I am nervous to post here as I have seen beginners get ripped to shreds sometimes lol, but I am out of ideas.
I got this betta fish about 10 days ago. I did a lot of research, planted up and cycled the tank for over a month before I got him and tested the cycle and it was all great. for the first week, the fish seemed very happy – very calm and confident, exploring the whole tank, behaving very normally, making bubble nests, etc.
then on friday (so 3 days ago) I did a water change and suctioned the debris off the driftwood etc – I ended up taking out more water than intended, maybe close to 30%, but thought nothing of it. I added a little plant fertiliser and stress-zyme to the water, the same additives that were in the water last week when I got him.
however, after the water change, his behaviour totally changed; he has been frantically glass surfing as shown in the video ever since, day and night, regardless of light levels or if he can see me. at first I assumed the new water must have been a bit much for him (although I did temperature match the water, maybe the ph was different?) and just left him to acclimatise, but obviously it's been several days now with no change. I just did another 25% water change today, thinking maybe some kind of toxin found it's way in somehow, but no change. he is still eating as normal and shows no visible signs of poor health as far as my beginners eye can tell.
test kit is showing 0 everything, same ph as usual (7.5), everything is exactly the same as it was previously when he was happy so I don't know why the fish is suddenly so stressed or what to try next?
https://v.redd.it/80b9nwfghzrg1
Posted by elisekc16
9 Comments
Hi. Beautiful betta! Did you add a de-chlorinator, by chance?
Maybe he’s getting used to his new home even after initially not appearing frantic?
Doesn’t really look too stressed to me. They often do this in new tanks or even when they’re bored/curious. It’s not always stress. When it is, they usually do it a bit quicker and are less likely to take those slight pauses that he’s doing in the vid.
He looks healthy and beautiful to me!
I think he was getting used to his awesome new home and is now fully settled in and his happiness is taking over. ☺️
Your tank is beautiful! I would recommend adding tall, broad leaf plants like Amazons and Vals but there’s quite a few different kinds out there. Bettas who have gigantic tail fins like that get weighed down and it can be exhausting for them. Sadly we did this to them because we found it beautiful but it comes as a cost. With those tall plants though, they can rest at the surface and use their labyrinth organ since they can both breathe air and exchange oxygen over their gills in the water. This is part of what they do in the wild shallow rice patties in Asia so by allowing them to do both in the aquarium makes it an ideal home that is similar to their native habitats. A plastic plant hammock can work but I like my betta having more spots than the one across the tank and I’d worry that the pointed portion of the plastic leaf hammock would tear just about any bettas fins except maybe a plakat. A floating betta log is great too. I see bettas as the cats of the fish world and they too need lots of places up high to rest. lol Best of luck! 😊
He doesn’t seem stressed to me 🙂
Genuine question: why opt to add stress-zyme? That’s not something I hear as common practice so I’m curious!
You. He just want to fight you. Thats why they’re called fighter fish. Jk. My male plakat does glass surfing a lot when I’m around.
He’s not stressed at all. He’s patrolling and mapping the tank. You’ll notice he probably finds or has already found a sort of home base that he’ll go back to. Rinse repeat. Don’t worry he looks absolutely fine and beautiful
I wouldn’t stress too bad!! He’s probably just exploring his new home!! My guy tends to be more active for a couple hours after a water change. Your tank looks amazing! Just keep an eye on him 🙂 also my fish tends to be very territorial of his home and swims around like crazy if I go close to his tank LOL you could just have a sassy betta saying hey this is my home back off lmao