I have had my betta fish for about 4 weeks but these past 2 weeks or so he has been acting strange. He was very active and was always swimming and eating when i first got him. But now he is usually at the bottom of his tank laying on his side or just not moving at all. Now i have noticed that he is breathing rapidly and his skin is discolored around the head gill area? Now and again he goes to water surface and gulps for air. What is wrong w/ my betta and is he going to die? And what can i do to prevent this from happening?
2007-01-04 11:30:29 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Firstly, if your betta did not gulp air from the surface, he would be dead. They are labrynith fish and need to breath surface air to live. Secondly, you don't really provide us with many details here so its very hard to tell you for sure, but here are some possibilities...
a) You haven't done any water changes or you haven't done them correctly and your fish is being poisoned.
b) You initially over fed the fish which is now so constipated he could die
c) He could have an infection which could be easily treated. I could tell you what to treat with if I knew more symptoms.
The information I would need is: How big of an aquarium is he in? Do you have a filter? Did you cycle your tank before you put him in? How long are your lights on? Are his fins curled? How often do you do water changes and how do you do them? Do you have real plants or fake? Do you have any fake ornaments in there? Does he eat or poop at all? What colour is his poop? How deep is his water? Does the skin look like it has lesions or sores?
2007-01-04 12:08:56 · answer #1 · answered by Noota Oolah 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your fish appears to be pretty sick. He swims up to gulp air b/c that is how bettas actually breath b/c they are labyrith fish (the labyrinth is sort of like a lung for fish). I do not know what he has, but I would go to a pet supply store and find a medicine to best treat what he has (probably some type of parasite or infection). Hopefully it is not too late for the little guy :( Next time to prevent something like this from happening again, make sure you change the water enough and keep the water quality optimal (like adding conditioner to remove chlorine every time you make a water change). Jungle labs makes Bowl Buddies for bettas which makes the water perfect for them. I hope this helps!
2007-01-04 19:43:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The water tempo could just be too cold for him, which is usually the case with betta keepers, since they are usually kept in small unheated bowls. The rapid breathing and discoloring is strange, if the color around his gills is like a redish color, it's just extra skin that he uses to flare up when he see's a reflection. But sorry, im not 100% sure on what he has, or might have.
2007-01-04 19:44:08 · answer #3 · answered by Flames Fan 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Could be alot of things. Look at him closely for any parasites on his skin, or if his scales are sticking up (dropsy). Treat any infections you find. Clean his tank and change his water and use room temperature DECHLORINATED water. Try feeding him a different food and rearrange his tank. If all of that doesn't work, then he is probably just getting old/dying.
By the way, I am also an Amanda W. =)
And I also love fish.
2007-01-04 19:34:52 · answer #4 · answered by Amanda 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Have you chaged the water my beta fish did that as well exactly what you said, and he is fine.
2007-01-04 19:58:23 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