I've had my male betta Hannibal for over a year now. He's never had any problems before, but since the last time I cleand his bowl, he can't seem to swim down. He's tried to, but he can't seem to! It's gotten to the point where he just lays on the top and the only way he can get down is if I force him down with my finger or a net.
What's wrong?
2006-09-23 09:07:57 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Swimbladder is a disease which symptoms cause fish to become unable to swim correctly, your fish may exibit swimming toward the bottom of your tank or bowl, then floating back up, swimming in circles or laying or floating on his side....
There are three main things according to the posts and articles I've read that can lead to swimbladder disease.
Constipation due to overfeeding
Bad water quality
Bacteria
I recommend the following regimine, recommened to me over two years ago.
First, as soon as you notice signs of swimbladder do a 50% water change, taking care not to stress the fish by having the water temp as close to his bowl as possible, and using something as a cup so you don't have to net your fish.
After your water change you should not feed your fish any food for two days. On the third day feed your fish a fresh pea. Frozen peas thawed, popped out of the skin, and cut into bite size pieces. And then do another water change so that any uneaten peas do not contaminate your water.
If you don't use aquarium salt this is a good addition to most tanks. The recommended dose is one teaspoon per gallon, or one tablespoon per five gallons. If you have never added salt and you are unsure; you may want to first acclimate him at only 1/2 tsp per gallon.
If this seems to be a frequent problem you may consider feeding less. Your water quality could indicate more frequent water changes, or in my case I break up the food for this one particular betta. It seems easier for him to digest. All my fish seem to love the peas and it may be of great benifit to feed a pea once a week.
If you suspect that there is bacteria causing the symptoms of swimbladder perhaps antibotics may be needed.
I recommend the pea "trick" first as it will at least correct the swimbladder symptoms that bacteria or bad water quality could be causing.
A
2006-09-23 11:58:44 · answer #1 · answered by iceni 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
swim bladder problem,fairly common in aging bettas.dont feed anything but chopped,frozen pea for three days.then,feed small portions of regular food,ive lost some,but had others live a year or more after this problem.never pour water changes into bowl or tank too fast,it can hurt the swim bladder.type in "bettas",lots of sites with gr8 advice will come up.ps-only feed the betta 6 days out of every week.an empty digestive system once a week helps his swim bladder function optimally.one day off will not starve him,its healthy for bettas.ps-a healthy betta can live 3 yrs,ive had some go for more .dont give up !
2006-09-23 16:17:58 · answer #2 · answered by Lyn K 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would go with what jenn sayed. or maybe you ned to buy some of the stuff u add to the water for betas.
My friends goldfish did the same thing but he lived past that weird stage, it's almost as if they are like pulled 2 the top.
so basically i would guess what jenn sayed except she was dumb 2 ask if there were other fish because clearly the beta would go after it...
2006-09-23 16:17:05 · answer #3 · answered by Coxie Megan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I know why this is happening. The reason he does not go down there is because the water is too cold, so he stays to at the surface because heat rises and it's warmer at the top.
Or, is he in the tank with any other fish???
2006-09-23 16:10:37 · answer #4 · answered by jmt4127 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
this might be a swim bladder problem which is very serious though it might just be bloated. this happens when there is trapped gas in the fish. it just needs to umm..fart. my bichir has this about once every couple of months and my betta fish also had that and it lived through it.:)
2006-09-23 22:36:21 · answer #5 · answered by i like pizza 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
that happened to me.. fish come up to the top of the tank because they can't get air.. sorry to say that he is dying.
bettas only last 2-3 years.
2006-09-23 17:14:56 · answer #6 · answered by Mary S 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe not getting enough oxygen. Try a bubblier in the water.
2006-09-23 16:11:43 · answer #7 · answered by chief8166 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
these fish don't live very long so maybe is getting ready to go to fish heaven,i know that it is not what you want to hear but you asked the question to what could be wrong with him and this is what it could be....
2006-09-23 16:18:02 · answer #8 · answered by georgia s 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm sry but ur fish might be dieing.or maybe he got injured when u were cleaning his tank.
2006-09-24 10:09:23 · answer #9 · answered by ♥Anna♥ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He is probably sick or diseased, or his swim bladder has problems.
2006-09-23 16:10:41 · answer #10 · answered by mrairplaneman777 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