HELP! Betta going crazy!!!

My betta has been going crazy ever since I put him in a new bowl. In his old one he was constantly ramming the sides because of his reflection so I got a new, bigger one since I thought that would be better for him. But, as soon as he got in there he has been going crazy with eratic swimming and ramming the walls even more frequently. I put him in a smaller plastic container for now since it has frosted sides and I figured that would be a good temporary solution but I'm really worried and I don't know what to do

That's really weird!

Do you see parasites on him? Sometimes fish with parasites ram the glass trying to get them off...

Did you use some of the old water when you switched him to the new bowl? If you put him in a brand new fresh bowl with all new water, the water could be going through the nitrogen cycle, and the ammonia, nitrite, or nitrates (depending on what stage of the cycle the water is at) could be killing him...

Hope this helps! Keep us updated! Good luck!

how thick is the glass? i know some round bowls are thin enough not to distort vision too badly, but i think some with thicker walls may make it hard for him to navigate. i've also heard, as Samantha said, of parasites causing this. is he itching against the bottom of the tank too? or did the frosted container stop the ramming?

Thanks guys for all the advice and quick responses! After reading up on it more it definately was a water issue: I didn't let the water age enough and unfortunately he didn't make it through the night I'm still really new at this, and I'll be the first to admit I'm a complete novice. Chemistry never was my strong point (that's probably why I'm retaking it) but now I feel awful that my ignorance is lethal! I've read sooo many different things about how often water changes should be performed, how much, and how long the water should stand before adding it and a lot of the information I did find was contridicting. What works best for you guys?

Sorry about your fish Ashley.

Sorry about your fish, Ashley. That sucks...


People have lots of different opinions about water changes. This is what works for me...

I change 10-15% of the total water volume in my aquarium once per week. The new water that I add, I make (RODI water in a trashcan) about 24 hrs before I do the actual water change. I make the water, add salt, and let a pump mix it up, and then I do the water change. With freshwater, though, you don't have to worry about mixing in the salt. Just make sure to dechlorinate the water (remove chloramines as well).