we have a male betta (fish) and he is not coming up to eat. He's hanging out at the bottom. Whats up?

Answer 1

Are you keeping him in a bowl? Or some sort of small tank / vase? This is usually the cause of bettas feeling sick, especially during this time of year when it gets colder.
It is not really true that in the wild, bettas live in tiny stagnant puddles. They live in large, shallow, warm, expanses of water. They have developed a modified 'lung' to breathe air, which has enabled them to survive in conditions of stagnant water (which does occur when it gets drier in Thailand - where they are from) and in dirty, oxygenless water in fish bowls, but they cannot thrive, and they will not live long if forced to stay like that permanently.
They also require warm water. In Thailand, their water rarely drops below 75F, and is usually a nice warm 80F. This is possible in a house; even if you keep your house at 80F, the water in the bowl will only be 70F.

For these reasons, I always suggest that bettas be kept in a small tank with filtration and heat - a 5 gallon would be perfect. Bettas kept like this rarely have health problems at young ages (bettas can live 4+ years), the way fish do when kept in bowls.

If this is not possible for you (but you could get a 5 gallon setup with heater and filter, used, for maybe 10$ or less), try moving the bowl closer to a lamp, away from a window, and near a heat vent, to keep the water warmer. Be sure to keep his water clean - I suggest using a clean turkey baster - suck out half the water and any poop or uneaten food and replace with fresh water, every day. It only takes a few minutes, and you will almost never have to completely take out the fish and clean the bowl which is time consuming and stressful.

As for the eating problem, it should cure itself when the water warms up and he is able to better metabolize. Because he was cold, he may be bloated or constipated - you can offer a few small pieces of shelled pea which will make him feel better .In the meantime, you can try offering him some freeze dried or frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp. Bettas can't resist :)

Answer 2

Too cool water will make any fish lathargic and not eat. This is the time of year a lot off betta keepers will ask "my betta has stopped eating?". Remember If these fish are kept in small bowls, the temperature will drop quickly. Also, it may just be week from the parasite and have a secondary bacterial infection. Try to raise the water temp. gradually to 82F. (I realize this is more difficult due to no heater can be added to the bowl.) you can actually try to float a clean plastic bowl with your fish in a heated aquarimum. This helps speed up metabolism and encourage eating. Since eating is a problem a shelled pea or pepso food wont work to flush him out. So epsom salt baths may help. I would suggest slowly adding epsom salts to the bowl but that may not be a good idea if you dont know your waters GH level. Epsom salt raise GH. Is the fish pooping?, Is he bloated or emaciated?

Be sure the PH is between 6.8 - 7.4 and the Temperature: 75-86 F (24-30 C)

Answer 3

I had a male Betta fish which lived a long time. Are you keeping the water clean? Are you feeding it Betta fish food. Also depends on where you may have purchased the fish, it may have been sick. They sometimes eat the food that falls to the bottom.

Answer 4

You might need to do a water change, the water may also be too cold for the fish to survive, or be active. They require warm water, 77 F, to become really active. The tank might be too small? Not sure what you have him in, but i like to keep mine in a tank larger than 5 gallons. good luck.

Answer 5

This site is really good about telling about Betta's.. and housing them, diseases, etc.. you might want to check it out.

http://www.bettatalk.com

Answer 6

change his water, rearrange his pebbles, and give him a different food. he's probably just depressed. show him some love!

Answer 7

I guess it´s sick or depressed. Ask where you bought it.