Beta Not Eating, Very Worried

[Pidgecbr600rr]

My betta wont touch anything but bloodworm, and even then he only takes a few, i have tried him with Flake food, pea, Discus Granuals, Sinking catfish pellet, hikari Micropellets, Hikari Carniverous Food sticks and he just doesnt seem interested

Now he is starting to look ragged and very rough looking, i feed bloodworm maybe 2 or 3 times per week, but i'm not sure if this is enough for a beta just eatting a few of them each time?

Any ideas, sometimes he and my male molly chase each other round do you think maybe he is stressed cause of this or do you think the molly is picking on him cause he is getting weaker?

Is there anything that i can add to the tank ornament wise that might give the beta some recluse?

Any advice would be appreciated, at the moment i am considering maybe purchasing a small ball type tank to move both him and the frog to, but this is awkward and i cant really afford to do for a while

Thanks

Paul

 

[Pidgecbr600rr]

Ok small update, my beta likes the carnevorous food sticks, but i have to keep dabbing them in the water by him and he lunges at them breaking small bits off yes its a little bit of hastle but its fun and it makes me happy to know he is eating

Only thing that worries me is he spits it out again quite alot, but then picks it back up again, is this a sign of anything?

Also noticed he flares his gills only at the male molly hehe

Anyone else found this sort of thing??
its very interesting

 

[KevinM]

Hey Paul, thank god, i thought i did something wrong! i brought mine today!!! its fins were nipped...right now he is isolated in a medium catching net...tomorrow im going to get a hospital net what you put in the tank....he will be in there until i see some colour in him...eating well...and when his tail has grown...poor guy...he was real weak...i found him struggling and was pushed around by the airpump and filter current....

 

[Pidgecbr600rr]

you brought the betta like that? or did u buy a new tank for him cause he'd got like that?

I think maybe my currents are a little too much, but saying that he seems to find places to hide, and seems sometimes to deliberatly swim against the current its gonna be a little uncomfortable for him at the moment running 2x filters but i think he will be fine when i remove the built in one, its a downward current and i feel its too much for most of my fish hence installing the fluval

 

[KevinM]

yeah i bought it like that....but im not taking it back because i can help it plus the shop would say they had it on its own...even though you can tell its been with nipper fish.....it sometimes goes on its side....but now he seems a little ok....looks like im up all night keeping an eye on him....how is your fish doing?

 

[Joby]

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum

It sounds as if your guy is getting nipped by the platies and molly if he's getting ragged and rough looking. I know lfs tell you that you can put bettas in community tanks for frankly they do better on their own. So if you could get him a small tank of his own then that would be good.

If not is it possible could you divide your current tank so that he has a little section on his own? preferably in an area that isn't too disturbed by the filter flow. You can divide tanks very easily with plastic craft canvas, I use 7 point, which can be bought from any wool, cross stitch supply shops or I believe Hobbycraft stock it if you have one of those nearby. A new one has just opened near me in Wednesfield which isn't a million miles away from Dudley. You can secure the canvas in place down the sides of the tank with report binders bought in any stationery shop. At a push you could also put him into a floating breeding trap for a while till you can get him a tank of his own. Its not perfect but at least he'll have filtered heated water but be safe from nips.

He shouldn't come to any harm eating bloodworms everyday, mine are fed it one meal a day as I keep them continually conditioned for breeding. The other meal they get granules or small round pellets by Nutrafin. He could be having problems getting any foods as the other fish in with him are faster and will pinch it. I've found that bettas like to stalk their prey and take their time to eat and therefore could miss out. It is however good to give him a variety so try feeding him the granules in the morning then the bloodworms at night. It does take a while to get them to eat different things because lets face it, once you've had steak i.e. bloodworms, are you really going to want to eat anything else

Good luck with him

 

[KevinM]

Ive had mine isolated in a net throuhgh the night....through that time he i more active, and shows more colour...today i am going to buy a larger isolating net so i can keep him in the tank, as i cant afford antoher.
But today i will also but TETRABETTA and HIKARI carnevorous food sticks, to see if he eats it.

 

[Joby]

Glad to hear yours is feeling happier KevinM

Just persevere with him, it does take time to accept new foods

 

[KevinM]

Glad to hear yours is feeling happier KevinM

Just persevere with him, it does take time to accept new foods

Thanks, i got some bloodworms and let them float down in is net...later on some dissapered....other fish coulnt get them becasue the net is fine...so he obviously ate some....he seems ok.....will he grow is tail back? if so around how long should i keep him isolated?

 

[Pidgecbr600rr]

Ok worry over mine is looking much better, the carniverous food sticks seem to have really perked him up, also got some live bloodworm today which he has ate approx 10 of

He just needs a little patience, instead of putting loads in, i am targeting him and whatever he misses the others can eat, seems a better way to feed

 

[Joby]

Kevin - With nice clean water his tail should grow back in a few weeks. Its up to you how long you keep him isolated but be prepared for him to be nipped by the other fish in your tank should you release him

Paul - Good to hear you've found something he likes