Sluggish betta

[_Pineapple4popsicle]

Hmmm, not sure if my question posted earlier. But my betta Pineapple is sluggish. Sometimes he seems like he doesn’t see his food. I drop his food one by one. The bloodworms I use tweezers for him to see, I “run” them. He seems to just rest all the time. Movement seems off. His water parameters are great. I change a 30ish% every week. I do a larger one once a month. Nothing at all is new or different in his tank (10 gallon) anyone have any ideas?

 

[Stefan3289]

Do you have a water testing kit to get actual numbers. What does his tank set up look like?

 

[_Pineapple4popsicle]

Yes, I test with test strips. As I said to someone else, I’ve used my aquatic store who has proper digital testing ($7) and my results are nearly identical.
Alkaline: 75. Ammonia: 0.1 Phosphate: 1.3
Ghard: 43
PH: 7.3
Nitrite: 0.0
Nitrate: 3
10 gallon with submersible pump, heater (the kind with actual temperature control by temperature) the pump and filter is designed for a 10gallon tank. Temp is 80F

 

[Stefan3289]

Your nitrates are quite high. Is it like that from your tap? Also, how long have you had him?

 

[Fishmanic]

How old is your betta. They do slow down as they age?

 

[_Pineapple4popsicle]

How old is your betta. They do slow down as they age?

Pineapple is about 14 months old

 

[_Pineapple4popsicle]

Your nitrates are quite high. Is it like that from your tap? Also, how long have you had him?

No this was a little before a change, and none of the numbers seemed to send off any bells to the aquarium person. Up to about 10 is still safe. And Pineapple is about 14 months old. He’s my first betta so I’m not sure how long they live.

 

[TNG]

It looks as though the scales stick out from the fish body. Could you take a close look at the scales, raised scales (or pinecone) could be an indication of dropsy. If there are other fish in the tank, you should remove Pineapple to a quarantine tank and maintain good water quality.
Bettas live around 2-4 years, some longer.

 

[connorlindeman]

That ammonia level is a potential problem. Anything above 0 is harmful to all fish.

 

[_Pineapple4popsicle]

That ammonia level is a potential problem. Anything above 0 is harmful to all fish.

Ok, I’ll check this morning. I use the API NH3/NH4 drops test kit.

 

[_Pineapple4popsicle]

It looks as though the scales stick out from the fish body. Could you take a close look at the scales, raised scales (or pinecone) could be an indication of dropsy. If there are other fish in the tank, you should remove Pineapple to a quarantine tank and maintain good water quality.
Bettas live around 2-4 years, some longer.

Dropsy is something I’ve not heard of, thanks, I’ll check it out. Starting yesterday evening he’s really his happy self again, making his nests etc. so idk what was wrong. I kept him off food for 24 hours.

 

[_Pineapple4popsicle]

Dropsy is something I’ve not heard of, thanks, I’ll check it out. Starting yesterday evening he’s really his happy self again, making his nests etc. so idk what was wrong. I kept him off food for 24 hours.

Yes the scales look like they’re out a wee bit but I haven’t looked carefully yet.

 

[Essjay]

Dropsy is something I’ve not heard of

Dropsy is a symptom rather than an illness itself. It occurs when an underlying disease causes kidney failure, then the body retains water and swells out resulting in the scales sticking out like a pine cone. In most cases, when the disease has gone far enough to cause dropsy, it is too late to save the fish. Treating the underlying disease is difficult as we cannot tell whether it is a bacterial, viral or even protozoan internal infection.

 

[_Pineapple4popsicle]

Dropsy is a symptom rather than an illness itself. It occurs when an underlying disease causes kidney failure, then the body retains water and swells out resulting in the scales sticking out like a pine cone. In most cases, when the disease has gone far enough to cause dropsy, it is too late to save the fish. Treating the underlying disease is difficult as we cannot tell whether it is a bacterial, viral or even protozoan internal infection.

Thank you. I’ve gone back a year to look at pictures of Pineapple, and he looked pretty much the same. His body color and texture is pretty much the same, except he’s bigger. I’m not sure what was bothering him but he seems like his old self again. I didn’t feed him after I did his monthly 50% change and added new almond leaves, got rid of some brown looking leaves on a couple plants. Maybe he just needed a food break? Pineapple isn’t lethargic anymore ! I’ll keep everyone updated if anything changes. Is there any other symptoms for dropsy I should look for? And can I prevent it?

 

[TNG]

Thank you. I’ve gone back a year to look at pictures of Pineapple, and he looked pretty much the same. His body color and texture is pretty much the same, except he’s bigger. I’m not sure what was bothering him but he seems like his old self again. I didn’t feed him after I did his monthly 50% change and added new almond leaves, got rid of some brown looking leaves on a couple plants. Maybe he just needed a food break? Pineapple isn’t lethargic anymore ! I’ll keep everyone updated if anything changes. Is there any other symptoms for dropsy I should look for? And can I prevent it?

Clean water and quarantine new fish help prevent dropsy and other diseases. You mentioned you do a weekly water change plus a large wc every month but your ammonia is still 0.1 which is puzzling. It should be zero as your tank should be cycled by now.
Do you clean your substrate when you do water changes? I wouldn’t, as that would kill the beneficial bacteria.