Betta Breathing Fast at Bottom of Tank

[carlyb9]

Don't think they will die. Make sure your light is on a timer for 10 hours per day. 10 hours is a good starting point depending on what happens that can be adjusted to suit your plants. By the way it doesn't matter what 10 hours as long as the tank is lit for 10 hours per day.

I turn the lights on when I wake up and turn them off before I go to sleep so they are on for about 10-12 hours a day.

 

[itiwhetu]

I turn the lights on when I wake up and turn them off before I go to sleep so they are on for about 10-12 hours a day.

Please put them on a timer. I have talked about constants in another thread the more constants we have the easier it is to control the tank and what happens in it.
So.
We have constant temperature
We have constant water changes
We have constant feeding
We have constant filtration
We have constant fish numbers ()
We have constant Light
Now if anything goes wrong we know it is an outside influence or one of our constants has failed.

 

[carlyb9]

Please put them on a timer. I have talked about constants in another thread the more constants we have the easier it is to control the tank and what happens in it.
So.
We have constant temperature
We have constant water changes
We have constant feeding
We have constant filtration
We have constant fish numbers ()
We have constant Light
Now if anything goes wrong we know it is an outside influence or one of our constants has failed.

Alright I'll make sure to do that.

 

[carlyb9]

Went out today and got some floating plants. They didn't have much so I grabbed the only thing they had. Sour Patch is doing about the same as he has been, but his tummy has gotten a bit bigger since yesterday.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Went out to the pet store and bought some live plants and some new gravel. I also did about a 50% water change and didn't add any more salt or medication. I turned off the air stone to decrease water flow. After I put Sour Patch in the tank, he swam right back down to the bottom and is still breathing fast like he has been. He is also a little bit bloated. Any advice on this?

I missed this last time I looked...where was the fish when you did the water changing?

 

[carlyb9]

I saved the cup he came in when I bought him at the store. I fill it with the aquarium water and scoop him out of the tank.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I saved the cup he came in when I bought him at the store. I fill it with the aquarium water and scoop him out of the tank.

You don't need to do that.
Catching a fish is very stressful for the fish and putting him in what appears to him to be an open glass box will be more stress.
With care, you should be able to siphon water out of the tank, with the fish in place.

Water changes are usually done to remove excess ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. As far as your readings appear to show, you don't have excess nitrites and nitrates, so I'm guessing a water change might not be necessary.

I'm beginning to think that your fish might just improve if he was left alone for a while.

 

[carlyb9]

I really hope so. Is there anything I should do about the bloating?

 

[OliveFish05]

I really hope so. Is there anything I should do about the bloating?

you could treat him for constipation? Don't feed him for two or three days, then feed him a little bit of a thawed, peeled pea or thawed spinach

 

[carlyb9]

you could treat him for constipation? Don't feed him for two or three days, then feed him a little bit of a thawed, peeled pea or thawed spinach

He hasn't eaten since Sunday but I can try to feed him a pea or spinach and see if he eats it.

 

[OliveFish05]

He hasn't eaten since Sunday but I can try to feed him a pea or spinach and see if he eats it.

Ok, a pea is better if you have it, but I used spinach. So either should work.

 

[carlyb9]

Ok, a pea is better if you have it, but I used spinach. So either should work.

I held a small piece of a pea in front of him. He took a small bite but then spit it back out.

 

[OliveFish05]

I held a small piece of a pea in front of him. He took a small bite but then spit it back out.

Hmmmmmmmm. I am not sure. Maybe try again in a day or two when he has adjusted more to his new setup. Fish can go two weeks without eating, so he shouldn't starve!

 

[carlyb9]

Hmmmmmmmm. I am not sure. Maybe try again in a day or two when he has adjusted more to his new setup. Fish can go two weeks without eating, so he shouldn't starve!

Ok. I really hope he gets better soon. He got like this basically overnight so I'm not really sure what happened.

 

[OliveFish05]

Ok. I really hope he gets better soon. He got like this basically overnight so I'm not really sure what happened.

I hope he gets better too!