Is my betta fish sick??

Question

My betta fish hasn't looked very bright and healthy latley... I got him on August 7, 2006. He was a very alert and happy betta when I got him, but now he looks very depressed. He has been hanging at the VERY BOTTOM of his fish bowl (a big 3 gallon) or at the very top (meaning i can actually see the top/back of him sticking out at the top) and would occasionally (about every minute) he would ZOOM to the top veryyy quickly for air and quickly regain at his still positon. At first I thought he was either sleeping or dead, because I literally had to stick my turkey baster inside the fish bowl and try to see if he was still alive. I even touched him with my own finger and he didn't move! He did move eventually... but I mean... is this normal??? I try to feed him, but it's really heard because he never eats anything unless it's right in front of his mouth. When he's at the bottom I have sinking his food for him to eat it. PLEASE HELP!!

I have also caught him flapping his lower gill quickly in and out and his mouth opening and closing while he was at the very bottom of the fish bowl.... does this mean he's gasping for air or something?? If he was then wouldn't he be at the top with his mouth sticking out gasping for air...??

He's been acting this way for quite a while now!! For almost 3 weeks!! maybe a month...

Answer 1

if there are no other symptoms such as his tail or fins are getting shorter or he has spots on him then I'd say he's depressed. this could be caused by a few things. you betta may be bored. do you have and decorations or plants in his tank? these things give him something to hide in and swim around. if not try getting him a plant, most pet stores have cheap ones for a $1. alsot try putting a mirror in front of him for 10-15 mins a day, it's actually healthy for bettas to flare and it keeps them from getting bored. getting another betta and putting him in a neighboring tank would do the same thing. if you have a filter in your tank you could get him a friend such as a mystery snail. they're easy to take care of and bettas seem to find them fascinating. the water also could be to cold for him, get a thermometer and make sure the temp is around 70 and no lower that 68. if it's 68 he'll be fine for a while, but sluggish, around 65 is when their health starts to suffer. if the temp is too low buy a heater for him (a small one since your tank is 3 gallons) or put him somewhere warmer like by a heater. you also might want to try giving him different foods, freeze dried blood worms are a good thing to feed him once in a while.

however if you notice anything changed about his appearance check this site http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm and match up the symptoms with what he has, then follow hte directions on how to treat him.

hope that helps!

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Is my betta fish sick??
My betta fish hasn't looked very bright and healthy latley... I got him on August 7, 2006. He was a very alert and happy betta when I got him, but now he looks very depressed. He has been hanging at the VERY BOTTOM of his fish bowl (a big 3 gallon) or at the very top (meaning i can actually see...

Answer 3

i'll take a wild guess... since it's getting colder, your fish seems depressed. He's a tropical fish, try to keep the water temp from 75° - 82° F.... If your room temp isn't always a constant temp in that range, put him in a 5 -10 gallon tank with a heater and a simple undergravel filter or just bubble from an air stone.

he should be active again in a month.

ps. he's just yawning when he opens his mouth.

Answer 4

Lots of good answers. :)
Here's a betta caresheet that may help.
http://thegab.org/Articles/BettaBasics.html

Answer 5

i dont know a whole lot about fish but theres this disease called ick..it will make ur fish turn white in dif places and he will eventually die =( . i wonder if u put him in the sun if that would help? i always feel so sorry for the betta fish @ walmart =(

Answer 6

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you probably don't do regular (weekly) partial (25-30%) water changes like you are supposed to and instead you completely tear down and clean out the entire bowl about once a month.

The symptoms you describe are usually because of poor water quality and improper temperature. The longer you go between partial water changes the more ammonia, nitrites and nitrates build up due to the decay of fish waste and uneaten food. The ammonia will actually burn a fish's gills and results in slowly suffocating them. A filter will help particulate debris, but does not remove these toxins. Filters should be changed or cleaned once every 4-6 weeks.

A betta is a TROPICAL fish from southeast Asia and needs temps in the range of 76-82 degrees. Lower temps will compromise his immune system and lead to opportunistic bacterial and parasitic infections that will drastically shorten his lifespan. In the wild, bettas live for up to 5-6 years. When we bring them into our homes and "take care" of them, they usually don't last 2 years.

They like calm, warm, filtered, fresh water and some floating plants to hide under.

Answer 7

Fish have an air bladder that they use to help them float or sink. Many infections can cause problems with their air bladder and I don't know of any cures. I believe some get better on their own but unfourtunately some don't.

Here's some info
http://www.netpets.org/fish/reference/freshref/swimbldr.html

Answer 8

Hm, at first the symptoms you said it sounded like he wasn't getting enough air, but now i dont know, he is probably sick, get some water treater. Check the water temp, if it is close to heaters, windows, registers or anything that may be quickly altering the water temperature, move it away for this may be affecting the fish's health.

Answer 9

he may be lonely buy some more fish or he may being dying or if there is a light in his tank take it off some fish do not like light

Answer 10

You need to change his water. Do not use tap water unless you condition it first to remove the chlorine. If you do not know how to do this, go to your local pet store and ask for the stuff to do it, you just add a few drops to the tap water before putting the fish in it.
I would use distilled water from WalMart, it's OK for the fish and reasonably cheap.