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Urgent! Please help, Betta sitting on top of substrate
- Thread starter Barry Tetra
- Start date
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- betta lethargic
Did you do a water change today?
How long has he been ill?
Is the temperature constant, or does it fluctuate?
Is there any chlorine in the water?
Have you used any medication or added any chemicals/ additives?
What do you feed him and how much?
How long have you had him?
How long has he been ill?
Is the temperature constant, or does it fluctuate?
Is there any chlorine in the water?
Have you used any medication or added any chemicals/ additives?
What do you feed him and how much?
How long have you had him?
Lajos_Detari
Fish Herder
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Is there any other symptoms of sickness?
Oh Barry - I'm sorry.
That doesn't look good, does it? Those folded fins look like he is very unwell.
A 2-gallon tanks strikes me as quite small - are those small plants live, or is it just a background? What is the surface area of the tank - is there enough area for oxygen to diffuse into the water, and for your betta to air breathe? I can see you have some elodea (? - hard to tell) in there but there doesn't seem to be much else if the small stuff is background. How long has he been in this tank? Has he been in here for a while, or is this fairly new to him? (If he's just been moved in recently, there may be something about it which isn't suiting him and it's just catching up with him.)
I know bettas can live in quite small containers, but they don't necessarily thrive in them. Not just because of the problems with oxygen and water quality, but because although slow moving they are a curious fish that likes to explore its environment, and which like caves and little nooks to peep into - they also like plenty of live plants to provide cover and to stop them getting stressed. If he's got nothing to explore he will become depressed and lethargic. Bettas seem to be intelligent and personable fish - they need to be kept occupied mentally to be happy.
The very frequent large scale water changes may be distressing for him, too. You'd really be better giving him more room, a more interesting environment, and filtering and oxygenating his water. You mention the temperature not being a problem (not sure how Thai temp applies) but this seems excessively high to me - and higher temperatures also mean the water holds less oxygen.
Personally I wouldn't keep a betta in such a small tank - I'd reserve it for a couple of snails/shrimps.
I suggest you get him a bigger tank - 5 gallons at least, and plant it up, adding an aerator and filter to ensure he can breathe easily. He could be slowly suffocating. Just because a fish (or any creature) manages to hang onto life in a small space, it doesn't mean it is happy or healthy.
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OP
OP
Yes I did water change today.
Temperature is about 30-32c depending on the weather.
I use well water, no chlorine ofc.
I just use jungle fungus clear, thats why the water is green.
I feed him 2 pellets of TETRA bettamin every other day
I have him in there for about 3 months now he's in the cup in the LFS for about 6 months
OP
OP
No, he's still happy yesterday but now he wont eating.
Lajos_Detari
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Usually Colin's advice will be to do a large water change and siphon out the debris.
Add salt if you are unsure of the disease as salt can kill both bacteria and parasites.
Probably 1/2 tablespoon of salt for every 10 liter of water(just my guess). Colin used to advise to use 1 tablespoon for every 10 liter of water.
2 gallons is about 8 liter of water. ( 2 x 3.8 liter)
Add salt if you are unsure of the disease as salt can kill both bacteria and parasites.
Probably 1/2 tablespoon of salt for every 10 liter of water(just my guess). Colin used to advise to use 1 tablespoon for every 10 liter of water.
2 gallons is about 8 liter of water. ( 2 x 3.8 liter)
I was going to suggest salt but didn't know if it needed to be a particular type (eg pink Himilayan rock salt from the base mines of Nepal or something) and didn't want to suggest the wrong thing. I've certainly put salt in a tank before.
HE NEEDS A BIGGER PLACE BARRY - HE'S SICK OF LIVING IN A BEDSIT DURING LOCKDOWN
(Sorry - didn't mean to shout. Hadn't realised the caps lock was on and can't be bothered to re-type, even though I could have done it in the time it's taken me to apologise)
OP
OP
I just use it today, It said on the back that it can treat the "any normal disease", apparently it was translated in Thai so I dont know if the original one said that.
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It looks like he has fin rot, and maybe even fin clamp. Both of which are caused by poor water quality.
He needs a bigger tank, and a filter - you can’t keep him in a tank that small (with no filter) and not expect something to go wrong.
Get him a bigger place, and preform 50%+ water changes per day for a week, until things get better.
Hope your little guy makes it.
He needs a bigger tank, and a filter - you can’t keep him in a tank that small (with no filter) and not expect something to go wrong.
Get him a bigger place, and preform 50%+ water changes per day for a week, until things get better.
Hope your little guy makes it.
Do a 70% water change first day. First day, add 1/2 tablespoon of dissolved aquarium salt. After that, add 1/4 tablespoon daily after 50% water change. Aquarium salt helps breathing and also is an astringent. I would treat for internal parasites too with something like General Cure. Good luck!
OP
OP
@Deanasue @PheonixKingZ
Never mind guys, he just taking a nap, Thanks for the help though...
He just wake up an hour ago, waiting for food.
Never mind guys, he just taking a nap, Thanks for the help though...
He just wake up an hour ago, waiting for food.
I'm glad he's feeling better/Betta
- but he still needs more space and a few plants, Barry. If you can give him a nicer home he will thank you for it.
hansgruber7
Fishaholic
I would still get a filter for him at least, and consider a 5 gallon for him.
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