Maximus not eating?

[heatherpooreks]

My male betta is not eating as far as I have seen. I have tried Betta Gold, Bug Bites for Tropical Fish, Tetra fish flakes and freeze dried blood worms. He has to be eating off the ground cause I haven't seen him eat. I have had him 2 weeks in a 5gal tank.

 

[FishFinatic77]

Did you cycle the tank before putting him in?
What are your water parameters?
Is he acting sick in any way, besides not eating?
How long has it been since he ate last?

 

[heatherpooreks]

Tank was cycled. I have attached a photo of him. His tank water has a pH problem of 8.0, so I have driftwood coming since the chemical solution didn't keep the pH down at 7 more than 24hrs. All others (nitrogens and ammonia) is at 0. I am also adding plants recommended by this group by the weekend.

 

[FishFinatic77]

When did he eat last? Does he look bloated? Have you seen him poop recently? Did the poop look normal?

 

[Colin_T]

how long have you had it for?
have you tried frozen or live food?

 

[AtomicFish]

he looks like a really healthy betta.

 

[itiwhetu]

He looks pretty healthy to me. Is it possible for you to get a few mosquito larvae. That usually excites these guys to eat.

 

[heatherpooreks]

When did he eat last? Does he look bloated? Have you seen him poop recently? Did the poop look normal?

Not sure on any of your questions

 

[heatherpooreks]

how long have you had it for?
have you tried frozen or live food?

I have had him 2 weeks. Yes to frozen no to live.

 

[heatherpooreks]

So I added tank mates. He is eating off the bottom with the albino cory cats. Well that got me thinking he might not like the water flow from the filter. Shut it off and fed him. After 5 min he started feeding. Any ideas on how to slow the flow? Can I put a piece of sponge in there?

 

[heatherpooreks]

He looks pretty healthy to me. Is it possible for you to get a few mosquito larvae. That usually excites these guys to eat.

I will research and see if I can

 

[FishFinatic77]

So I added tank mates. He is eating off the bottom with the albino cory cats. Well that got me thinking he might not like the water flow from the filter. Shut it off and fed him. After 5 min he started feeding. Any ideas on how to slow the flow? Can I put a piece of sponge in there?

How big is your tank? How many cories did you get? They should be in a school of at least 6. They also need fine sand as the substrate.
Keep an eye on the cories and make sure your betta isn't attacking them.
I'm glad he's eating again. You can get a piece of aquarium sponge to slow the flow of your filter.

 

[heatherpooreks]

I got 5 albinos, one died in shipping. He hasn't nipped at them that I can see (no damage to the fish like missing eyes or nipped fins). He stays in his area and they stay in theirs, if he drifts their way they head the other direction but no darting which I think means they don't feel threatened, just normal territory stuff... Thank you for the tip!

 

[FishFinatic77]

I got 5 albinos, one died in shipping. He hasn't nipped at them that I can see (no damage to the fish like missing eyes or nipped fins). He stays in his area and they stay in theirs, if he drifts their way they head the other direction but no darting which I think means they don't feel threatened, just normal territory stuff... Thank you for the tip!

Okay, it's good that he's not chasing them. You should definitely get a few more though. How big is your tank?

 

[heatherpooreks]

Only 5 gallon so I am not sure if I got enough space