@Betta Fish

Betta Fish: Is my betta sick?


Hey! I just got my first betta 5 days ago. When I added him to the tank he swam around a lot at first and his swimming was really smooth. Now he’s starting to swim kind of twitchy. His dorsal fin is kind of folded over and the long fins underneath his body look crinkled. They were like that when I got him from petsmart but I’m worried it looks worse now. Mainly because I know my water quality isn’t stable yet.

Tank info-
Set up a week before adding betta.
10 gallons
Heated to 78 degrees.
Aqueon quiet flow filter
Black aquarium gravel.
Two suction cup leaf hammocks.
One Indian Almond leaf
Two casuarina cones
Tap water treated with API Stress Coat and Quickstart.
Had a moss ball but tossed it because I wasn’t sure if it was dying or not.
Tap water pH-6.6-6.8
Aquarium water pH-7.6-7.8 Ammonia 0.50ppm Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate 0ppm. Tested with API master test kit. I test everyday and get the same results. I used API pH down once before adding my betta and retested after 24hrs. pH levels went down to 6.8, but was back to 7.6-7.8 after 48hrs. Then I decided to add the Indian Almond leaf and casuarina cones. I did a 25% water change two days ago, hoping it would help the pH and ammonia levels. There was no change after 24hrs. If anyone has any advice or info that could help my betta, I would really appreciate any help!!