# Sinking Betta Fish... D:



## Kitfox (Aug 3, 2009)

Okay... My betta fish is over 4 years old. 

He sinks to the bottom of the tank and just sits there... He struggles to swim to the surface for air and food. 
Now, this seems to be a swim bladder disorder right? I heard the solution is to starve him for about 3 days. But.. it's been about a week, and no change. He's getting horribly skinny too...

He's had this before but recovered from it just fine.. This betta has even recovered from dropsy, 2 years ago. (I realize he might be getting old...)
I heard maybe feeding him peas or changing his diet could help? 

Specs: He's in a 2 gallon tank of spring water, which receives some sunlight during the day. I put a drop of Hikari Betta Revive in the water (something that prevents and controls diseases) but it's done nothing. I feed him Top Fin and Hikari Betta Bits.

What can i do to help him? =(


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Maybe you could try and feed him some Daphnia? 

I'm sorry about your betta. 

Peas can do some damage to their digestive system, because they are carnivorous.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Oh, and keep his tank nice and warm, and lower the water level so he can get to the air easier.


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## Kitfox (Aug 3, 2009)

Daphnia are water fleas right? Ok, i'll see if my local pet stores have that.. How often/how much should i feed him? Thank you.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and there's a skull decoration in his tank , he loves to sit on it where he is actually right below the surface, so it's easy for him to get air just by lifting his head a bit. I guess i'll leave the water level where it is.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I agree with doggyhog. Daphnia is more natural for them than peas.


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

He may also just be getting old and it might be his time. His age may be affecting how well he's fighting off whatever he's got.


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## Kitfox (Aug 3, 2009)

Update!

None of my local stores carried Daphnia, or knew of a good substitute, unfortunately. 

They game me blackworms instead, and Akumu has been eating them! A change of diet might help him? At least he's eating now. 

His eyes are caved in- he's so damn skinny =( I really want him to just regain his weight, and deal with the swim bladder issue later. Starving him wasn't helping to cure it..


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## rb500 (Jul 12, 2009)

well swim bladder is caused by overfeeding so if fasting hasn't worked to the point that he i skinny then that wasn't it. he may just be getting very weak from age


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## ifish (Apr 30, 2009)

are you using water condtinoer


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## Kitfox (Aug 3, 2009)

Yea i think he's just gettting old from age..

I don't use water conditioner, i use just spring water.


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

Kitfox said:


> Yea i think he's just gettting old from age..
> 
> I don't use water conditioner, i use just spring water.


Agree about old age.


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## ifish (Apr 30, 2009)

you need water condtioner or hell die


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## Kitfox (Aug 3, 2009)

What water conditioner do i need? Bettas can live in clean spring water perfectly.

I treated the water with an anti-disease medicine for several days, but it didnt help. Eh. Just his time to go, i guess... =(


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I would still use a conditioner. There are a lot of different ones but a lot of us use Aquasafe or Prime.


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## Kitfox (Aug 3, 2009)

Eh, i can try conditioning water for future fish.. but every betta i've had has been well with spring water. 
I did try conditioning for a short period, but it seemed to make them sick. So i figured i wouldn't try to fix what was not broken..
Thanks for the brand recommendations though, those could maybe help.


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## KP0707 (Jul 28, 2009)

he could be just stress you should buy stress coat


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## ifish (Apr 30, 2009)

next betta fish you get, GET a water condtioner like aqua plus by nurtafin or aqua safe by prime both good


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## rb500 (Jul 12, 2009)

I haven't gone to get water conditioner yet, I will but I was wondering what exactly the advantages were? What does it actually do


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## Kitfox (Aug 3, 2009)

My betta has regained some of his weight. Though he's still very slow and can't swim right. =/

Stress coats helps that coating of slime fish have on their body, right? But isn't that only helpful for wounds or if it's been handled a lot?

And rb500 poses a good question, what's the advantage of water conditioner if you're not using tap water anyway? To keep it extra clean?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

According to bettatalk bottled water doesn't need to be treated with conditioner. I would use it to be on the safe side.Stresscoat helps to maintain their slime coat and when they are damaged by injury or disease.


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