My beta fish is hanging vertical in the tank and having problems breathing?

Question

his color is starting to change to a silver color.
What happened and what can i do to help.
Thanks

Answer 1

Do you have a cat? anyway the fish has a broken back there is nothing you can do. Sorry.

Answer 2

The fish is on the verge of dying because he was not taken care of properly. Apparently you believed everyone who said they don't need heat or filters or feeding every day. Well, they do.

Any time a fish's color fades and he doesn't move around there is something seriously wrong with it. How long since you have done a partial water change? S/B doing 30-40% every week. Feed once a day. Temp should be at about 78-82 degrees... steady.

Bettas are carnivores in the wild and need a high protein (45-50%) diet. Bettas live 5-7 years in the wild, in our "care", they are lucky to make it to 2 years.

What can you do? A larger tank, regular partial water changes, good high protein food, the right temp and a filter to keep the surface of the water in motion so it doesn't develop a film on it that will keep the betta from occasionally taking a healthy clean breath from the atmosphere as they frequently do. This one may be too far gone to help. Good luck.

Sorry for the attitude, but I see so many questions in here about bettas from people who buy them and rely on idiots to tell them how to take care of them that sometimes I get a little short with people. There is so much good information on the internet that with very little effort, you can find out how to care for almost any creature on the earth. Bettas ARE easy to keep, but there are certain things you MUST do and things you shouldn't do.

Answer 3

It's the fishs' swim bladder. It could be burst, or just damaged. There are different reasons for it to become burst or damaged. It could be congenital. Diseases, a drop on the floor, too much air being forced into the water (like pouring water in the tank while the fish is in it). It could be chilling or rapid fluctuations in water temps. It could be from poor nutrition. If it's burst, there is nothing you can do. If it's damaged from any reason other than congenital, you may be able to save it. Read about the disease and treat the fish as quickly as possible.

Answer 4

When was the last time you did a water change? If you don't do partial water changes then nitrates will build up in your tank and slowly poison your fish. Every couple of weeks change about 15-20% of the water.

Answer 5

It sounds as if your fish has an infection in his labrythynth gland. It is a type of swim bladder disease. Sometimes tumors can cause this as well. Raise your tank temperature to about 80 degrees, and check your water parameters. Especially ammonia and nitrates. They both should be 0 to 0.5.
Look in your tank for foreign objects (coins, keys, paper clips).

Answer 6

Sounds like you need to change the water, and maybe put a filter and aeration system in the tank.
P.S. make sure you are not over-feeding the fish.

Answer 7

he has a bacterial infection & it is slowly paralizing him. my gold fish had it. go to your local petstore & ask for an antibiotic for a bacteria infection. it didnt work for my fish because it was to late so you need to get help asap!

Answer 8

Is he in dechlorinated water? Have you changed the water recently?

Answer 9

i had a beta fish before..it wouldnt eat ..there not very good fish..theres reallly nothing yo can do but let it die..sorry

Answer 10

im sorry that your fish is being like this but hopefully
your fish will b fine... best wishs doll