Female Betta Lethargic/not Eating.

Fc1700

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My Female Betta has been very shy (more than normal) the past few weeks. Usually I think shes hiding from my male guppy who seems to bug her a bit, but usually shes not too submissive and will hold her territory out in the open and I have never seen marks or anything on her that shows shes being badly nipped. She used to hide in a little house I have that only she could really fit in to, but the past couple days has been snugged up behind the filter. Usually she goes out to eat though. I went to feed bloodworms today and she didn't come out at all until I moved the filter to see what was going on. She sank to the bottom of the tank and nestled herself between a rock and the gravel. An hour or so ago I put her in the breeder and put a tiny bit of flakes and worms. She maybe ate 1 or 2 worms but doesn't seem too interested. 
 
Not sure where to go from here? Ideas? 
 
Have her in a 10 gallon tank probably for about 5 months now. No other bettas in the tank.
 
Why all do you have in the tank with her?  What is the temperature of your tank and do you have a heater?
 
Yes, heater is at about 78. I have 2 serpae tetras a small cory and a male guppy. I know the stocking isnt the greatest but they've been fine for awhile and I may be giving my serpaes and possibly my cory to my cousin who has a larger tank as I am going away for the summer.  My betta and guppy need to stay though since her fish are too large for my 2 little guys. I may female up my male guppy when I get home, but I was going to leave the 2 of them together all summer. But Now I'm thinking (if she lives) I might get her, her own heated, filtered small tank for the summer.She has never seemed or been bothered by any fish except the guppy who seems to chase her a lot.   
 
Fc1700 said:
Yes, heater is at about 78. I have 2 serpae tetras a small cory and a male guppy. I know the stocking isnt the greatest but they've been fine for awhile and I may be giving my serpaes and possibly my cory to my cousin who has a larger tank as I am going away for the summer.  My betta and guppy need to stay though since her fish are too large for my 2 little guys. I may female up my male guppy when I get home, but I was going to leave the 2 of them together all summer. But Now I'm thinking (if she lives) I might get her, her own heated, filtered small tank for the summer.She has never seemed or been bothered by any fish except the guppy who seems to chase her a lot.   
serape tetras are notorious fin nippers so are guppies, his could be due to the stress they give her
 
Hm, in that case or regardless, how long do you think I should keep her in the breeder? Even though the other fish can't get to her she still isn't really eating so should I just release her into the tank now?
 
Fc1700 said:
Hm, in that case or regardless, how long do you think I should keep her in the breeder? Even though the other fish can't get to her she still isn't really eating so should I just release her into the tank now?
get her her own tank
 
I agree with DerpPH. If you already plan on getting her her own tank then get it started now and have it set up before you leave for the summer. You shouldn't leave her in there if the guppy is stressing her out too much.
 
I agree with all of the above. What are your water parameters btw? (pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) You can get a 5 or 10g tank kit at walmart for like ~$30. You'd still need to pick up a heater though.
 
I could estimate the exact parameters if you think thats important. But according to my strip test, everything is at a safe level. Not even close to stress levels.
 
She looks even worse today. I just scooped her into the breeder again she was on the bottom of the tank shes barely moving now... Was going to pick her up some live brine and give it to her in the breeder but I dont even know if its worth it at this point. just wish I knew what caused it. Like i said, only had her 5 months and didn't notice any marks or shortened fins..
 
The best pics. I could get.
 

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A bullied fish does not have to have torn or nipped fins.  The fact that she was hiding almost all the time somewhere in the tank is a big indication of being stressed out by other fish.  Bettas are not always the aggressor and in a community setting tend to be the fish that gets picked on or stressed out.  The breeder that you have her in looks like a guppy breeder.  If it is, please make sure you do not put the lid on it.  This particular breeder does not allow the betta to reach surface air and without it, she will drown.  Considering how stressed she sounds, her immune system is most likely been compromised and she might be fighting an infection of some sort.  Getting her out of the community tank and into one by herself is your best option at the moment.  You will need to keep the separate tank very clean and the temperature 82-84F to help her heal.  Once in a tank without the stress of the other fish, it might be easier to see what might be the issue.
 
 
I could estimate the exact parameters if you think thats important. But according to my strip test, everything is at a safe level. Not even close to stress levels.
 
 
The exact parameters are important.  The strips are known to not be very accurate though so just because they say that everything is at a "safe" level does not mean that something might not be off.  There is also a big difference between what is considered "safe" and what is considered "stressful" for a fish.  The safe level will normally be a good bit different from the stress level and different fish handle things in different ways.
 

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