Depressed Betta Please Help!

[katiefairyinnit]

Hi guys,

My crowntail betta has been looking really depressed for about 2 weeks now. He used to be really active and happy and now he just hides at the bottom of my tank all the time. He appears to be suddenly frightened of the other fish in my tank too, and swims away in terror if any come close to him.

He's my favourite fish and I love him to death and I cant stand seeing him so upset. Ive tried putting him in the breeding trap but he just sat there at the top and clamped his fins so i let him out to go and hide again. He has no other symptoms and he's lived with the same fish since I set up the tank last year.

The current habitants are the betta, 6 cardinal tetra, a baby pleco, 4 platies, 2 double red cockatoo cichlids, one yellow gourami and 2 boesmani rainbowfish.

The tank is 120 litres, is heavily planted with slate caves and bogwood and I run it at 26 degrees.

The parameters are as follows - Chlorine - 0, Ammonia - 0, Nitrates - 11, Nitrites, 0, GH- 6, KH - 5, pH - 6.4

I would appreciate anyones help on this as i have no idea what to do next, i just want him to get better! If anyone knows anything about depressed fish or bettas behaving like this, i'd love to hear from you, thanks!

 

[fluttermoth]

How old is your betta?

 

[katiefairyinnit]

He's roughly 9 months old

 

[katiefairyinnit]

Anyone?

 

[ZoddyZod]

could be that one of the other fish has taken a dislike to him? Some fish have a tendancy to change their 'opinion' of their tankmates and suddenly start harrassing them.

have you watched the tank closely to see if any of the fish are paying particular attention to the betta?

 

[katiefairyinnit]

Yeah, I did see the male rainbowfish follow him once but he's never tried to bite him and the betta has no damage to his fins or anything.

The rainbowfish gets a bit crazy at meal times and whizzes round the tank but he's harmless.

I am suspicious that is whats sparked him off to behave like this but he's running scared from everyone now, including the little cardinals. Im worried he's gonna draw attention to himself by being so wussy This chase I saw was about 3 weeks ago and i work from home so i sit in front of the tank every day pretty much, so i see a lot.

I'm not used to dealing with such a delicate fish and dont know how to make him feel better, im just worried that its been so long and he's not perked up, any advice would be great!

Thanks

 

[alstermania]

I would move your betta into a heated+filtered 5 gallon. The tetras could be biting your betta's finnage, therefore sending him into panic mode. If you cant move your betta at the moment, put some almond leaves at the top to reduce stress. Hope this helps!

 

[katiefairyinnit]

Thanks for your reply The tetras don't go near him at all, neither do any of my others. The little chase by the Boesman is the only incident ive seen and the tank's in my living room so I look at it most hours of the day. The betta is just notoriously delicate and wussy. I've stocked the tank with peaceful fish and he has no enemies, yet he is still unhappy and I'm a bit lost as to what to do about his stress

I've got a breeding trap and a 10l hospital tank but he reacted badly to being put in the trap and i don't want to set the hospital tank up as I'm sure he'll react the same way. Plus, its not cycled either. He's not responding to me feeding him pea or bloodworm which used to be his favourite. He does still eat but i need to separate him as he's just too slow and the others beat him to it if i leave him in the main tank.


Has anyone experienced a fish like this? I've found a lot about depressed bettas on forums but its always recently purchased ones or ones in USA who live in unplanted little bowls. Mine has plenty of plants which my betta hides under constantly so thats another reason I dont want to put him in the little tank as I think he'd panic without his hiding spots.

I just find it weird that he's been charismatic and happy all this time then suddenly he's become very scared and seemingly can't overcome it. Very puzzling!!!

Also, i'd be worried that if i moved him to a separate tank, when i tried to return him to the main tank, i would encounter a problem. I have this image of him settling into his little tank then going crazy when i try to put him back or the other fish bullying him because he'll be the new guy!

I have various water treatments including Melafix that i could try with him in the 10litre tank if I feel he must be moved?

Thank you!

 

[onidrase]

He's probably scared #105###less of the rainbowfish. Rainbows are very big, very boisterous, very nippy fish which like to have a lot of space, pretty much everything that a betta isn't. I'd personally say the 120l is much too small to keep them properly. My green terror acted the same way when he was getting harassed by my severum back when. Even if he wasn't getting his fins nipped or torn, it's not fun to be chased around the tank by something bigger and stronger.

 

[katiefairyinnit]

I know he's scared, I just want to figure out a way to help him get over it. As far as I'm concerned, he has nothing to be frightened of. I selected my fish very carefully and watched their behaviour before purchase as I wanted a peaceful tank with no dramas! My Boesmani rainbow is only a juvenile so he's small. He doesn't nip and doesn't go after the betta. It was an isolated incident about 3 weeks ago. He didn't really chase him, he just whizzes around the top of the tank at feeding time, which he's always done and the betta has never had a problem with it before

I wouldn't consider rehoming any of my fish unless there was real need to so ideally someone may know how I could calm him? I am really worried so I do watch him a lot to make sure he's ok. I've not seen one fish follow / antagonise / attack him, yet he continues to skulk around on the floor, hiding in the plants and he goes crazy if any of my fish even swim past him, including the tiny harmless ones he should'nt be scared of!

 

[onidrase]

I know he's scared, I just want to figure out a way to help him get over it. As far as I'm concerned, he has nothing to be frightened of. I selected my fish very carefully and watched their behaviour before purchase as I wanted a peaceful tank with no dramas! My Boesmani rainbow is only a juvenile so he's small. He doesn't nip and doesn't go after the betta. It was an isolated incident about 3 weeks ago. He didn't really chase him, he just whizzes around the top of the tank at feeding time, which he's always done and the betta has never had a problem with it before

I wouldn't consider rehoming any of my fish unless there was real need to so ideally someone may know how I could calm him? I am really worried so I do watch him a lot to make sure he's ok. I've not seen one fish follow / antagonise / attack him, yet he continues to skulk around on the floor, hiding in the plants and he goes crazy if any of my fish even swim past him, including the tiny harmless ones he should'nt be scared of!

