Is my Siamese Fighting Fish sick?

Question

I've had my Siamese Fighter for nearly a week, and for the first few days he was fine and pretty active (was feeding him on dry flakes). Over the weekend I've fed him on frozen bloodworms and frozen brine shrimp (he's also had a tiny amount of crushed peas. He loved the peas and the worms (not the shrimp though). Now though - he's hiding all the time at the bottom/rear of the tank - what have I done wrong - what's happening to him. Please help, as I'm a total novice @ this. Thanks guys.

Answer 1

Are you changing his water? Not sure on your tank size, but if it's anything smaller then a 5 gallon tank, you should be changing it every few days.

How often are you feeding him? I usually recommend only feeding fish once a day, what they'll eat in a few minutes. Even skipping a day during the week is good too.

And, what's his water temperature? Bettas like the temperature to be around 78-80 F. Which should be fine this time of year.

Here's a pretty good betta site:
http://www.healthybetta.com/

Try doing a search also, there's a bunch out there with lots of good info on them, that's the only one I had handy. Good luck!

Answer 2

First off, where are you keeping him? They'll tell you that bettas are OK in unheated bowls, but they really need their water at about 78-80 degrees, and there are no reliable heaters for small tanks and bowls. You should have him in at least a 5 gallon tank with a filter and heater.

Second, have you been cleaning his water? If you're keeping him in a smaller bowl, you should definitely be changing at least 1/4 of the water every other day or so.

Finally, are you overfeeding? Bettas' stomachs are about the size of their eyes. You should never feed him more than a bite or two of food in a meal, and I learned not to feed mine every day. Fish don't get fat - food that they don't need passes through and fouls the water.

You're wise to feed your fish peas, especially if he's eating rich food like frozen shrimp. My guess is that he just got too much food. Give him a couple days and see if he improves. Meanwhile, if you don't have a real tank, start making plans to get one ASAP. He'll thank you for it!

Here's a site that can help you learn what you need to keep your new pet healthy and happy.

Oh yeah, just in case you're TOTALLY new at this, be sure to dechlorinate the new water when you do a water change, and try to match the temperature of the water he's in. Even a couple degrees' temp difference can shock a little fish.

Answer 3

well, that seems like a lot of food, and betta fish (siamese fighting fish) dont know when to stop eating, they will eat themselves to death, where their stomach explodes. He is probably constipated, does he have a lump on his stomach, just give him a crushed pea, then dont feed him for a week (they can survive for months without food so dont worry bout starving him), he should be fine

Answer 4

Tell us the details of the tank and everything, and we could probably help a bit more

Answer 5

What size tank do you have him in? Is it heated and filtered? Have you changed his water since you got him?

Answer 6

Whoa! All the "frozen" foods gave the fish a
((((brain freeze))) Kapeesh! Plus probably chilled the watta!
I gotta prize Fighting Fish that will kick your fishes tail (no pun intended, alright?)!
I will host a PRIZE FIGHT hear @ Vegas Baby!! 10 to 1 my fish wins!

Answer 7

If you give fish a place to hide, they will. :) Hes probaly totally healthy. They also dont like alot of light though, so if you have him near a window he may be trying to get out of the light.

Answer 8

nothing is wrong. he just is getting afraid when you get toclose to him. it happends with most fish. Try hiding when it comes back up to eat the food, then he wont be so afraid. Good-Luck:]

Answer 9

he fine sounds spoiled rotten lol