Betta behaviour

[Rachel.K]

Hi everyone

I'm new to keeping bettas, but have wanted one for ages!! I have been through the website and read alot of your comments and advice...but I have a problem.

I bought my betta about a week ago now and he has not been very lively at all he either seems to sit on the bottom of my tank not really moving or go to the top of the water and hang very still. I thought to begin with that maybe he was just taking time to settle in. But after reading everyones comments about bettas being so lively it seems his behaviour is very odd.

He is in a 9 gallon tank and shares it with 3 neon tetras. Could it be that he just doesn't like being in with the other fish? He also has a filter in the tank, I have also read on the website that betta prefer not to have a current in the water but if I take the filter out will the tetras be alright?

Much help would be appreciated as it's horrible seeing him so lifeless

 

[Rachel.K]

Sorry one more thing...

Also compared to all your pictures his tail is very limp and lifeless....

 

[BettaMomma]

Well, there's something bugging him!
First of all, how long has your tank been setup? and has it been cycled?

He might be hating the current.
You might want to consider moving him to something like a 2.5G tank. Is that a possibility for you??

 

[Rachel.K]

Unfortunately I don't have another tank.

My tank has been set up since about September. I was thinking that he may not like the current but was unsure wheather it would be alright for the tetras as well to turn it off, I did try turning it off for a couple of hours today but when I did that he just hung lifeless at the surface rather than on the bottom. He seems to get a burst of energy every now and again (although very rarely) and dart round the tank but the rest of the time he's so lifeless and like I said before everyone on the forum has been talking about how bettas are generally so full of energy so it's horrible seeing him like this I want to try and do something.....

Feel at a bit of a loss

 

[BettaMomma]

Well... he probably has some sort of sickness, then.
And you'll probably want to get him out of the tank and into something all by himself while you medicate him.

You might be forced, if you want to treat him properly, to go out to somewhere, like a WalMart or something and pick up even a little goldfish bowl (preferrably like 1 gallon or bigger) and put him in. Then start him on meds. I purposely choose sick fish off the shelves and nurse them back to health. I've had them come back from everything from finrot and popeye to acute viral hemmoraghic septicemia, but you MUST treat them with the right stuff.

Would you be able to get to a store and pick up a little tank or bowl? And possibly some medications if we give you suggestions?

do you have a petsmart or petco or anything in town?

and DON'T turn off your filter- that could mess up the ecosystem in the whole tank...

 

[Grim Reaper]

whats the temp in the tank

 

[Rachel.K]

Ok I have a petsmart quite close by so could go and pick up a small tank for him to live in would it need a heater and lights? I realised I also haven't metioned that he isn't eating either.

I am very open to any suggestions that anyone has about his behaviour.

Thanks for the speedy response and well done for rescuing all the less fortunate ones it must be a full time job! After all the worrying I've done about this little guy I don't think I could do it all the time .

 

[Grim Reaper]

Ok I have a petsmart quite close by so could go and pick up a small tank for him to live in would it need a heater and lights?

yes u do need a heater light is not needed but if u got life plants then u need it

 

[BettaMomma]

How warm is the temp of your tank you have him in now?
Technically you can get by without a heater, but a little tiny one would be best.

Do you see any spots on him, cottony, grainy, anything?
is he breathing heavily??

 

[Rachel.K]

Right realised he was covered in white spots can only presume this is ich so have treated him with some medication. Would this explain his odd behaviour? He is now resting on the leafs of his plant rather than on the bottom.... But is still refusing food. Where does ich come from? Is it likely to have come from the lfs?

 

[The_Gilly]

Ok at least you know what it is. Treat him in the tank with the tetra it wont do them any harm infact it's possible they may have it too.

Firstly make sure you finish the treatment even if it looks like it's gone.

Why has he got ich? Well there's a million reasons.

Firstly check your temp. I've found most of my betta's like it about 80 alittle lower is fine tho. Also don't rely on room temp. Get a heater to keep the temp constant.

After a few days of his treatment put some live food in the tank. This will help him get some strength back.

What's the condition of your water like? Do some tests and post your results.

Frankly, (and I might get flamed for this) I'd set up a small foam filter in that tank rather than the filter you have. between the betta and three neons there isn't going to be that much waste generated (fish poo =amonia=poorly fish). Put it on very lightly and see how you go. Might be worth setting this up before turning the other filter off. You could also try forcing some filter media into the nozzle of the filter you have this will restrict the water flow in turn slowing the current.

Oh and I thought neons needed to be in groups of four?

 

[Rachel.K]

I've already got a heater but wasn't too sure what temp to put it at it's currently at about 74 so I'll krank it up a bit. He is still not eating but is now just sitting in the leaves of one of the plants. Is it common for them to be a bit lifeless after getting something like ich?

Unfortunately my filter doesn't have a control to turn it up or down, it's just a filter with a sponge in it. What is a small foam filter?


Also I don't really know much about live food am I'm not even sure if my fish shop sells it, if I don't give him this what other things could I give him that he might go for because at the moment hes not really doing anything......

 

[BettaMomma]

It is common for them to be lethargic if they have ick.
What are you treating him with for the ick?

 

[Rachel.K]

I could only find two brands to treat him with at the petsmart by me (UK) but it's called white spot control contains malachite green?? Hope thats the right thing?Hopefully he'll start perking up, like I said before I'm pretty sure that the lfs doesn't sell live food so what else could I tempt him with?

By the way thanks to everyone for being so helpful

 

[Rachel.K]

Oh one other thing, should I been changing the water while I'm treating them if yes how much water should I change?