his color has been a little brown today (he's black and red when happy), he's been hanging out at the bottom of his tank more often, and he's gotten a little swollen in his abdomen. Just as of today, he wasn't that interested in his food, though he's usually a voracious eater. I tried feeding him a bit of cooked pea in case of constipation yesterday, but I'm not sure it had an effect. Also, I've started a feeding schedule where I feed him 2-4 pellets 1-2 times a day, skipping a day or two a week.

He's in a 1.5 gallon tank (small, I know, but I don't have the space or means just yet to put him in a larger one...). The water is okay for nitrate, hardness, and pH, though the nitrite and ammonia levels are a slightly higher than they should be. I'm in the process of doing a water change to help with that. Until now, he hasn't seemed unhappy in his current conditions. I did put in a fake plant a couple days ago, but I thought that would make him happier. He hasn't really gone near it (I did rinse it thoroughly before putting it in). The water is a little cooler than it was, too, what with the weather. It's been about 70 degrees for the past three days.

Really, the bloating is what worries me the most. His scales aren't pineconing, but I'm hoping this isn't a case of Mystery Bloat or dropsy... So can anyone help me out? Apart from changing the water, is there anything else I can do to help him?

Sorry, this was a lot to read, but thank you!
 

Meleemaker

Medium Fish
Nov 17, 2010
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Pierre SD
#4
I have an idea that you are feeding him more than you should. One time a day, at the same time, 6 days a week. If you feed him too much, he will struggle with his swim bladder adjusting and sink or float and look pretty pathetic.

Actual numbers would help also...and for a 1.5 gallon tank I would except a pretty common 3 or 4 week cycle if you change all the water at once. As for filters, change about every 3 weeks to a month. As for your nitrite, you should have almost 0 and same for the ammonia. Nitrates are the only thing that should build up and should be fought off with frequent water changes.

Some more things you can do, stop feeding for a couple days and see how he looks. Simple fix for over feeding. Swim bladder will adjust and he will maintaine neutral bouyancy. Mine would try to swim down and float back up twice as fast and "float" on his side on the top of the tank. Stupid sister was feeding without tellign me cause he looked hungry.

You can add some salt(aquarium salt). That helps take care of any bacteria or parasites, and it wont hurt your fish one bit. I add freshwater aquarium salt to all my tanks, and even more than reccomended with sick bettas. Dialing up the heat would help activity too. Also with any possible cysts or parasites. I kept my bettas at a nice balmy 88* I believe....or maybe 82....I think it was like 82 and sick it went to 88 for a few hours.
 

achase

Large Fish
Feb 1, 2010
765
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British Columbia, Canada
#6
I agree with OC....I almost never change my filter media. Filter media lasts a long time! The fish brands always say to change the filter media regularly as a ploy to generate money (those things aren't cheap!).
I have heard (don't know if its true - someone correct me if I'm totally off) that plastic plants can be relatively dangerous for fish because they can sometimes cut/snag fish fins (especially with fish, like bettas, who have long fins). You might try a live plant (Java Ferns are easy) or a silk plant.