My betta fish continuosly sleeps and has lack of activity?

Question

My betta fish "sleeps" by laying on the shells in the tank for a whole day. He shows little activity and looks dead until you tap on the tank or start feeding (then he leaps). I am worried that maybe something is wrong due to his lack of activity. Are their any toys for betta fish to keep them occupied?

I'm worried that he's sick.

He's not that old. The first week he was fine but the second week he lost all intrest in everything. I'm not overfeeding him. To change his water I first put the water in a big gallon bottle so that the next day it would be warmer and then treat it with special chemicals and then change it. Am I doing anything wrong?

Answer 1

Geesh, you ask a serious question and get that kind of responses. Wow.... anyway....Honestly it sounds like he's either old or cold and I would bet on cold. Make sure the tank is warm enough for him (75 F - 85F is a good range) Also, if those are real shells, you will want to remove them fom his tank. They will harden the water and raise the pH, neither of which your betta will like at all.

Healthy bettas are plenty active under normal conditions and don't just live in little ponds... totally uninformed.

Answer 2

Betta fishes are tropical fishes and so they will need to be in a warm environment. Unless you have a big tank (with a heater) for it, you will most likely need to move it into an occupied room with room temperature. The recommended tank size for a betta fish is around 5 gallon. The thing about betta fish is that they are accustomed to shades and so if you have a large tank and has no decorations, no shades, it will get scared. They love swimming around ornaments.

Answer 3

Sounds to me like your Betta is fine. As long as it eats, it's most likely fine. Bettas don't tend to be very active and each individual fish has an individual and unique behavior. If there is a problem, then some water conditioner especially made for bettas can help you. Good luck with your betta.

Answer 4

he needs a 3 to 5 gallon tank with a heater to keep the temp at a constant 80 degrees F and a filter to keep the water clean. If you do not have this set up, you need to be doing daily water changes until you can get everything set up. You also need to cycle the tank (google nitrogen cycle). good luck

Answer 5

When they get old or you don't change the water enough for good health they will do this. If he appears to be getting smaller and not eating he will likely die in a week or so. They only live about 3 years, so don't get too attached. When it happens to mine I just wash the bowl and go get a prettier one.

Answer 6

plants and decorations they can swim around usually keep them occupied. get big leafed silk plants from the petshop.

if he is in a small container try a bigger one. mine in 2 1/2 gallons are usually cruising around and not hanging on the bottom.

it might be a little cold too. try putting him under a lamp if you don't have a heater. sticking them up on top of kitchen cabinets and tall bookcases at night helps too. warm air rises and even though it might be cool at your height it is usually pretty toasty up close to the ceiling.

Answer 7

thats what bettas do. They are not very active fish. Do you check you water quality and those types of things. He may be stressed if he doesn't do anything.

Answer 8

have you try to feed him with bloodworms they are good for them and they make your fish happy.. I use them and my betta is very happy and have alot of activity

Answer 9

Not to scare you or anything but that's how mine started behaving before he died. I hope your's is just bored or cold. Good luck!

Answer 10

That's not normal for a fish.