Swim Bladder? Something Else? Not Eating?

[napthalene]

Hello guys.

I have taken custody of my little sister's betta fish. She got the fish as a gift from her bf and it was from "Aquatic Gifts" (anybody heard of this store?). This fish came with a 4in x 4in tank, a needle-like plant floating on top, a layer of blue gravel that is supposed to have nitrifying bacteria in it. The first few months, the fish was really active, but since last week, it stopped eating and it sank to the bottom.

I have started to read about betta fishes on these websites and apparently the tank is way too small for a betta fish and the food that comes with the mini aquarium (I think they're roots.. kinda like specks of brown moss) doesn't seem like the right type of food to feed it.

Right now, the fish is breathing heavily (is two breaths per second normal?), his head is sunk to the gravel, but his tail end floats above him, sometimes he tries to swim upright, but his body just remains sideways, and sometimes (two minutes ago), he started to swim around in circles and trying to jump off the water.

Really, I need some help trying to solve some possible causes of the illness.. maybe it could be something else?

I changed the water fully yesterday. I use Deer Park natural spring water from the bottles (if anyone have access to it, can someone check the pH of it?).

I'm not even sure how long the fish is gonna last or even the age..

 

[flautist]

The first thing I would do is to get him at LEAST a one gallon container with a soft silk plant. Make sure the water is warm enough. I can't imagine it would be in something that small. Ideal temp is 76-80, the absolute LOWEST is 68. I would also be careful with spring water. I know some use it without any problems, but you never know what they add to that stuff, and I have heard of it killing fish before. I would use just plain tap water with AmmoLock or some other dechlorinator. The best food for him would be blood worms or brine shrimp, either live or frozen, not freeze-dried. If you don't have access to those, the next best thing is Hikari Betta Bio-gold pellets. I feed mine 4-5 a day, with frozen blood worms as a snack about once a week or so. I would also put a pinch of aquarium salt in the water, not table salt. That can help reduce stress and kill bacteria.

As for the swimming issues, I'm not sure what is causing that, whether it be an illness, or his living conditions, or both. But the above would be a good start to fixing it.

 

[napthalene]

thanks for the quick response. i'm gonna go to the pet store to get the supplies.