Is There Anything Wrong With My Betta

Durbkat said:

You mean like those artifical flowers you use at cemetarys and stuff or do you mean plastic plant? If you mean't artifical flowers like what I said you use them for the stem could be leaching something into the water. Do you treat the water dechlorantor? Whats the temp of the water? Any chance of a pic of the betta and tank shot?

Click to expand...

otherworldone said:

Well...sorry to say, it may be that he is getting old. If he was fully grown when she won him, he may have already been a year old or better. He was probably a pet store fish to begin with, and unfortunately they sometimes sell older fish. A year old doesn't sound so bad unless you consider that most pet bettas only live two or three years. Though they have been known to live for five years or better if they're well cared for.

If he is a senior fish, he may be more suseptible to disease. So you may want to change his water more often to limit the growth of harmful bacteria and keep ammonia levels at a minimum. Keep in mind, though, that water changes tend to cause stress that can also weaken his immune system. If you have a small cup like the ones they keep bettas in at the pet store or something, you could scoop him up into the cup during water changes so that he never actually leaves the water. Then you can gently tip the cup in his bowl to release him when you're done.

If you have city water, I highly recommend using a water conditioner to remove chlorine and heavy metals. You can also set aside a jug of water each time you clean his bowl to use the next time. This way, some of the harmful chemicals will be naturally neutralized and water will already be the same temperature as the water in his bowl (but still use the water conditioner too).

Some people think that using bottled water is better (very costly). But never use distilled water. It lacks essential trace elements that fish needs and will do more harm than good.

Something else to think about is his diet. If he eats the same dry food every day, it can lead to digestive problems that can make him lethargic. You might try adding a few freeze-dried foods such as bloodworms or daphnia to vary his diet. Also, daphnia is a cleansing food that may help if he is having digestive problems.

I hope that helps.

Click to expand...

catxx said:

your temp fluctuations worry me.
they really need to be kept constant and 70 is too low.

you could get an acrylic "goldfish" tank from any petstore, around 4 US gallons which is fine.
this way you can get a 25watt heater to fit in (difficult in a round bowl) and keep the water temp regular.
as your used to doing regular water changes, you won't need a filter really, if he has water movement it can get upsetting for them, especially after they've got used to nice still water.

bettas don't like temperature fluctuations.

also i would use water conditioner by default. your water may seem fine, but there may be some chlorine or other unwanted things in the water that could affect the fish.

if he's sitting in the flower though, thats fine, those tails are heavy after all!

Click to expand...