Normally Very Active Male Betta Hanging Out At Bottom Of Tank Not Eating?

Question

yesterday evening i added a male and a female guppy. this morning i noticed that misfit, my betta, was lurking around in the plants on the bottom of the tank. when feeding time came around, all the others ate and he just sat there. ive seen him rise for air twice that i was aware of, but he didnt eat. my betta is normally a very active healthy eating fish.

when he goes to the bottom, he just lies completely still. my beautiful sweet fish seems so depressed....

he is a good fish, rarely chases tankmates, and social. this is the first time hes ever done this

not good! he seems to have damage to his mouth and he is keeping his left fin close to his body. even when he swims to the top for air he keeps it close. this is a 10g tank fyi

too late no more answers. my fish died. not even 2 days after he fell ill, his mouth seemed to waste away and his tail fin disintigrated. goodbye misfit, you were the best and sweetest fish ever. i wont keep another betta again.

Answer 1

An newly purchased fish from the store should not go into your regular tank right away. He might be harboring diseases, parasites. Instead set up a small hospital tank with a small filter and a small heater - Walmart has both for little money, and every time you purchase a new fish, into the hospital tank he goes. Now you can watch for any signs of illness and parasites.

I know, I know, it is exiting to bring home a new member of the fin family, and we all have done "it", immediately putting him into the community tank...had to fish many a body out because the new comer was sick.

Enough of lecturing - get a small tank and set it up.
Get yourself a new fish.
And keep up this routine in future so you won't infect your regular tank, okay.
Happy Fishkeeping.

Answer 2

Bettas like small little puddle-like areas to live in and come up for air every once in a while. When you added guppies he felt his territory was invaded and,while you weren't watching,he flared his front fins and tried to bully the other fish. They fought back,and possibly the betta developed a sore in the mouth which became infected. It became too hard for him to eat with a sore in his mouth. He probably won't last. Next time try to put a male betta in an already populated tank.Male guppies with fancy fins look likr another male bretta and the betta will become offensive.The guppy is faster than the betta,and can bite the delicate fins of the betta. The bettas we get in the stores have been bred in nurseries and are more delicate than those in the wild. New fish should always be kept in a separate quarantine tank before introducing it into the main tank since the new fish may be carrying some disease that can be spread to the already existing inhabitants. The new fish might be immune,while the old-timers will not be able to fend it off.

Answer 3

im very sorry about your betta. I have a beautiful white one with red flecks on its fins. he's not very social and very territorial. did all of this illness start when you added the guppies? on a couple of sites I visited they stated that its not good to put new fish into an aquarium right away, and that you should quarantine them first, because if you got them at a local fish store, they could already have an illness that could pass onto your other fish. to try and prevent this next time when buying other fish, try looking at the tanks, if there separated that's good, water is not being mixed into other tanks that an ill fish can infect. pet supermarket and some hole-in-the wall petstores do this. if they have a sick fish, they shut down the whole tank and treat the fish then sell them again. other places like wal-mart and petco have shared water. buy with risks in mind. good luck and sorry for your betta.

Answer 4

You might want to check the water temp or clean his water. My betta had been laying down in the bottom and under his little house for a week or so. I keep feeding him and he wouldnt eat. I decided to change his water and put alittle extra water safe in the tank and then like the next night he was good as new. Hes got his appite back and is swimming around and playing with the goldfish again.

Answer 5

well it is going to die if it dose not eat.make sure it is not died already.the Betta fish is very sick if not die.if there is another fish isolate the sick fish from the other. it may help a lot.get the fish a doctor immediately.it is dieing.
if the fish is a good swimmer put it in a bigger tank.the doctor will most likely give you asorop to give to your fish and blood Worms.If monitored with your attention it will have a 78% of living.
be very careful with your guppy they get a sickness that makes there stomach swell up a die quickly after that.i am a 10 year old that studying fish for 6th grade i am so PS to be in 4the but i society my dad is a vet so you can imagine i now a lot a bout animals so i hope i wasn't to late! by.my e-male is [e-mail] by!

Answer 6

sorry he didnt make it...as a betta aficionado, i feel your pain. i bet that when you added the other fish, it stressed the betta...alot of time the slime coat on a fish gets damaged by stress or injury, and introducing new fish will bring in new bacteria... the fuzzyness you described sounds like a secondary fungal infection, and the fins rotting away is bacterial fin rot...the best prophylaxis is to quarantine new fish for at least a couple days to observe them for abnormal behavior/appearance. betta fins seem particuarily susceptable to infections/fungus. maracyn is a good medication to keep around for just such an occasion

Answer 7

Betta's are used to being alone. They are also extremly picky eaters, when you added the guppy's did you change the food??? If you did it may take a few weeks for him to switch over. He may also be tired when you added the tank mates if he started blowing a lot of bubbles then he was fighting with them and may be exhausted, if this is the case remove the guppy's or you Betta will fight him self to death.

Answer 8

I had a betta and two guppies once. And the surprising thing was the two guppies, males, bullied the betta. They nipped his fins and he hid in the tank. Also, my fish got sick and died too.

Answer 9

Well, it's possible that he is cold, check the temperature of the tank. Most likely he is slightly stressed by the new tank mates and will come around and adjust in a few days. A few days without food won't hurt him a bit. Give him a few days and I bet he'll be just fine.

Answer 10

he didnt like the other fish in the tank. Betta fish like to be in a tank alone otherwise they get very terriotorial and get mad. Dont let one bad experience ruin it betta fish are great get another one it will not end the same. just keep it in its own tank read about breeding them and what other fish you can put in with it.