Hi everyone. I’m new to the hobby. I set up an 18-liter (approx. 5 gallon) planted tank with plenty of live plants to give a Betta a good home. I cycled the tank and once ammonia and nitrite hit zero, I got a female Betta (about 5 days ago). At the store, she was in a 15L tank with 8 other females and seemed overstimulated.
When I brought her home, she was very energetic, swimming everywhere. We had 6 Physa snails and she ate them all in 10 minutes. For the first two days, she was eating pellets normally. I kept the lights on from 7 AM to 6 PM. At one point, she even seemed to be making a bubble nest.
However, three days ago she started 'flaring' a lot at her own reflection. I turned the lights off to reduce stress. Since yesterday, her behavior changed: she’s staying still most of the time and breathing heavily/fast.
Parameters:
Ammonia/Nitrite: 0
pH: 7.2
Temperature: 26-27°C (79-81°F)
What I’ve done so far:
-Performed a 20% water change yesterday (just to be safe).
-Added an air stone today to increase oxygenation
– Kept the lights off.
She is still lethargic and ignoring food. She barely swims away even if I put my hand near her. Is she just stressed from the reflection/lights, or could it be something else like a parasitic infection or some kind of accommodation syndrome or shock from the store? Any advice is welcome!
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1s61nz0
Posted by Agitated_Main7536
6 Comments
How much flow is in the tank? It doesn’t look like a lot and you might not have enough oxygen in the water
I’ve had my betta in a 20gallon tank for 2 months now so I’m newer to this also. But I don’t see any resting spots near the top of the water. Does she rest in those plants? I got quite a few options for mine to rest at the top including a suction cup leaf. He loves to lounge
here is a new pic of her, a little closer.
https://preview.redd.it/0ka3kn6fxsrg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abe4eb428784e7c83e0a7f61ad76b28834094e14
Get a bubbler
Can you get a more clear top down photo? Either way, she looks either heavily bloated or egg bound (I don’t know much about females as I’ve only kept males). Could be dropsy if scales are raising, but I can’t see from that photo. Fast for a bit and see if that helps.
Also do you have a nitrate reading? Could be that too.
How long did you cycle, if I may ask?
Honestly, she could just have come to you sick. I had a beautiful boy who had been sold with cancer. It isn’t always anything you do specifically or can do to help.
I wouldn’t know much else or about health care but it’s food for thought. Boosting for visibility as well 🙂