New Betta suddenly acting lethargic, help!

[lilsd]

I’ve had my betta for barely 2 weeks, he’s in a 10gal heavily planted tank with a few chili rasboras and a bunch of neo shrimp. He’s looked healthy, lively and active up until a couple days ago, now he suddenly is acting lethargic and has stopped eating.

checked my water parameters and nothing has changed, ph is 7.5 (normal for me) ammonia/nitrate/nitrite are all 0. I did a 40% water change anyway and thought he was maybe looking a little better, but I think it was just wishful thinking.

My heater is not adjustable, but the tank temp is consistent at 76 degrees. I think I’d like it to be a couple degrees warmer but everyone seems to do fine, at least so far. I don’t think temperature is the problem?

The only thing that’s changed is that I did add a couple new plants to the tank last week, is it possible he could have picked up some disease or bug from them? The chilis and shrimp still look great though….. I’m not sure what’s going on or if there’s anything I can do to help him. Grateful for any advice, I hate to see him like this and don’t want to lose him. TIA.

Edited to add: I’m not sure if there’s any significance to this, but he’s had a very slight “S” curvature to his spine since I got him, barely noticeable unless you look closely from the top. I didn’t notice it in the store, but figured it was just a result of being in a tiny cup, or maybe a genetic flaw, but he looked healthy and vibrant otherwise so I didn’t think much of it. Didn’t notice until he was swimming around the larger tank. It hasn’t gotten worse but hasn’t gone away…

 

[gwand]

Bettas need soft water. What is the GH of your tank water?

 

[Obsessed with fish]

A clear photo of the fish would be beneficial, so I can see if there are any visible signs of illness on the fish. Don't do any more big water changes at the moment unless your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate spikes.

 

[lilsd]

Gh is 5

Bettas need soft water. What is the GH of your tank water?

gh is 5

 

[lilsd]

A clear photo of the fish would be beneficial, so I can see if there are any visible signs of illness on the fish. Don't do any more big water changes at the moment unless your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate spikes.

Here’s a photo of him now. He was hanging at the bottom of the tank for most of the day but now is at the top. Poor guy is not looking good

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Here’s a photo of him now. He was hanging at the bottom of the tank for most of the day but now is at the top. Poor guy is not looking good

I noticed you said the bettas spine is slightly curved, does he struggle to swim, or is he swimming on a weird angle? Any kind of strange swimming patterns?

 

[lilsd]

I noticed you said the bettas spine is slightly curved, does he struggle to swim, or is he swimming on a weird angle? Any kind of strange swimming patterns?

No it doesn’t seem to affect his swimming, he isn’t very fast but I think that’s just because of his huge fins. And the curve hasn’t gotten worse it’s just something subtle that I noticed when I first put him in the tank. Like he’s about to turn or flare, but it looks the same in both directions and never fully straightens out.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

No it doesn’t seem to affect his swimming, he isn’t very fast but I think that’s just because of his huge fins. And the curve hasn’t gotten worse it’s just something subtle that I noticed when I first put him in the tank. Like he’s about to turn or flare, but it looks the same in both directions and never fully straightens

If he's able to swim without struggle he's probably fine, he looks healthy too so I wouldn't worry. If I'm wrong I'm sure someone else will correct me. Good luck!

 

[fishorama]

What kind of filter are you using? He seems like he's trying to breathe at the top (bettas can do that normally). But if your tank's oxygen level is low-ish, he might need to hang at the top.

Unlike some, I believe water changes are almost always good. Smaller & more often if those seem to bother him.

Have you tested your tap water? Some water cos. have different sources in summer/winter. There might be something there. Check your local water co. website or call them to see if they might use something more or different? as the seasons change.

Do you use fertilizers? 0 nitrate is possible with lots of plants but not ideal.

I have to say he seems quite large. Modern betta strains often don't live as long as we'd like. That & his very slightly bent spine could be signs of "old age". His frayed unequal pectoral fins seem like that could be an issue...Keep an eye on them.

 

[Colin_T]

Was the aquarium and filter cycled before you added the fish?
If yes, how did you do it?

Did you do anything to the aquarium a couple of days ago just before this started?
Did you have visitors during that time?

Is the fish still eating?
What does its poop look like?
Does it appear fat/ bloated?

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BASIC FIRST AID FOR FISH
Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. You have done this and the results you posted appear good.

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so any medication (if needed) will work more effectively on the fish.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.