Betta Cant Swim

Im not sure what is wrong with my new betta..out of all the bettas ive had over the years ive never come across this problem. the poor guy just cant swim. he is laying on bottom of 2.5 gallon tank, under his heater.( i think its an elite mini, one of those flat heaters) all my bettas have same setup and are fine. he has no signs of sickness, no fungus, not swollen, no streaks, no pine cone effect...hes healthy, and eats if i offer bloodworms on end of toothpick. he cant swim to top to eat pellets. so for now ive put him in smaller betta tank with only few inches of water to make it easier to get to surface for air....any ideas what this is would be lovely!

Is he sorta tail down? Hard to tell from the pics, or face pointing down?

zoekin8yg said:

Is he sorta tail down? Hard to tell from the pics, or face pointing down?

Click to expand...

neither of those, he actually "pulls" to one side.

If he was mine I would put water temp up a bit and keep an eye on him. I hope he will be ok he sure is pretty.

One word of caution my hydro mini heater blew up last week scorching my poor ct. dont know why!

Think it could be swim bladder disorder? That's something to consider.

Im pretty sure its swim bladder. Raise the temp to about 28 (so you need a heater that you can change) and add a small ammount of aquarium salt ( this is what im currently doing for my new one thats got swim bladder)

swim bladder either makes the fish unable to go down to the bottom - or unable to surface... pretty serious for bettas cause they breathe actual air from the surface...

couple questions though...

has he always been like that? like when you got him did he do that immediately? or is this recent cause if it just started its more than likely swim bladder disease...

what you can do is reduce feeding and add a bit of aquarium salt... keep water quality good as well (ph constant (not raising or dopping often... better just at a constant 7.5 or w/e...), no nh4... no no2.. and a lil no3...)


ps
someone on this forum... has a betta that sleeps on a decoration close to the surface... so it literally moves half an inch to get a breathe... not sure who but I know it's a pink betta and its name is shadow...

GET BETTER BETTA

I agree that it is probably swim bladder disorder. If this isn't something he's always had, it most likely due to constipation.

Fast him for a few days, feeding him only a deshelled, cooked pea if you can and if he will eat it. If it doesn't clear up in a few days, give him Epsom salt baths (1 tablespoon in 1 gallon of water for 15-20 minutes once or twice a day until he's better). That should take care of it.

I agree with fiki regarding temperature and feeding less, but don't use aquarium salt until he's better. It basically has the opposite affect as Epsom salt, so hold off on that for now.

lisie said:

I agree with fiki regarding temperature and feeding less, but don't use aquarium salt until he's better. It basically has the opposite affect as Epsom salt, so hold off on that for now.

Click to expand...

... i persnally haven't used aquarium salt / salt baths... i didn't know there was that distinction!... sry for that confusion...

It sounds like swim bladder. Two causes that I know of: constipation which causes pressure on the bladder and will eventually damage it if not taken care of. And a damaged swim bladder from a hard hit from something or deseased swim bladder from infection--often I suppose due to untreated constipation--happens. I imagine a damaged bladder is like getting your only kidney or spleen compromised.

fiki said:

lisie said:

I agree with fiki regarding temperature and feeding less, but don't use aquarium salt until he's better. It basically has the opposite affect as Epsom salt, so hold off on that for now.

Click to expand...

... i persnally haven't used aquarium salt / salt baths... i didn't know there was that distinction!... sry for that confusion...

Click to expand...

No worries.

Thank you so much! not much change though. cant get him to eat the peas, and he hasnt really eaten for days i agree about the swim bladder, i too think thats the problem now. am going to try the epsom salt bath......he really cant swim...hes now living in few inches of water so he can get to top....
will this correct itself with time? on ya now he looks like his bottom is pulling down and to the side.

I just read a blurb on dropsy. I have assumed that the stated by others of swim bladder was true. In this description it mentions kidney damage, which makes more sense with the swelling:

here

The dropsy is the symptom. The causes are varied.

As far as recovery, I think it is like the difference between a bruised kidney and a kidney that can not recover.

This a different issue than constipation, which can also become irreversible very quickly. That is why we feed a pea one day a week and fast one day a week to hopefully avoid that particular issue. I believe it is also possible to damage a swim bladder. In that case the fish can still probably live if it can be kept clean and in shallow water near the surface--and there is no infection.

I think we lump several things together together and really don't know very much. I have lost fish that I believe I lost to constipation, but the VT I just lost was i am sure due ti internal damage from getting jostled too much in a water change.

The fact that the fish is not eating is a bad sign. I would not try to feed it. Fish can live weeks without food.

started epsom salt bath today, and have seen a little improvement already. i hope this works!