Betta fish is not eating and being lethargic

[ASolo]

Hi everyone,

My betta has been very lethargic over the past 2 weeks, usually staying in one corner of the tank and staying at the top. He will move his fins once a while to shift a bit but then go completely still and not respond to my voice. More recently, I have tried to feed him flake food (which he previously loved and ate instantly) but now he just simply does not eat them. It's almost as if he cannot see them, even when they are floating right next to and above his head. His eyes are not cloudy or white.

I went to PetSmart twice over the span of two weeks and I have tested my water quality and they have said my ammonia levels are 0 and the water conditions seems to be fine. I still have been doing frequent water changes with water conditioner just in case daily. He was in a 3.5 gallon tank with a filter by himself until yesterday and I have moved him to a smaller quarantine tank for the moment right now.

I have used BettaFix and PimaFix along with aquarium salt which didn't really change his behaviour so I am at a loss on what to do next. I have included pictures of him below in his quarantine tank. Please please if anyone has any suggestions or see anything wrong with him, please help me help my little guy out.

 

[aqua.land]

Hi.
I don't really see any visible signs (eg pinecone scales or white spots) so I would assume its swim bladder - I might be wrong though.
Have you had him for a while now or is he new?
Swim bladder disease is treatable, I'll link some resources below.
Treating swim bladder
Swim bladder

 

[ASolo]

Hi.
I don't really see any visible signs (eg pinecone scales or white spots) so I would assume its swim bladder - I might be wrong though.
Have you had him for a while now or is he new?
Swim bladder disease is treatable, I'll link some resources below.
Treating swim bladder
Swim bladder

Hey,

I've had him for around 2 months now. He hasn't really eaten for two days so should I get a different type of food? I have tried feeding him a thawed pea for the swim bladder but he doesn't seem that interested?

Thank you

 

[Colin_T]

The fish has clamped fins, which is normally caused by poor water quality, low temperature or bacterial/ protozoan infection (usually the first 2).

Check the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and temperature of the tank water.
Check the tap water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

Put the fish back in the bigger tank and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for 2 weeks.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

----------------------
What sort of filter do you have on/ in the tank?
How do you clean the filter?
How often do you clean the filter?

 

[ASolo]

The fish has clamped fins, which is normally caused by poor water quality, low temperature or bacterial/ protozoan infection (usually the first 2).

Check the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and temperature of the tank water.
Check the tap water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

Put the fish back in the bigger tank and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for 2 weeks.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

----------------------
What sort of filter do you have on/ in the tank?
How do you clean the filter?
How often do you clean the filter?

Okay, I will put him back but I am worried that he's not eating. It's harder to feed him in the bigger tank as the flakes eventually sink to the bottom and its hard to clean. On the main tank, I have a filter with carbon catridges and I cleaned them around 1 month ago under the aquarium water.

Will he be fine if doesn't eat? I'm not sure if he simply cannot see/smell the food as his eyes seem fine.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Dont use bettafix or primafix in the future it can kill them. It shouldn't be marketed for bettas. It often suffocates them

 

[Keels]

Could it be internal parasites? it looks like his stomach is concave. If he stopped eating only recently, it shouldn't get this bad, unless something else is eating his food (from the inside).

I am not an expert, but in other fish concave stomach is one of the symptoms of internal parasites. Just something to consider and look into.

 

[aqua.land]

Hey,

I've had him for around 2 months now. He hasn't really eaten for two days so should I get a different type of food? I have tried feeding him a thawed pea for the swim bladder but he doesn't seem that interested?

Thank you

You could try...not sure if it would solve the problem though.
Does you feed him a variety? What about bloodworms sometimes?