Beta Question!

Hi Everyone!

To anyone who's ever had a Beta: my fish (his name is Aries!) has been sitting at the bottom of his tank for the past two days, coming up only to eat occasionally. I clean the tank every week and change water frequently (it is a small Beta tank), but he doesn't seem to be getting any happier . Any ways to make him better?

Thanks!

Hi Janine! Welcome to the forum!!

Sorry to hear about Aries... I really don't know what would be wrong with him. Are you using the same food? Same water for the water change? Using de-chlorinator on the new water? Does the water in his tank look normal (any algae, discoloration, slime, etc.)?

You can add garlic to his food, and that may help. Fish are attracted to garlic, and it opens their appetite up. You can either mix his food with fresh garlic or you can find bottles of liquid garlic at just about any pet shop. I used to soak my mandarin's food in garlic so that he would eat...

Hey Janine glad to have you on here! I would suggest looking for a small filtered tank, that way you could get some flow. I'm relatively sure you can get a small tank with a filter and light that's under 3 gallons relatively cheap. Good luck though, hope he perks up!

How does the fish's fins look? if he's still eating, everything should be ok. Is he simply resting on the bottom or is he side ways on the bottom? Betas are normally not very active.

How much water is taken out while doing water changes and how frequently? beta's are one of the easiest fish to take care of. You could get a filtration system but it isnt neccesary as beta fish are able to to breath air .

when you do water changes, 10-15% is plenty and doing it every month or so, is enough. Changing the water too much will put added stress on the fish, as well as the possibility of temperature shock if you are changing out 25%+

How is Aries doing??

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't been on in so long...I couldn't get my login to work!

Aries is happy once again . Once I started seeing the signs, I moved him back into the little cup we had gotten him in along with dechlorinator for the water and an ammonia remover. After that, I completely cleaned the tank and put in the two chemicals and let it sit for a day. Then, I moved him back in. We did water changes around 15% every other day and slowly, his color began to return (minus still a small bit of redness around the gills) and he actually will move around and eat (a lot). Thank you all for your advice He's a happy little camper now.

Glad to hear it, Janine! And, glad to have you back on the forum!!

Glad to hear everything worked out with Aries!

I know this is an old discussion, but some bettas are prone to betta "depression." This can last for days or even weeks. The behavior is that of someone who is depressed.. listlessness, loss of appetite, little interest in their environment, etc. I have a betta who is prone to "depression" fairly often.. in fact it lasts for weeks. This has been going on for years! Meanwhile my other bettas, both present and past, have never (save for one female) had this issue.

I know a lot of people who alleviate the issue by offering a small mirror next to the tank for a few minutes. This is argued as causing stress to the betta by some, but the idea is to pique his natural fighting instinct and get him up and moving. I personally don't do this to my fish, but mine are also lazy Some also switch out small decorative items.. my guys never know when there will be a floating ring, shiny rocks, or other strange aquarium decor around.

The female betta in question did poorly in a large aquarium (not assertive enough to get food in the presence of other fish), but became much more active and enthusiastic when I dumped her in an aquarium with some dwarf frogs I had at the time. She was never aggressive (that is key!), but she spent a lot of time swimming next to them as they paddled around the tank. A bonus plus for us.. she hated frog food No mooching

Anyway, things to consider! I hope your betta is still going strong. They are highly entertaining and, while I know common, still one of my favorites to keep.

I didn't know bettas got depressed. Learn something new everyday! When I kept a betta, I used to switch out his decorations for my benefit. Perhaps I was helping him avoid depression without even knowing it!

Another thing to watch out for with bettas is water temperature. Bettas are tropical fish, and ideally temps should be around 75-80ish degrees all the time. Of course, with it being summer right now and house temps down to alaska temperatures this can be difficult lol. most pet stores sell small in-tank heaters that work wonders for a chilly betta :]