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!
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!