depressed betta

[sairie]

my betta is very lethargic. he just kinda sits in one spot all day, and even when i feed him he hardley eats :[

i've had him for about 2 weeks in a 2.5 unfiltered tank. if i got a filter, could i put maybe 1 more fish in there, like a platy?

and instead of that, could i try to put him in my 10g(1 mollie, 4 platies, 2 skirted tetras)?

thanks for your help!

 

[DrOizo]

Its not so much the filter (Unless your not doing often water changes) Its probably the lack of heat. Bettas are tropical and need a temp of about 24 degrees. My advice would be to get him a nice HEATED 5 gal and get him some cories and a small filter. You'll notice an immediate differnece in your fish, He'll be active and will swim round inspecting all of his home.

 

[Pointy_kitty]

i agree, he is in a proper sized tank,
filtration isn't the problem as long as you do regular water changes,
it is most likely lack of heat

as for the "friend" thing
alot of betta prefer to be alone
you can give him a mirror or something reflective as
"competition" to give him some exercise swimming and flaring

lastly i would feed him blood worms
it always cures my lethargic fish
i find it better for them then betta flakes/pellets

 

[sairie]

do you know roughly the cost of a 5g tank?

maybe i can upgrade in the future, but as for right now my budget is EXTREMELY tight... just wanna make my betta happy.

thanks

 

[DrOizo]

Well You can do it cheap but I splasehed out a bit and spent £56 on the tank alone. Fish and extras took my set up to about £70 the other 4gal was more expensive. You could get away with second hand stuff, heater etc form ebay and od it cheap. most expensive thing is probably lighting, about £25 if you buy it first hand

 

[cutechic]

The only 5 gallon I found was $75 CAD and included the tank, hood, light, and biowheel filter. I got my 10 gallon w/ heater, UG filter, hood, and light for $45. Maybe you could buy a 10 gallon, put in some dividers, and keep 2 or three bettas in there?

 

[DrOizo]

$75 is a good price for all those bits. If your strapped for cash then second hand is the way forward

 

[endparenthesis]

I have two male bettas doing perfectly fine in a tank just like yours (separated of course).

Are you sure he isn't sick? Lethargy isn't good.

 

[Nes]

OMG, please tell me you have something between your two boys or I may really just jump off a tall building in utter & total dispare...


Yeah $75 is pretty normal for a tank up here in the north - all the fish stuff around here is darn expensive - sorry to burst the bubble on that one . I would suggest you look for an eclipse system, they are really good filtration & relatively low maintance. I actually opted to go for the slightly cheaper waterhome system which was a BIG mistake... I killed the filter in no time & the tank has a bad bacteria infectoin I can't get ride of ... and... and....

Eclipse system is probably the best deal if you want a starter-tank

Also there are those 3 gallon tanks that come with a betta-divider & are florescent colours... if you have no idea what I'm talking about (I can NEVER remember the name...) that's cool - but they are a pretty good deal too.

As for heat, make sure you buy yourself a good thermometer before running out & finding a heater. Sometimes you don't need to do anything but move a hot-lamp over the tank.

I would not suggest putting another fish in there - even with a filter because the tank will quickly become overstocked.

Temperature should perk him up alot - but he may be ill, so keep a watch on him for the next few weeks.

Good luck,

Nes.

 

[White Whale]

do you know roughly the cost of a 5g tank?

maybe i can upgrade in the future, but as for right now my budget is EXTREMELY tight... just wanna make my betta happy.

thanks

You can get a 2.5 gallon ($5-$7) and order an Azoo Palm Filter($6) for it. This nano-filter fits nicely for a small aquarium. It filters aquariums up to 5 gallons. FreshMike has it for his 3 bettas. Ingenious. You can also put 2 panda cories in there with your betta. No substrate required, just maybe a weighted plastic plant or two.

 

[Nes]

I'm not sure of the longevity of those filters - but I would certainly like to hear from anyone who has one.

I would suggest a small-world filter if your set - I've had good sucess with them

Nes.

 

[White Whale]

I'm not sure of the longevity of those filters - but I would certainly like to hear from anyone who has one.

I would suggest a small-world filter if your set - I've had good sucess with them

Nes.

I have 4 Azoo nanofilters - three are used in Deco Art Aqua Vases, and one used for a 2.5 gallon tank. They run very quiet, don't take up much space, work MUCH MUCH better than the Whisper MicroFilter recommended to me by the LFS and relatively inexpensive. Small-World Filters (I have one, too) are noisy bubblemakers and didn't seem to do a decent job when compared to the nanofilter.

 

[Nes]

Interesting.

Yes the deco-tanks are pretty neat, I've been trying to organize some to sell - I've heard compliments from lots of betta breeders on them. We just all wish they had a lid...

Nes.