# HELP! Betta spasms/seizures?



## alleyjay (Aug 16, 2013)

I've had my veiltail betta for about 10 months and am pretty proud of how healthy is he - gorgeous long fins, lots of bubble nests, etc. However 2 days ago, right after feeding him his pellets he proceeded to flail and swim wildly around the bowl, up side down, then freeze and sink to the bottom. I thought he had choked on his pellet, but he was still breathing and after about 15 minutes resting on the gravel he did get up and swim around again like normal with some prodding from my net.

Leaving the diagnosis at choking, I decided to soak his pellets with his bowl water from now on before feeding him. He's a good eater. However today I fed him this morning without any problems, and now, hours later, he proceeded to do the same routine: flailing around, freezing, and sinking to the bottom. This time I saw no gill movement at all and was sure he had died until slowly he started to breathe again. I don't think this is choking anymore. What's wrong?

What size is your tank? A plastic fishbowl, one or two gallons. Probably one.
What temperature is your tank? room temperature
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? no, i do have a heater though made for bettas
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? a plant from "betta world" zoo med and little treasure chest

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? HBH betta bites pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? two pellets on weekdays, one on weekends. occasional zoo med dial a treat:Mysis, Daphnia, or Blood Worms

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? once a month or so
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100% - i know this is bad now and will do partial water changes from now on
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? betta specific water conditioner, tap water conditioner or stress coat

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

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? nothing drastic, he may have gone a bit pale around the head and gills, but that may just be me looking into it because i'm paranoid. he is blue and green.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? see above
When did you start noticing the symptoms? see above, two days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? soaking pellets before feeding, i did a partial water change today so not to disrupt good bacteria, and added two drops of stress coat to help him relax
Does your fish have any history of being ill? none at all, he's always been super happy and interactive with humans. great eater
How old is your fish (approximately)? 10-12 months


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## alleyjay (Aug 16, 2013)

Something else my mom pointed out - he was recently moved closer to the oven (he lives in the kitchen) and it is in the time frame that his behavior changed. can heat/ gas stove emissions have an affect on him? I moved him away again.


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## bettaakapes (Dec 17, 2012)

Try doing water changes of 50% every day. Does he have any signs of a sickness, like bloating, ich, fin rot? If he does treat him with some medicine for his symptoms.


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## brittany4444 (Apr 27, 2013)

I dont know if the kitchen gas emissions could cause the problems but I think the temp fluctuations could. If I were you I would definitly get a thermometer, They are only a few bucks and the temp of a bettas tank is very important.


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## brittany4444 (Apr 27, 2013)

Also, It is ok to keep a betta in 1 gallon as long as the temp is correct and the water changes on schedule. This site reccoments 2 water changes/ week for your size bowl. 1 50% and 1 100%. This is absolutly neccesary in order to keep ammonia levels low


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## alleyjay (Aug 16, 2013)

brittany4444 said:


> Also, It is ok to keep a betta in 1 gallon as long as the temp is correct and the water changes on schedule. This site reccoments 2 water changes/ week for your size bowl. 1 50% and 1 100%. This is absolutly neccesary in order to keep ammonia levels low


what is an ideal temperature? and if it's incorrect how could i change it? heater probably...

i'm up for water changes twice a week. is well water okay as long as i give him stress coat? our well water might have bacteria too, we don't drink it. would bottled water be better?

he lives at school during the school year (and we all know how crappy school water can be sometimes) does this affect anything else as long as i treat the water?


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## alleyjay (Aug 16, 2013)

bettaakapes said:


> Try doing water changes of 50% every day. Does he have any signs of a sickness, like bloating, ich, fin rot? If he does treat him with some medicine for his symptoms.


looks pretty healthy to me, no ich, bloating... the tip of his dorsal fin is curled around, doesn't seem to bother him or make swimming difficult. also the tips of his two ventral fins are white.


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## brittany4444 (Apr 27, 2013)

Bettas do best in temps of about 78 to 81 degrees because they are tropical fish. A heater is important in keeping the temp steady. Just make sure you monitor the temp when you put the heater in the bowl. You dont want it to fluctuate too much because this stresses the fish. Normally if the water is safe for you to drink, it is safe for the fish. Since your water is not safe maybe you could get tap water from a friend or family member. You could bring empty gallon jugs to thier house and fill them up. Its generally not reccomended to use bottled water compleatly because there are minerals in regular tap water that the fish need.


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