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?

-----------------------

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.

 

[lilsd]

I wasn’t sure if he’d still be with us today, but he is! Still not eating though and just kind of hanging around the top of the tank looking dull and lethargic.

To answer a few of these questions:

Yes the tank was cycled and running for several months before I got him. After cycling the tank I added shrimp first, then the chili rasboras as a few weeks later, and the betta didn’t come until a couple months after that. Water parameters have been stable for months.

I do use fertilizer along with water conditioner when I do water changes, and recently switched from API Leaf Zone to Seachem Flourish (recommended by somebody here). The timing would actually make sense for that to be what’s bothering him since I started it last week when I added the new plants…. However none of the other fish or shrimp are struggling? Just in case, I just did another smaller (20%ish) water change with no fertilizer today.

I’m using a small hang on back filter, and you’re right, I haven’t cleaned it in awhile, so I did that today and hopefully it helps. It definitely increased the water flow right away and I had to turn it down a little.

Also his pectoral fins are partially translucent, so they do look frayed in the pictures but they’re actually just clear in some spots.

 

[fishorama]

I don't know if the fertilizer change would matter but it might. I don't use liquid 1s so I don't know.

What dechlor do you use? Have you switched to a different kind? Is it 1 with aloe in it? I think it can "gunk up" gills. Make sure you use 1 that can "detoxify" chloramines (I use Prime). I'm thinking that's what your big city water co. uses.

For future reference: I belong to a plant club & at least rinse off new plants in tap water. Some people soak them in tap for a short while. Does your betta (when he was eating) nibble on the biofilm on plants. New 1s might be interesting to him, slightly different than your usual kind.

That's good about the clear fins! Often new growth from damage can look clear or have a white edge. Sometimes they can stay clear too. Have his fins always looked like that? Is there anything sharp that could have caused injury? Rock or decor? It can't be from your fish or shrimp.

I can't tell from your pics but could he be constipated? Sometimes there's a bulge near the vent. Not necessarily a big 1 but noticeable. I don't suppose you've seen him poop lately since he's not eating but did you see anything different before that? (poo can help us diagnose in fish, & other pets; a sign, not a symptom since they can't tell us) A change of diet? What do you feed when he's eating? If he had a favorite food, try just a bite of it right in front or above him. Epsom salts can help if it's constipation (the foot soak kind, magnesium sulfate? or hydrate? both?). If that a likely possibility & you want to try, I would try a 20 minute "bath" in a small container but look up the dosage. (I can't remember & don't want to tell you wrong. The bath dosage is higher than a "whole tank" amount).

Don't freak out over him not eating just yet. Fish can go a week or 2 without food.

My fingers are crossed for you & him.

 

[Colin_T]

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?

 

[lilsd]

I have not had any visitors, the only changes in the last couple weeks have been the new plants and different fertilizers. He still isn’t eating and I haven’t seen him poop, he doesn’t appear bloated as far as I can tell. He’s maybe slightly more active tonight but hard to say.

I did not rinse the new plants before adding them to the tank, but in hindsight that’s a no brainer and I will definitely do that moving forward… Thank you.

All the rocks in the tank are smooth, nothing I think he could cut himself on. There are a lot of plants and prior to getting sick he seemed to really like swimming/exploring the in the densely planted areas. I haven’t noticed him eating plants though.

For dechlorinator I switch between API tap water conditioner and API stress coat. I’ve been using stress coat for the last couple water changes (which does contain aloe…), but I’ll just use the regular tap water conditioner for the next few days and see if it makes a difference. I normally do 40%ish water change once a week (which is probably excessive honestly) but I think I’ll keep doing 20% once a day for the next few days? The water changes don’t seem to stress him out, I’m careful to make sure the temperature is the same, and my city tap water is neutral and very clean. He is hanging in there for now and seems to be maybe improving slowly

 

[Colin_T]

If the fish hasn't eaten for a few days then it's usually a bad sign and can be due to an internal bacterial infection or poor water quality. However, your water is fine so I'm inclined to think it's an internal infection, which are notoriously hard to treat and in most cases the fish dies because the damage has already been done by the time they show symptoms and stop eating.

You can try a medication that treats bacteria but it might not help.

Rinsing the plants under tap water isn't essential but it does reduce the risk of introducing snails and some diseases. If the plants at the shop are kept in tanks that don't have fish in, they shouldn't have any diseases on them. If there were fish in the plant tanks at the shop, they might have some pathogens on them but it's unlikely that has caused this problem.