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Something's wrong with my betta.

TheLavenderBadger

TheLavenderBadger

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Hi! My betta Anakin has been swimming very weakly for about a week-ish ? Getting pushed around by the bubbler and not eating. He mostly just rests on any available surface including the substrate.
He also looks a little bloated, but has not eaten for a few days.
Tank is fully cycled and planted 5-gallon that has been set up for 5 1/2 months.
Tankmates are 3 amano shrimp, assassin snails, and 3 dwarf kuhli loaches left over from my dad's Rice Paddy Tank. One of the loaches flips out whenever I turn the lights off, and this does stress out the other inhabitants. It was definitely not a permanent living situation, and we are trying to find another home for the kuhli loaches, but this probably contributed to Anakin's situation. 😞
Nitrate and nitrite are zero ppm, KH is 60 ppm, GH is 30 ppm, pH is 7.3. Sorry for the terrible pic.
IMG_0158.jpg
 
I think your thoughts on the Kuhli Loaches being the root cause of this might well be correct.

The pH average for Kuhli is lower than what you have, which will be bothering them, added to that you have a largely nocturnal fish with Kuhli....so the Betta will not be getting any peace and quiet time at night. Over time that stress induced lack of rest will impact the day to day health of the Betta and make it a little more prone to feeling and looking rough.

The Khuli may be harrassing everyone at night....the Betta will suffer the most since it has no shell or ability to go find somewhere small to hide

You might want to get a breeder box or similar contraption, place the Kuhli into that as a temporary measure and float it back in dad's aquarium.....keeps them safe from harm and allows the Betta to slowly recover in peace.

Perhaps daily water changes for a 7-10 days and substrate cleaning 2-3 times in that period might help perk the Betta up.....unless there are any visible Ich spots (which Kuhli can be more prone to than most) on the Betta, I wouldn't go adding medications.

You haven't mentioned the age of the Betta....the slight bloat may also subside once the fish no longer gets stressed out by the overnight Kuhli shenanigans.

I would be inclined to get the Kuhli out and into a breeder box or similar and back to where they came from and daily water changes as an initial step....the glass looks like it needs a clean also (though that might be a lousy picture issue).

The Betta probably has not appreciated the intrusion and is showing signs of that.
 
wasmewasntit said:
I think your thoughts on the Kuhli Loaches being the root cause of this might well be correct.

The pH average for Kuhli is lower than what you have, which will be bothering them, added to that you have a largely nocturnal fish with Kuhli....so the Betta will not be getting any peace and quiet time at night. Over time that stress induced lack of rest will impact the day to day health of the Betta and make it a little more prone to feeling and looking rough.

The Khuli may be harrassing everyone at night....the Betta will suffer the most since it has no shell or ability to go find somewhere small to hide

You might want to get a breeder box or similar contraption, place the Kuhli into that as a temporary measure and float it back in dad's aquarium.....keeps them safe from harm and allows the Betta to slowly recover in peace.

Perhaps daily water changes for a 7-10 days and substrate cleaning 2-3 times in that period might help perk the Betta up.....unless there are any visible Ich spots (which Kuhli can be more prone to than most) on the Betta, I wouldn't go adding medications.

You haven't mentioned the age of the Betta....the slight bloat may also subside once the fish no longer gets stressed out by the overnight Kuhli shenanigans.

I would be inclined to get the Kuhli out and into a breeder box or similar and back to where they came from and daily water changes as an initial step....the glass looks like it needs a clean also (though that might be a lousy picture issue).

The Betta probably has not appreciated the intrusion and is showing signs of that.
Click to expand...
The tank that the loaches came from is completely torn down unfortunately... We are trying to catch the little buggers and put them in my dad's Rio Negro tank as an alternative. I will do the water changes.
No ich spots.
I got the betta four months ago, so it's probably not an age thing.
Thank you!
 
TheLavenderBadger said:
The tank that the loaches came from is completely torn down unfortunately... We are trying to catch the little buggers and put them in my dad's Rio Negro tank as an alternative. I will do the water changes.
No ich spots.
I got the betta four months ago, so it's probably not an age thing.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Once the Kuhli's are out...crack on with daily water changes for a few days, keep lighting dimmed if you can and let him rest

If the bloat doesn't improve or he still isn't very active or is still not feeding well after a couple days of water changes, he "might" have picked up an injury from being harrassed (run into something overnight etc even if no visible injuries, the fish can still be bruised or shaken up) or the stress has just been too much for him to handle.

Betta are very feisty but they also do not handle stress well. Go gently with him, keep his water really really clean and hopefully he will recover fully for you.

Good luck with him....at least you have a good, experienced fishkeeper in your dad should things spiral, but keeping the water clean and being gentle with him should perk him back up again.
 
In retrospect, putting the kuhlis in there was a terrible idea. I had a potential home for them, so it was only supposed to be a few days, but that fell through. They're really hard to catch without tearing out the plants and decorations, which would further stress the betta, too. I rigged a pluged piece of 3/4" PVC pipe as a trap. Hopefully one of these days we'll be able to catch them and get them elsewhere.
 
What's the temperature? Betta need it a bit warmer than most, especially when under the weather.
 
What was the ammonia level in the water?

Did the fish do a stringy white poop around the time this happened?
When fish stop eating and bloat up, it is caused by an internal problem (usually a bacterial infection). There's not normally any cure for internal bacterial infections because serious organ damage has been done by the time the fish stops eating.

The Khuli loaches have nothing to do with this.

-------------------

TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly. They regularly dash about and freak out when this happens.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.

If you don't have live plants in the tank, you only need the light on for a few hours in the evening. You might turn them on at 4 or 5pm and off at 9pm.

If you do have live plants in the tank, you can have the lights on for 8-16 hours a day but the fish and plants need 8 hours of darkness to rest. Most people with live plants in their aquarium will have the lights on for 8-12 hours a day.
 
Colin_T said:
What was the ammonia level in the water?

Did the fish do a stringy white poop around the time this happened?
When fish stop eating and bloat up, it is caused by an internal problem (usually a bacterial infection). There's not normally any cure for internal bacterial infections because serious organ damage has been done by the time the fish stops eating.

The Khuli loaches have nothing to do with this.

-------------------

TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly. They regularly dash about and freak out when this happens.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.

If you don't have live plants in the tank, you only need the light on for a few hours in the evening. You might turn them on at 4 or 5pm and off at 9pm.

If you do have live plants in the tank, you can have the lights on for 8-16 hours a day but the fish and plants need 8 hours of darkness to rest. Most people with live plants in their aquarium will have the lights on for 8-12 hours a day.
Click to expand...
We don't have a great way to test for ammonia at the moment, but there are lots of live plants, shouldn't they take care of ammonia? Please correct me if I'm wrong :)
No stringy white poop.
 
Yeah, this tank is densely planted and the plants are thriving, including a surface almost entirely covered with floaters. I don't think ammonia is the problem.
 
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