What's wrong with my betta?

Question

My betta has been acting funny lately. He hangs out at the bottom of the tank most of the time and almost looks dead but he still swims around like normal every once in a while. I haven't fed him for the past 2 days because I thought his problem could be due to over feeding. Sometimes he runs into the things in his tank and sort of rubs up against it. He has no signs of fin rot and his scales look fine. Why is he acting this way?

Answer 1

Rubbing against things in the tank (called flashing) is usually the sign of a parasite. Ich is easy to identify (white spots about the size of salt grains), but yours may be suffering from a condition called velvet which is harder to notice. Velvet looks more like a fine white powder, and is sometimes easiest to see on the fins. If you shine a bright light on the fish, the powder changes color from gray-white to gold/rust.

Here are some photos of velvet: http://www.flippersandfins.net/Images/VelvetEarly.jpg
http://www.vidadecao.com.br/peixe/img/odinium.jpg

To treat this, raise the temperature of the water (slowly, over a period of a few hours) to 86o and use a medication that contains both malachite green and formalin. It's also important to keep the lights OFF during treatment, because the parasite that causes velvet can make its own food using photosynthesis. This is more difficult to treat than ich, and I've had cases that took 3-4 weeks to eliminate. Don't stop treating too early!

ADDITION: I'm usually an advocate of salt treatments, but this is one parasite where I wouldn't rely on the salt alone. My last round of this with a betta took both salt and medication combined, and still took 4 weeks to eliminate.


ADDITION 2: Bettas have a life span of about 5 years when cared for correctly - meaning a tank of over a gallon, heater, and filter. The record for a betta is over 9 years.

Answer 2

He is most likely sick with something but the question is what? I would add some regular table salt. Here is some good info on dealing with it...

Table Salt

Table salt is a natural way to help cure your Betta of both fungus
and ich - two common diseases. Of course, you can buy commercial
products to cure these diseases too. Just be sure of the following:

1. You're positive that you know what disease your fish has.
2. You give your fish the correct dosage (follow the directions
carefully).

To much commercial medication (or worse yet, the WRONG medication)
can severely harm your fish. For these reasons, if I'm sure that
my fish has either ich or fungus, I'll always start with a salt
bath. If this doesn't work, then you'll need to purchase
medications from your pet store (more detail on Betta diseases and
medications is available at www.bettafishcenter.com/Betta-Bible.shtml)

Salt Bath Procedure

First of all, place your Betta in a quarantine tank that contains
water from your main tank. Now, add about 1 tsp. of salt per 1
gallon of water in your quarantine tank. For the first 4 days,
continue to add a tsp. of 1 tsp. of salt twice a day. If he's not
cured, continue to add 1 tsp. of salt for a maximum of 4 more days.

Answer 3

What's the temperature of the water? Bettas need water at LEAST 75* F to stay healthy, although 80* F is best. How often do you change the water? Bad water conditions can easily stress out your fish. How big is your tank? Bettas need at least 2.5 gallons. And yes, overfeeding can be a problem. I only feed my bettas 5 pellets per day, occasionally supplementing them with blood worms and brine shrimp. If you notice any uneaten food on the bottom of the tank, be sure to scoop it out.

Here's what I think you should do: Do at least a 50% water change, and raise the temperature of his tank to at least 80* F. When you add the new water, be sure it's about the same temp as his old water, and that you've conditioned it first. Make sure his tank is at least 2.5 gallons. Add a small pinch of aquarium salt, and monitor him for a few days. If he still doesn't look better, look at his scales closely for any signs of ich or velvet. And remember not to overfeed!

Hope your fish gets better. :)

Answer 4

how old is he?Bettas have only about a2yr life span once bought,due to;by the time they are of saleable size they are about1yr old already(slow to grow)So when we get them home we get them4a short while.It does sound like he's done.Add a little aquarium salt to his tankk+water change(see if he cheers up+give him some worms.IF he's alone get him a mate(lonliness+inactivness=end.If not put a mirror in front of him2get him moving.Watch&wait,i hope he comes good.
Future try to look for younger guy(7mnths or so)Then he can grow with you for a couple yrs.