Betta Listless, Losing Color, Rests On Tank Floor--what To Do?

[HomeAtLast]

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): We have had our male Betta for 13 months. He has been failing in activity and eating habits for about 3 weeks, now for the past week he has been hanging out at the bottom of its home. He comes up for food but is eating less and he has been spending much of his time resting on the gravel on the bottom, or hanging in his plant. He is becoming grey around its face and upper portion of its body. His fins are clumped and stringy looking. He no longer interacts with me unless I disturb him by tapping or entering the tank. He used to greet me with excited swimming and be ready for meals when I turned on his light or entered the kitchen. Now he often looks dead because he does not move. He is fed Nutrafin Betta Food. He used to get dried Bloodworms once a week or so, but stopped that in January when my Father-in-law said that could introduce parasites or bacteria.

Tank size: 1 gallon, air stone filter, artificial plant. He doesn't like the air filter on, so we run it only for 15 minutes in the morning and again in the evening.
tank temp: household temp--67 to 70 degrees. I thought he was cold, so we kept his light on more and insulated his tank at night. We have no tank thermometer or heater, so we rely on our house heating, the artifical light and insulation. It only helped a bit--I don't think it is the temperature that is behind this illness, although perhaps it is exasperating it. He lived all last winter in these same conditions and thrived.

pH: Don't Know (DK)
ammoniaK
nitriteK
nitrateK
kHK
gHK


Volume and Frequency of water changes: We change 1/2 tank water once a week with tap water that is temperature aclimated 24-hours and treated with Kent Betta Bowl Essential. He is clearly getting worse, so this week I have changed his water 1/2 tank every 3 days. He gets a spurt of energy immediately following the new water, but clearly he is deteriorating not improving. He looks like he is dying and we are anxious to help him. Just now I realized that I see less fish poop in the siphon than usual.

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Just the weekly treatment of the tap water with Betta Bowl.

Tank inhabitants: Male Betta

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): None except to remove the hidey castle because it seemed the paint was peeling and I wondered if it poisened him.

Exposure to chemicals: None that I know of. His tank is cleaned with a scrubber and nothing with soap etc. has ever been in contact with his tank, water buckets etc.

Is he just dying? We got him from PetSmart as a gift and they had no idea of his age. I feel he is dying and struggling, even once in awhile he tries to play with me like he always has, but clearly he is dying and we are not sure what to do to help.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[loafybones]

Hello,

I think the first thing you need to do is test the water.

1/2 water change once a week seems like a bit much to me, I change 20% every 2-3 weeks, although my tank has tropical fish, not cold water.

I think bettas like temperature around 80f and PH neutral, but I'm not entirely sure coz I don't keep them, it might be worth investing a couple of quid in a thermometer at least.

You need to make sure the water has air running through it, and movement of the surface, otherwise he will suffocate.

First things first, though, test the water or take a sample to your local fish shop for them to test for you.

Hope this helps.

Loaf
X

PS. What do you feed him and how often?

 

[heatmisr]

There are a couple of things. first and foremost, you have to test the water. We need to know what the pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings are. If they are not within the proper ranges, he will become ill. Although he may have done well last winter, the water conditions need to be improved. Bettas need a temp of 80F. 67F to 70F is far too cold. Since they are tropical fish that need higher temps, they are susceptible to disease due to cold water. The cold water will also make them constipated. It is best to move him to a tank that can be heated and filtered. The minimum size is 2.5g. The preferable size is 5g.

The stringy fins are the beginnings of fin rot. He needs to be treated with Maracyn 2 (if you are in the US) If left untreated, the fin rot will advance to his body and he will die.

He is probably constipated. You can treat that by giving him a pea treat. Take one frozen green pea and thaw it. Shell the pea and cut it into small pieces. The pieces should be no larger than his eye. Give him the pea treat in place of his meal. Try putting it on the tip of your finger and letting him eat it off your finger. Only give him 2-3 small pieces. He may not take them if he has never had them before. If he doesn't eat it, remove the pea so it does not foul the water. Fast him for a day or two and then try again. He should take them then since he will be a bit hungry.

The airstone becomes more important when you get the temperature higher. The higher temperature means less oxygen in the water. That is when the airstone is needed. The airstone in a 1g is probably making too strong of a current for him.

Hope this helps. Please let us know how he does.

 

[HomeAtLast]

Heading out to get the stuff to test the water and treat his fins. We are in the USA--Oregon. He completely rejected the pea. As to heating--a bigger tank is not feasible. Is it possible to heat a 1-gallon tank at all?

There are a couple of things. first and foremost, you have to test the water. We need to know what the pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings are. If they are not within the proper ranges, he will become ill. Although he may have done well last winter, the water conditions need to be improved. Bettas need a temp of 80F. 67F to 70F is far too cold. Since they are tropical fish that need higher temps, they are susceptible to disease due to cold water. The cold water will also make them constipated. It is best to move him to a tank that can be heated and filtered. The minimum size is 2.5g. The preferable size is 5g.

The stringy fins are the beginnings of fin rot. He needs to be treated with Maracyn 2 (if you are in the US) If left untreated, the fin rot will advance to his body and he will die.

He is probably constipated. You can treat that by giving him a pea treat. Take one frozen green pea and thaw it. Shell the pea and cut it into small pieces. The pieces should be no larger than his eye. Give him the pea treat in place of his meal. Try putting it on the tip of your finger and letting him eat it off your finger. Only give him 2-3 small pieces. He may not take them if he has never had them before. If he doesn't eat it, remove the pea so it does not foul the water. Fast him for a day or two and then try again. He should take them then since he will be a bit hungry.

