Help, Betta Swimming Badly!

[MegaZerino]

My female betta has suddenly in the past 20 minutes been unable to swim properly, she flots right next to the surface and when she was in the tank she sunk to the bottom was laying on her side and then on her back in a plant, she seems to be able to swim when i give her a little nudge (to remove her from the tank) but whenever i leave her she is motionless. It also looks like only the right side of her gills are working, could this have anything to do with this?? I fed her and her tankmates (bettas) freeze dried bloodworms this morning and the rest are doing fine, she was doing fine up until about 20 minutes ago, i now have her in a one litre container because its all i have and ive given her a treatment for swimbladder, i had a betta that died from being bloated and constipated but her belly doesnt look round enough for that, please help!!!

 

[lilfishie]

Can you get a picture of her?

Freeze dried food is never good as it does cause bloating and swimbladder issues

 

[MegaZerino]

Can you get a picture of her?

Freeze dried food is never good as it does cause bloating and swimbladder issues

Normally i feed them pellets, but i soak them first so they absorb water which stops the bloatiness, here she is now:

 

[lilfishie]

no signs of obvious bloating.

Any aggression within the tank? on paper that is a war zone!

 

[MegaZerino]

no signs of obvious bloating.

Any aggression within the tank? on paper that is a war zone!

generally no, the i have 1 male and 4 females, the male only seems to get annoyed with one of the females (not this one) if she goes into hes terretory, but other than that hes fine, the females seem to be okay with eachother, and the gourami just floats around not caring. although earlier today the ill female and another female were flaring at eachother, but there wasnt a fight or anything, luckily ive never had a fight in the tank, theyre all fairly placid fish

 

[pablothebetta]

Water parameters ok?

 

[MegaZerino]

Water parameters ok?

yep, everyone else in the tank is behaving normally but her.

 

[pablothebetta]

Water parameters ok?

yep, everyone else in the tank is behaving normally but her

Good point, it would be effecting more than one fish if it was that, didn't think, sorry

 

[MegaZerino]

Water parameters ok?

yep, everyone else in the tank is behaving normally but her

Good point, it would be effecting more than one fish if it was that, didn't think, sorry

its ok, i just have no idea whats wrong with her

 

[Three Ring Circus]

what other fish do you have in the tank? also, what are your exact readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. I have seen ammonia weigh heavy on a fish without obvious signs in others. also what size is the tank.

snd if you signature is correct, it is never wise to have a male betta in the same tank as females. this right there may be the cause of her stress.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Any oth signs of sickness as it doesn't look like SBD to me

 

[Rummynose]

I'm not an expert, whatsoever, but I'm thinking she may have been injured near/on her one gill, if only the other gill is moving! She may have been attacked by one of the other Bettas even if they get along fine normally.

Your stocking may be the problem! Bettas should not be housed with other anabantids like Gouramis. And even female Bettas can go after other female Bettas and fight for dominance! So there are a whole lot of issues with your tank that can cause stress and aggression!

 

[Three Ring Circus]

I agree with rummynose. I was doing a little research and while keeping multiple females together can be acceptable, the general rule seems to be 6 or more in a heavily planted tank with multiple hiding places. Everything i read also indicates that the male should be removed, as well as the gourami, and the female population should be increased and a lot of plants added. This may ease the stress on your little lady.