my female beta fish?

Question

My female beta fish is having a very hard time swimming. She still is eating but with a struggle to swim to the food, it has to hit the bottom and takes her a while. She looks healthy and her color is great but she just can't swim. Can't swim to the top of the 1 gallon tank. Is this causing any pain to her? Any help with this would be appreciated.

Answer 1

for swim bladder try feeding chopped up cooked green peas or frozen daphnea. frozen daphnea is easier to get them to eat. feeding them regular food could make it worse. if they are well fed they usually can go with food a day or two and a fast could be all the treatment they need

you can try epsom salt baths -- just good epsom salt and betta and you will get all the info you need.

if she starts looking worse go with antibiotics.

Answer 2

Without knowing more specifics about the conditions your betta is in, I can't give you a definitive answer, but I can give you some tips. And if you would like to e-mail me with some more info, I would love to help you further.

In the meantime, my first concern would be water quality. 1 gallon is really the minimium amount of water you should keep a betta in. How often do you change the water? And do you check the water for amonia, nitrites, and nitrates? This really isn't too important in a small tank, especialy if you are not using a filter, which I do not reccomend with a tank this small. But you should be doing a partial water change every other day (around 30-50%) and a 100% water change at least once a week.

The water temp can also be a concern. Do you have an accurate aquarium thermometer? Ideally the water temp should be 70-75 degrees f. The tank should also be kept in an area that keeps its temp. failry well, since small amounts of water can heat up, and cool off very quickly.

Both water quality and temperture can effect the health of bettas. I would guess though that if she is having trouble swimming to the top she could be bloated. What kind of food do you feed her? How often do you feed her? And do you vary her diet? Bettas, like humans do need a bit of variety. They also have a tendancy to overeat. So what I would do is hold off on the food for a day or two, then try feeding her a frozen pea. She could be bloated. When giving her peas, look for the ones with no additives, no butter no salt, nothing. If it doesn't have ingrediants listed, get a different brand.

Try filling the tank a little over half full, then don't feed her for 2 or 3 days. After that, give her 1 pea a day for a few days. She may not take to it right away, but once she gets hungry she will. Don't leave it in the tank too long though, since it will start to rot, and effect the water quality. Also do a 100% water change every day during this time. Also like I mentioned before, make sure she is in an area with a constant temp.

If she starts to perk up, then I would fill the tank completly, and even consider getting a larger tank. A larger tank will collect waste (ie. amonia) slower, and make it easier on you for water changes. If this doesn't help, or you have more questions, please feel free to e-mail me. [e-mail]


Oh, and one more thing, did you get this betta from a fish store? And if so how long have you had it? Bettas sold in fish stores are often fairly old, and only live about a year. If you've had her a while, it could be old age. But like I said before I would need to know more info before I can give you any definitive answers.


Good luck

Answer 3

The most common cause of swimming problems is a swim bladder infection or disfunction. I would try a antibiotic treatment to see if you can clear it up.

1. Make a big water change (50-60%)
2. Remove the carbon from your filter.
3. Treat the tank with a broad spectrum antibiotic as per the directions on the package.
4. Change water every day during the treatment. This tretment will kill the benificial bacteria in your tank and ammonia will build up fast.
5. Keep changing the water (25% or more) daily until you have no ammonia in the tank.

Yep, you need to get an ammonia test kit when you pick up the medicine if you don't already have one.

Best of luck clearing up the problem

Answer 4

my female does this as well i have tried everything.... (she is also Big her body is like 1 and a half the size of my males) so bought a small trasport habiat for small lizards and she cam swim to the top in that its like she had to get a run to get to the top i also got her a rock with a plant and she lays on it....she is very friendly so when i go to feed her i try toplace the food right by where she is at the top....so she don't have to fight to get there...also i have had this betta 2 yrs now and thought she was going to take the big flush for 1 and a half.... still waiting... and she don't seem to be in pain color is fine and she will flare when put beside the males.

Answer 5

No, beta fish do not shed dermis..adult males are bigger and are very colourful, they have have been given bigger fins and tails..in addition they are very aggressive and swap out to be brighter while they think approximately threatened..they are able to explode their faces so they appear like little balloons whilst they're on the attack..women are small, are obtainable in colorations despite if are very basic gazing..they don't desire the plumage that adult adult males have and tails are immediately and small..if your beta is dropping it in all threat tail rot or a ailment prevalent as ick..the two illnesses will consume away on the gills and make the mouth look like it incredibly is rotting..Ick will make the finss look to sluff off and that they are going to get little tiny white dots everywhere the physique..maximum shops grant remedies for each..

Answer 6

if you use 1 tablespoon for aquarium salt per gallon that can help with dehydration consitpation and verious deseases. Thank will help with about everything !!