I'd honestly rehome the boesmanis. These guys get a bulky 6 inches long and like to be kept in schools rather than pairs. try to find somebody with a good 75 gallon (preferably larger) tank for them. I understand being attached to fish, but you can't give them a miserable life because you like them so much. I finally rehomed all of my beloved cichlids in my 75 gallon to somebody with a 150, because the tank was just too small to keep them together in.

There's no way to help a fish overcome fear, they honestly aren't very self aware. They live almost purely off survival instinct. And having a large, active species fish in a small tank with a betta isn't a great idea. Although you might not see anything for him to be afraid of, he certainly does, and that's all that matters.

My green terror, when he was getting picked on by the severum, was hiding all the time from everything too, including the tetras. His fins were clamped and he would hide under a log unless it was feeding time, in which he'd inch his way out and pick the ground scraps.

 

[katiefairyinnit]

I'd honestly rehome the boesmanis. These guys get a bulky 6 inches long and like to be kept in schools rather than pairs. try to find somebody with a good 75 gallon (preferably larger) tank for them. I understand being attached to fish, but you can't give them a miserable life because you like them so much. I finally rehomed all of my beloved cichlids in my 75 gallon to somebody with a 150, because the tank was just too small to keep them together in.

There's no way to help a fish overcome fear, they honestly aren't very self aware. They live almost purely off survival instinct. And having a large, active species fish in a small tank with a betta isn't a great idea. Although you might not see anything for him to be afraid of, he certainly does, and that's all that matters.

My green terror, when he was getting picked on by the severum, was hiding all the time from everything too, including the tetras. His fins were clamped and he would hide under a log unless it was feeding time, in which he'd inch his way out and pick the ground scraps.
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Firstly, thanks for your advice, I take it all into consideration. At the moment my boesmani are happy and pretty small, not too big for my tank yet. Its a work in progress and there's been lots ive had to rehome already, mainly because my betta has taken a dislike to them all, so i was kinda hoping I'd cracked it this time with the inhabitants!

I'm not sure why you think my tank is small, its almost 3 foot long so there's plenty of room!

Sorry to hear that you had to rehome your cichlids, did you have a lot of them?

I think its kinda a catch 22 really, cuz I know my betta will be unhappy if I move him to the small tank by himself, but there's no singlefish that he dislikes, its all of them that he's suddenly scared of! I cant put the boesman anywhere else unless i get rid of them, but I think my betta would continue to behave as he is now. He swims away from the cardinals, the platies, the boesman, the plec!

 

[onidrase]

Firstly, thanks for your advice, I take it all into consideration. At the moment my boesmani are happy and pretty small, not too big for my tank yet. Its a work in progress and there's been lots ive had to rehome already, mainly because my betta has taken a dislike to them all, so i was kinda hoping I'd cracked it this time with the inhabitants!

I'm not sure why you think my tank is small, its almost 3 foot long so there's plenty of room!

Sorry to hear that you had to rehome your cichlids, did you have a lot of them?

I think its kinda a catch 22 really, cuz I know my betta will be unhappy if I move him to the small tank by himself, but there's no singlefish that he dislikes, its all of them that he's suddenly scared of! I cant put the boesman anywhere else unless i get rid of them, but I think my betta would continue to behave as he is now. He swims away from the cardinals, the platies, the boesman, the plec!

almost 3 feet is relatively small, especially for fish like rainbows. Realistically, I wouldn't keep large rainbow species in much less than a 5-6 foot tank.

Platies can be potential harassers too, in a lot of cases bettas and livebearers don't get along. Same with gouramis. When it comes to keeping fish, generally, you want to keep slow fish with slow fish and active fish with active fish, as in a lot of cases the active fish will harass (or at least intimidate) the less active and shy fish while they're zooming about, even if it isn't obvious.

I had 4 cichlids in my 75 gallon, but as sexual maturity began they started to be at each others throats a lot.

 

[Meggie :)]

My betta is in his own small tank by himself and he loves it! Always coming up to me, swimming around, making bubble nests...

That's the best thing I can suggest for your betta right now...personally, and this is just me, I would go out and buy a small tank for him...you can find pretty cheap ones...my 5.5 gallon was 30 something dollars I think...came with the tank itself, hood, light, filter...pretty much everything equipment wise but a small heater and thermometer...df course I bought a new filter (because it's the best filter I've ever used or bettas...I'll figure out the name for ounif you want...I was like 10 bucks though...and I replaced the lighting for a light that would be healthy for plants...And the small tank actually looks quite nice I think with sand and wood and all live plants

If you can't/won't rehome the rainbow, I would suggest doing this..

Good luck
Meg

Edit: this is the kind of tank I was talking about...I got them at a pets art or petco...dont know if you have those where you live IMG]http/i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh545/meg6397/DSC_4521.jpg[/IMG]

 

[katiefairyinnit]

wow, i didn't realise they needed that much space when fully grown! If I rehome the boesmani rainbows, is there a good chance the betta will return to normal? I dunno what I'll do if i get rid of the rainbows and he carries on being like this! The boesmanis were a one-off as nowhere near me ever stocks them so I'd be sad to see them go. I'd worry about getting anything else as well, in case the betta had another problem.

I dont wanna buy another tank really as I cant afford to, and I have limited space in my flat.

If the general consensus is get rid of the rainbows, I'll look into doing it this weekend. If it makes my betta happy again, I'll do it!

Thanks guys