I woke up this morning to my betta, sprinkles, not moving in the corner of his tank by his heater/filter. Normally he is very excited to see me, or I would like to think, as he always swims after me as I am walking around my room, he did not do that today. I tested his water and everything looked good, unfortunately I had to drive to college and couldn't do anything else. My mom sent me this video before she went to work and he is looking worse. I am going to go to the pet store on the way home, what should I get him that will help? I just really want him to be okay…
- Tank size: 10 Gallon
- Heater and filter? (yes/no): Yes to both
- Tank temperature: 78-ish
- How long have you had the tank? How long have you had your fish?: About a year and a half, about a two months ago I re-did his whole tank
- How often are water changes? How much do you take out per change? About every 2 weeks, or when I think it needs it, 15%-25% water changes.
- Any tankmates? If so, please list with how many of each: One mystery snail
- What do you feed and how much: Insect larva (bug bites I think?)
- Decorations and plants in the tank: Live Planted tank
https://v.redd.it/lzlvz0kycumg1
Posted by Few_Gap3976
9 Comments
Looks like a swim bladder issue to me. I’m not experienced enough to recommend treatment, but I’m commenting to boost the post in the hopes someone more experienced comes along.
Hey there!
First.. A good temperature for your beta is around 76. Higher temperature speeds up their metabolism and may be causing issues. It also decreases the oxygen levels in the water. I would recommend that being the first step. How long do you keep your light on?
Second, your tank might be trying to go through another cycle. You will need to start doing 2-3, 50% water changes each week. I recommend vacuuming the gravel and cleaning your filter only once a month.
Third, frozen food is best. Pellets usually expand in their stomach and can lead to swim bladder. That is where your guy can’t control his buoyancy and may float to the top which seems to be the issue here.. Don’t panic! Adjust your feeding schedule to every other day. I personally like to feed frozen blood worms and brine shrimp.
Don’t panic and DON’T add anything to his tank like meds. Water changes, better food, and lower temp will help.
Looks like that’s way too much flow from your filter. Long fins need a VERY slow flow.
The filter flow is WAY too strong. Do you know your water parameters? (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate) Also just to comment about the pellets, pellets are completely fine to feed your bettas you do not NEED frozen food (yes it is preferred but not a need). As long as you feed the pellets in moderation and soak them before feeding then its ok. I feed my two girls tiny pellets, they only get one or two once a day at night and I fast them over the weekend because they have other food resources in their tanks (microfauna & baby snails). Betta stomachs are roughly the same size as their eye so if you keep that in mind and fast when needed then you don’t have to worry about overfeeding.
First thing to check is always water parameters to see if anything pops up or looks out of the ordinary.
I’d be looking for signs of dropsy too (swollen body, pineconing scales).
I just lost my Betta to Dropsy so I might be seeing it everywhere now too. He had minor visible signs, but his behavior changed dramatically (resting on the bottom and only coming up for air).
The biggest, immediate issue i see is your filter pulling and agitating your fish. Bettas like to hang around their hides and the surface of the water. It looks like your filter is exactly where your fish wants to be. Long fin bettas like yours get pushed and pulled very easily by water movement.
You say you changed the tank layout. You moved the filter and features in a way your fish isn’t at peace with.
I agree with what the others wrote. The current is too strong, and in my opinion he’s struggling to swim because of it. I wouldn’t change the filter, as that could disrupt the cycle. Instead, try reducing the flow. If your filter doesn’t have an adjustable setting, you can add a pre-filter sponge to the outflow to soften the current.
Honestly from the video, I don’t see other problems.
Is there tapping on the tank?