The airstone becomes more important when you get the temperature higher. The higher temperature means less oxygen in the water. That is when the airstone is needed. The airstone in a 1g is probably making too strong of a current for him.

Hope this helps. Please let us know how he does.

 

[jollysue]

A 1 usg bowl needs to have water changes if they are partial water changes at least several times a week--even daily. He is no doubt aging, but if his water is heated, you increase the temperature, make sure he is free of any bacterial or fungal infection, he may be able to revive a bit and live longer. Partial water changes once a week to an unfiltered one gal bowl may have aged him a bit faster and taken a strain on his immunity. Any filter that is turned off most of the time will be unable to maintain a healthy nitrifying bacteria to keep the nitrogen cycle going. A betta can live well in an unfiltered tank--even 1 gallon, but he must have frequent water changes.

Some older Bettas do grey by the way. They become little grey old men. Liz2 in the Betta forum is quite adept at caring for her old men. I would check in with her.

I would find him a shallow container (Some use critter keepers) so that he does not have to struggle to swim to the top. Also a soft plant that he can rest on near the surface.

I do by the way nuke my pea so that it can be mushed between my fingers for him. But I would let him fast a day or two. A Betta can live several weeks without food, so a day or two will not hurt him.

 

[courtnee]

Bettas in bowls should have their water changed 100% everyday to every other day. It may seem like over kill to some but that 1 gallon of water is not much water and can become polluted very fast. It seems to me the water quality if the most likely cause if he perks up with water changes. Also the temp is a huge issue. They need to stay warm. Bettas do lose color, however if the color goes and comes back it is a sign of them not felling well or being scared.

I would suggest slow down on feeding, change the water everyday. Leave a 1gl bottle of water out at all times to be room temp for water changes. It is easy once you have the water ready and can just change the water and get another gallon ready. This is vital in finrot as well to keep the water the best it can be.

Also test the water and make sure your tap water is okay. Some tap has ammonia or high nitrAtes.

I also with my Betta can not use betta pellets they rot in his water. Mine only eats flakes but this works out well because I feed him one flake a day and he eats it right away.

 

[heatmisr]

Just checking back in to see how your betta is doing. Is he responding to the meds at all?

 

[HomeAtLast]

Just checking back in to see how your betta is doing. Is he responding to the meds at all?

Thanks for asking. Charlie is surviving but barely. I did get water tested and his tank is a mess.
I first used the 5-in-one test strips and got these readings:
pH 7.0
Nitrite (NO2)- 0.5 ppm
Nitrate (NO3) 20 ppm
KH 40 ppm
GH 25 ppm

Then I ran out and got an ammonia kit:
Ammonia 0.02 ppm

I have been doing daily water changes and testing. I also have raised his tank temperature to 76 degrees F. It is just a 1 GAL mini aquarium with an UGF and I am running his airstone round the clock and watching to make sure I don’t boil him alive or suffocate him.

I fast him 2 days and today he ate a piece of pea. He is still languishing and then periodically does this crazy zooming around the tank and then floats to the tank floor with heaving gills. Am I right to keep fasting him and then feeding sparingly until I can get the ammonia and nitrite levels down?

I didn't treat his tank with meds because the fish shop said to focus on getting the water chemistry straightened out without any other additives.

After thinking about it, I realize two things not in my first post, but significant to the issue are: 1) I accidently did a 50% water change 3 weeks ago using unconditioned tap water. At the time, I was worried but he showed no immediate problems. However, wouldn't the chlorine kill any good bacteria living in his gravel?

2) When he did start to languish I added insult to injury by cleaning my entire tank the way my father-in-law did when he was here in June. Except, he knew to rinse the gravel in the tank water, set it aside and put it back. I like a dimwit, washed it all, dried it and basically killed out any other good bacteria the chlorine the week before didn't kill.

I now have a log book and I am a believer in testing his water. I hope he lives to move into the 5-GAL tank we set up and started cycling.

 

[zoekin8yg]

I think the washing everything wont have helped but with frequent water changes its not so much of a problem, keep an eye on him and move him as soon as the tanks ready. Also bettas prefer about 79 - 81 ish, they like it hot. By the way he is fairly old for a betta now as you have had him over a year and if he was from an lfs he could have already been nearly a year old. He could just be starting to get slower and older.

Hello,

I think the first thing you need to do is test the water.

1/2 water change once a week seems like a bit much to me, I change 20% every 2-3 weeks, although my tank has tropical fish, not cold water.

I think bettas like temperature around 80f and PH neutral, but I'm not entirely sure coz I don't keep them, it might be worth investing a couple of quid in a thermometer at least.

You need to make sure the water has air running through it, and movement of the surface, otherwise he will suffocate.

First things first, though, test the water or take a sample to your local fish shop for them to test for you.

Hope this helps.

Loaf
X

PS. What do you feed him and how often?

This isnt strictly true for bettas they are from a low oxygen content habitat and have labyrith organs meaning that they can and do breath air

 

[HomeAtLast]

Thanks again to everyone who posted/PM'd me. Charlie is loving his 80 degree tank. His color is coming back and he is interested in eating and responds to things outside his tank again. I am continuing to monitor his tank water--ammonia and nitrite levels have been 0 for two 24-hour periods now. Nitrates 20 ppm. pH 7.2

See he is off the bottom of the tank. Still not 100% but much improved.
K

 

[WILDER]

Or bless him.
Good luck.

 

[zoekin8yg]

Thats good news. Hope he continues to improve

 

[jollysue]

 

[heatmisr]

Glad to hear that Charlie is doing better and is loving his new home. You will be glad you got the 5g for him. Now you will really get to see his personality bloom. Congrats.