Betta Fish Has A New Problem! Help?

Question

So recently, he just had the problem of just laying down at the bottom, & he wouldn't eat much.
Somehow, he got out of that funk, and started swimming a LITTLE bit. But now, instead of hanging out at the bottom, he hangs out at the top, and does nothing, except the occasional swim. He still doesn't eat much. Ignores the flakes, eats a little bit of these white things that are in with the flakes. I know betta's don't usually like flakes, but he used to eat them fine, and my mom thinks i'm being silly about this. I have no way to get to the fish store for a while.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

You are indicating that the inactivity is recent and different behavior, so it is NOT normal behavior for your betta.

Always make sure your water quality is pristine when your fish acts unusual.

Since you don't mention any discolorations, speckles, filminess or bloating, this sounds to me like Swim Bladder Disorder.
If you fish had trouble swimming up when he was laying at the bottom, and now has trouble swimming DOWN and seems to float at the top, this is indeed SBD.

SBD is usually caused by overfeeding (something gets stuck in his craw, and it presses on the swim bladder, which causes sinking or floating and difficulty swimming), tho it can, very rarely, be caused by a bacterial infection.

The treatment for SBD is fasting. Do not feed the fish for 7 days. Don't worry, it takes a freshwater fish about 3 months to die of starvation, so you won't be hurting him.
On the 7th day, if he is acting normal again, you can begin feeding him again, but reduce the level from what you gave him before.
If he is not acting normally at 7 days, thaw and shell a frozen pea, break it up and feed it to him. This will clean out his gullet. If he accepts it, watch him for a change back to normal behavior over the next day or so. You can feed him a pea every other day until he starts to act like his old self again.
If he does not accept the pea, keep trying every day until he does.
If you get to day 14 without him accepting a pea, you can try freeze dried Daphnia, but the pea should be the first try because it does a better job and because, since he's a carnivore, he won't be tempted to eat it unless he's really feeling good enough to take food. Daphnia he might eat even if he isn't hungry, so it could exascerbate the problem.

I would get away from feeding him flakes. It is not food that is designed for bettas. He's a carnivore, and flakes are for herbivores and omnivores. Also, adding variety to his diet is a good idea. occassional treats of daphnia, brine shrimp, and blood worms will delight him! Freeze-dried, dry, frozen is all fine, but if you REALLY want to treat him, get him some live of any of the above!

But these ARE treats, and should notbe his staple diet.

Lastly, always make sure his food is not more than 6 months old. Fish food becomes vitamin depleted over time.

EDIT- If he is more than 2.5 years old, it COULD be old age as another poster suggested, but I would treat for SBD just to be sure. Some bettas can live to be 5 years old. The average is 3.

Answer 2

I have had male bettas for over 20 yrs. All my bettas would eat nothing BUT flakes lol...couldn't beg them to eat a pellet (and I tried!!!) But I don't think flake or pellet has anything to do with this.

IF the fish is just "hanging out" and not real active, thats fine. It's normal, bettas don't just swim in circles back/forth in the tank the way other fish do.

However, if you noticed a sudden lack of energy, as others have said it could be the water quality. However, if you notice that his tail fins are "clamped' then he's sick. I went thru this with a betta who didn't eat for weeks & laid on his side for days at the bottom. Eventually I nursed him back to health, but in a short time after that he did it again, and soon died.

Bettas only live to be around a few years old....and their already well into their lifespan by the time you buy them at the store. So if you've had him for a few years or so...he may simply be showing his age.

Answer 3

When was the last time you did a water change? Usually water changes can perk up your Betta Fish, also the 'white things' in the flakes are freeze dried brine shrimp, which Betta Fish adore! Maybe you should try feeding him frozen blood worms or something like that. But I would try the water change first and see what happens though.

Answer 4

I've had the exact same problem. First of all, this is usually caused by keeping him in a bowl. You HAVE to keep a betta in a heated and filtered area if you want him to swim and be happy and be hungry and eat =P.

Here... read this article. I like it because it's funny and gets you to understand WHY betta fish should be treated properly and HOW to do it:

http://www.fish-care.net/bettafishcare.shtml

Answer 5

He's fine, but what size tank do you have him in? He may have ate flakes in the past, but ideally, you want to give him floating pellets and sometimes so live foods like bloodworms or brine shrimp to mix it up. Betta's can go a couple weeks without food, so don't stress the eating part.

JV

Answer 6

First, it's normal for a betta to not be very active, so that's not always a sign of a problem.

Inactivity, low appetite... those add up to low temperature or poor water quality in most cases. Assuming your water is clean, check the temperature of the water and besure it's somewhere between 75-85 F and you'll probably see much more activity.

MM

Answer 7

Bettas do not usually like flakes. I feed mine frozen foods like plankton and they love it. Bettas do not have to move around all of the time like other fish do. They have organ that allows them to breath atmospheric oxygen.

Answer 8

He's probably old and dying, so let him die in peace, my beta is doind the same thing. Now if a guppy becomes not super active, you have a problem, but with betas, it's normal.

Answer 9

He's probably very bored with his life... and Betta fish usually prefer pellets... In fact, most fish do.

Answer 10

they prefer pellets, so try feeding it those. change the water with bottled water, and dont add any chemicals. add a few crystals of sugar to help its stomach.