Help! I'm concerned and don't know what to do!!!

[Scarlettmarieb]

Hi! So in January I purchased a new betta fish and set him up in a 2.5 gallon tank with heater and filter. I also had the intentions of buying an upgrade. He had been only one day in the store since they had gotten in a new shipment, or so I was told.

He was vibrantly colorful, but very shy and liked to hide a lot. He went into a small cave I had all the time, but seemed to be fine. Except for the fact that he wouldn't eat. He would swim around the food like he was interested and would get it in his mouth only to spit it out. So I bought 2 other kinds. Still wouldn't eat. I figured he'd eventually get hungry and eat though, maybe when I wasn't around.

His new 5 gallon tank was set up and cycled in February and he enjoyed the extra space for a few weeks. But his color started to fade quickly and now he won't even come up to see what food I was putting in.

The water is at the correct temperature, I've been doing 25% water changes and checking the conditions of it. Last night it had 8 in ph and was high in hardness, so I did a small water change and treated the tank. This morning everything was normal in the tank, except for him.

He's been sitting at the bottom of the tank all day for weeks and doesn't budge. I can put my hand in and he doesn't notice till I'm close and even then he kind of swims weakly.

I need help, I don't know what to do anymore!!!

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Can you post a picture and short 20 second video of the fish?
If the images are too big for the website, set the camera's resolution to its lowest setting and take some more. The lower resolution will make the images smaller and they should fit. Make sure you turn the resolution back up after you have taken the pics otherwise all your pictures will be small.
If the video is too big for this website, post it on YouTube and copy & paste the link here. We can view it at YouTube.

What are the ammonia, nitrite & nitrate results (in numbers)?

How often do you do a 25% water change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you change the water?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

Have you tried feeding him live food like brineshrimp, mozzie larvae or daphnia?
Brineshrimp (and sometimes daphnia) are available from most pet shops and you offer a few at a time and see if he eats them. Mozzie larvae are often found in containers of water left in the garden.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Is your tank cycled? Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle? As Colin asked, What is your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels?