# Betta lays at bottom of the tank all day jerky swimming



## poppycock (Jul 15, 2014)

Our veil-tail betta is showing some strange symptoms. He would always swim towards us when we would approach the tank and go to the top for food whenever it was opened. He liked to fight his reflection in the tank glass occasionally. He was a very active and happy boy, swimming all over the tank and getting along with his tankmates.

He has been acting lethargic for at least a week now. At first we noticed he would just lay on the fake "tree" about halfway up the tank for a lot more time than usual. Now he will lay at the bottom of the tank all day under leaves and shoot up to the top with a very jerky fast swimming motion and take a breath from the top then go back down to the bottom. I notice he seems to tilt slightly nose-down when "swimming" occasionally a tiny bit to the side when laying. He just seems to lay around all day long now and we are very worried for him. I don't see any signs of parasites or injuries or tail rot.


Housing 
What size is your tank? 
36 gallon tall bowfront
What temperature is your tank? 
75*F
Does your tank have a filter? 
Marineland Biowheel with carbon cartridge
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? 
Bubble want accross the back rarely used, Penguin Power Head during water changes
Is your tank heated? 
Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? 
2X Golden Dojo Loach 5"
3X Yoyo Loach 3"
1X Plecostomus (1.5")

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? 
Aqueon Color Enhancing Betta Pellets (he usually eats about 8-10 grainules)
 Frozen Brine Shrimp (He will usually eat a few of these too)

How often do you feed your betta fish?
Twice Daily

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change?
Bi-weekly (more recently, due to elevated nitrates)

What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
30%

What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?
Aqueon Water Conditioner
API PH Down

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20ppm
pH: 7.4
Hardness: n/a
Alkalinity: n/a

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
None

How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
Lethargic, lays at the bottom all day, jerky fast swim to the top

When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Lower energy 2 weeks, laying all day 1 week

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Water test/changes

Does your fish have any history of being ill?
No

How old is your fish (approximately)? 
9 months -1 year

More info:
Substrate is black sand
Planted tank (10 smallish plants)
We may have disturbed his sleep habits lately as my wife and I stay up very late (2 AM) for about the last month
Tank is in the living room does not receive direct sunlight.

Please reply ASAP we are very worried


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Does he have any trouble reaching the surface? You said his head sometimes tilts down while he's swimming. When he swims up, does it seem difficult for him? Does he appear to have any swelling, even slight, in his belly or sides?


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

I would say that you are over feeding your betta so it cold be bloating and swim bladder problems. You really should only feed our better 3-6 pellets a day (either all at once or in smaller meals). I feed my bettas 4 pellets once a day at night. 

the water is also too cold for him. Bettas need water that is at least 78-80 degrees. cold water also slows down his metabolism which will add to bloating and swim bladder problems. Can you raise the temperature at all or can the other fish in your tank not handle water that warm (i'm unfamiliar with your tank mates and what they need)? If this is the case then I would seriously consider getting him his own tank. 

In general, some bettas don't do well with tank mates and prefer to be housed alone.


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## poppycock (Jul 15, 2014)

hrutan said:


> Does he have any trouble reaching the surface? You said his head sometimes tilts down while he's swimming. When he swims up, does it seem difficult for him? Does he appear to have any swelling, even slight, in his belly or sides?


He just lays around and occasionally turns around and faces the other direction. When he decides to go up its very jerky and fast, borderline desperate and he will gulp some air then swim calmly down almost a 45 degree angle. He sits around at the bottom the rest of the time, not really swimming but he is not floating on his side or back. He has a slight bulge at the very end of his body but hes had it for a long time, my wife spoils him with food, I thought he was just fat.




VivianKJean said:


> I would say that you are over feeding your betta so it cold be bloating and swim bladder problems. You really should only feed our better 3-6 pellets a day (either all at once or in smaller meals). I feed my bettas 4 pellets once a day at night.
> 
> the water is also too cold for him. Bettas need water that is at least 78-80 degrees. cold water also slows down his metabolism which will add to bloating and swim bladder problems. Can you raise the temperature at all or can the other fish in your tank not handle water that warm (i'm unfamiliar with your tank mates and what they need)? If this is the case then I would seriously consider getting him his own tank.
> 
> In general, some bettas don't do well with tank mates and prefer to be housed alone.


Im going to try and cut back food and increase temperature gradually to 80* tonight.
The Yoyo Loaches are ok with warm water, The Golden Dojo loaches prefer colder water. Everyone in the tank gets along he has lived with them most of his life...


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

Yeah definitely cut back on his feeding. If you think your wife is spoiling him, explain to her that if you do overfeed him that it could do a lot of damage.


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## poppycock (Jul 15, 2014)

*Update *

I did not feed him yesterday and he stayed at the bottom of the tank under plants all day.
last night I took him out and put him in a 3.5 gallon bettabow tank with 1 teaspoon of epsom salt. This morning I tried to give him peas and I managed to get him to eat two tiny pieces of a pea by dangling it on his lips for a few seconds. He does not want to eat. He sits at the bottom all day and comes up for air every 5 or 10 minutes and goes back down. He is now swimming up for air in a circular motion and comes back down and points nose down until he pushes himself under a plant. he still has a fat belly and a bulge on his sides towards the rear. I am worried this may be worse than just swim bladder or constipation, any advice would be appreciated!

ps also noticed a thin white ring has appeared around his eyes but they do not appear swollen


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

Stop feeding him peas. Peas actually can do more harm the good. Peas are plant fiber and since bettas are insectivores so they cannot digest the plant fiber at all. so the pea travels threw him in one whole piece and if they piece is large enough it can rip the lining of his digestive system. You take a risk when feeding him peas and personally I think that is too much of a risk. If you want to feed him something to help clear his system then try feeding him frozen daphnia. do not feed him freeze dried.


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## poppycock (Jul 15, 2014)

Poor poppycock is still sick... 

He won't eat his stomach is still large his swim bladder is still bulging at the ends .
He floats up and fights to get under plants to stay down.
I have increased water temp to 78. Going to go up to 80 now.
I put him in his own tank with Epsom salt gradually increasing from 1tsp/3gal to 3tsp/3gal.
I change 50% of his water every day.
He won't eat anything.
He has been like this for 4 days now.
I bought api Melafix as it is supposed to work on both gram positive and negative bacteria but I am afraid to use it as he shows no external sign of infection, I have it as a last resort.
He is starting to look pale and doesn't seem to have the energy to go down as he did over the last few days.

Is a swim bladder problem supposed to go on this long? The lack of appetite and loss of coloring is worrying me


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

SBD can take weeks to cure and sometimes the problems never completely go away. 

personally I wouldn't have a dosage of epsom salt that high. You really shouldn't have it about 1 teaspoon per gallon unless you are treating dropsy. 

You can also look into getting API General Cure. I had a betta that had constant SBD for months and someone (sorry i forget who) on this forum recommended that if things didn't get better soon to try using General Cure. It worked like a charm. I finished the treatment about 2 weeks ago and I have seen no signs of bloating or floaty-ness since.


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