Betta Still Acting Off

[Swusch]

Hello! I’m in need of help for my betta. I have added a sponge air filter and now have two live plants and a couple silk. I took out the big rock I had in there for him to hid in case he was hurting himself on it. He is laying at the bottom of the tank (sometimes looks like he is trying to burrow in the rocks). He doesn’t come see me, doesn’t follow my finger, he seems so sad. He only comes to the top to get air. I’ve done 20% water changes. I haven’t cleaned the cartridge in my filter, I put a Catappa leaf, tried medicines, tried aquarium salt… I’m at a loss. His colors are still bright.

His current water parameters:
GH: 120
KH: 40
pH: 7.0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Ammonia: 0
Temperature: 80

 

[Rocky998]

He looks bloated or he also could have swim bladders disease. You may want to fast him for two days and try feeding him a boiled pea without the skin.
@StripySnailGirl04 made this thread on how to prepare peas

Tutorial on How to prepare Boiled Mushed peas.

Hello everyone! This tutorial will help you to prepare boiled mushed peas. This can be useful for when your fish has constipation or can be used as an addition to a herbivore/ omnivore diet. My cardinals, danios and barbs love it! @Frank228 and @Rocky998 this might be useful since I have talked...

www.fishforums.net

This may help if it is because he is bloated

 

[Valkyrie_Lips]

Their digestive systems are better suited towards high protein foods. Daphnia is a better "laxative" for betta's vs plant matter because it is easier for them to digest.

 

[Swusch]

He looks bloated or he also could have swim bladders disease. You may want to fast him for two days and try feeding him a boiled pea without the skin.
@StripySnailGirl04 made this thread on how to prepare peas

Tutorial on How to prepare Boiled Mushed peas.

Hello everyone! This tutorial will help you to prepare boiled mushed peas. This can be useful for when your fish has constipation or can be used as an addition to a herbivore/ omnivore diet. My cardinals, danios and barbs love it! @Frank228 and @Rocky998 this might be useful since I have talked...

www.fishforums.net

This may help if it is because he is bloated

I will try this! Thank you!

 

[Rocky998]

Their digestive systems are better suited towards high protein foods. Daphnia is a better "laxative" for betta's vs plant matter because it is easier for them to digest.

Hmm learn something new everyday I suppose!
he/she could try both I guess and see which one works best

 

[Rocky998]

I will try this! Thank you!

No problem! I hope he gets better

 

[Slaphppy7]

What size tank is the betta in? How long has it been set up?

What kind of test kit and water conditioner do you use?

 

[Valkyrie_Lips]

To add onto Slaphppy7's questions, what do you feed him and how often/how much? Low quality foods that have a lot of fillers can cause digestive issues with bettas. If chronic it can develop into swim bladder issues (buoyancy problems). Another thought is if he doesn't have a lot of places to hide, especially near the surface then he may be stressed by that.

 

[Rocky998]

To add onto Slaphppy7's questions, what do you feed him and how often/how much? Low quality foods that have a lot of fillers can cause digestive issues with bettas. If chronic it can develop into swim bladder issues (buoyancy problems). Another thought is if he doesn't have a lot of places to hide, especially near the surface then he may be stressed by that.

This is very true.

 

[Oblio]

I'd lower Nitrate by doing a large WC to reduce stress.

 

[Swusch]

What size tank is the betta in? How long has it been set up?

What kind of test kit and water conditioner do you use?

We have had him 3 months. He was healthy and happy for the first month and a half or so. Then I did a 50% water change and he started acting off.
I have top fin water conditioner and api test kit

What size tank is the betta in? How long has it been set up?

What kind of test kit and water conditioner do you use?

 

[Swusch]

We have had him 3 months. He was healthy and happy for the first month and a half or so. Then I did a 50% water change and he started acting off.
I have top fin water conditioner and api test kit

Sorry 3 gallon tank. I know I need to get him a 5 gallon one.

 

[Valkyrie_Lips]

I'd lower Nitrate by doing a large WC to reduce stress.

Agreed. OP larger WCs of 50% should reduce nitrates by half unless your source water has nitrates in it too. I typically try to keep my own nitrates under 10ppm, however they have been 0-5ppm for a while now because of my consistent WC schedule and plants.

We have had him 3 months. He was healthy and happy for the first month and a half or so. Then I did a 50% water change and he started acting off.
I have top fin water conditioner and api test kit

Do you remove him to do WCs? How often do you typically do WCs and how much? Did you cycle the tank before adding him?

 

[Swusch]

To add onto Slaphppy7's questions, what do you feed him and how often/how much? Low quality foods that have a lot of fillers can cause digestive issues with bettas. If chronic it can develop into swim bladder issues (buoyancy problems). Another thought is if he doesn't have a lot of places to hide, especially near the surface then he may be stressed by that.

I was feeding him aqueon betta food pellets. 4-5 pellets twice a day. When he stopped eating I bought betta pro shrimp Pattie’s and omega one freeze dried blood worms to see if he’d eat those. Now I just put a couple shrimp Patties twice a week and he still won’t eat.

 

[Swusch]

Agreed. OP larger WCs of 50% should reduce nitrates by half unless your source water has nitrates in it too. I typically try to keep my own nitrates under 10ppm, however they have been 0-5ppm for a while now because of my consistent WC schedule and plants.


Do you remove him to do WCs? How often do you typically do WCs and how much? Did you cycle the tank before adding him?

I did not cycle the tank before adding him. I learned of that after he started acting off. I do not remove him when I do the water changes. I had previously and thought maybe the stress from being removed is what caused this. I do about 20-25% changes at least twice a week. I have a container I put water and conditioner in and let it sit in between changes to hopefully make it safer. Here is his current setup.