My betta doesn't look happy.

[AKalina]

Hi guys.
My betta fish looks always tired and sad . Sometimes he turns aside and usually stays at the bottom.
His aquarium is 2.5 gallon.
His temperature is 25-27°
I don't overfeed him.
And now he lives alone in the aquarium.

He only gets happy when he sees me ( he become more active and look at me and things like this) but I can't be in the room or to the aquarium all day.

What shoud I do ?
Shoud I get him a new fish to not be bored or sad?
Or is he sick?

What shoud I do about it.
It is normal?


Sorry for my bad english and thank you for reading.

 

[NickAu]

Can you please answer the following questions.

How big is the tank?
Has it got a heater? What is it set to?
Has it got a filter?
How strong is the current?
Is it cycled?
How often do you change water?
How much water do you change?
Do you vacuum the substrate?
What additives or chemicals do you use? Eg De Chlorinator?
Do you use tap or bottled water? If bottled water please give us the brand.
Do you have a water test kit?
Can you tell us the readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
When you clean the tank can you tell us exactly what you do.
What do you feed him? how much? how often?
Any tank mates? What sort how many?
How long have you had the Betta?
Has he got a history of illness?
Any plants or decorations? Please give details?
Can you provide a close up photo of the fish?
Can you provide a photo of the tank?

 

[AKalina]

NickAu
1. The tank is 2.5 gallon.
2.No
3. Yeah, there's a filter but the filter isn't that strong
4. When it gets dirty I change it like every two weeks or less
5. I change all the water cause I need to clean the whole tank.
6.no
7. I use only one for cleaner water I'll upload a photo
8. I don't use bottled water
9.no
10. I don't know how
11. I get the betta out of the tank in a bowl with clean water with good temperature
Then I get out the things that are inside the tank
I go to the kitchen and wash the tank and all the dirty in it and also I wash the objects in the tank
Then I put fresh water with good tempereture
Put all the decorations in the aquarium
Also I clean the filter
And then I put the fish
12. Ill put a photo of the food. I feed him once a day with three.
13. No tank mates
14. For about 3 messes
15. He was always passive but now he looks worse

 

[AKalina]

. .

 

[Colin_T]

If you ever have a fish that is not looking right or is sick, do a 75% water change each day until the problem is resolved. Most fish health issues are caused by poor water quality and the daily water changes help dilute nutrients and disease organisms and the fish usually respond pretty quickly.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Do not remove the fish when you do this. Simply syphon or scoop some water out and then add the new water. You can use a basic model gravel cleaner (like the one in the following link) to syphon water out without sucking the fish out.
https://www.about-goldfish.com/aquarium-cleaning.html

If you add a floating plant it would make him feel more secure. Water Sprite is the best floating plant but if you don't have a light on the tank, you can use plastic plants and let them float on the surface.

You can offer different types of food rather than just giving him the same pellets each day. If you have roses in the garden you can collect aphids and feed them to the fish. If you have buckets of water outside under a tree they sometimes get mozzie larvae in them. Scoop the mozzie larvae out and offer to the fish. Most small insects that are free of chemicals (bug sprays, etc) are fine for fish to eat.

You can try putting a mirror against the outside of his tank a couple of times a week. Leave the mirror there for 5-15 minutes and then remove it. The fish will see his reflection and display to it and when you remove the mirror he will think he chased the intruder away and feel a bit happier for doing so.

If you take a glass full of the tank water to your local pet shop, they should be able to test it for you. Get them to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH and write the results down while they test it. The results will be something like: Ammonia 0.25; Nitrite 0.5; Nitrate 25ppm; pH 7.4 (or something like that).

 

[AKalina]

Okey I'll try to change the water and change his food. Can I use normal tree leave as something that is floating in the aquarium of course I'll wash it first.
I'll try the thing with the mirror and ill ask a pet shop if they can test my water. And if they do I'll update

 

[Colin_T]

... Can I use normal three leave as something that is floating in the aquarium of course I'll wash it first.

I'm not sure what the three leave is?

 

[AKalina]

Lol tree leaves I'm sorry lmao

 

[Colin_T]

tree and plant leaves tend to sink so either get a real floating plant like Water Sprite or plastic plants and let them float.

 

[AKalina]

Okay thank you