# Betta swimming weird after water change



## BlueBetta17 (Mar 20, 2011)

First off, basic information. She's two years old and I have her in a 1.5 gal bowl with sand and artificial plants. There is no heater or filter and I have raised all of my bettas like this for years. Yesterday I cleaned out their bowls after having them dirty for quite a while. It was the longest I had their bowls dirty. There was algae in there before cleaning, but it was green, not brown. Whenever I clean their bowls I always add in aquarium salt and purifying drops.

This morning I woke up and noticed that my female was floating. (My male is fine, but his bowl wasn't as dirty prior to cleaning.) She's acting normal aside from floating, with the exception of her tail being crooked. She isn't floating on her side, but her top fin is sticking out of the water a bit. If she goes to swim down she floats back up. My guess is she got into shock, or some sort of bacterial infection from the sudden water change.


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## Little Leaf (Jul 7, 2012)

It's called Swim Bladder Disorder. How many times do you feed her?


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## BlueBetta17 (Mar 20, 2011)

Thanks for your response but I don't think it's swim bladder, mainly due to the fact that it happened right after I did the change. I feed my bettas three blood worms every other day.


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## Lizzie the Badger (Jun 12, 2012)

Housing 
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)? 

Answer these, please.


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## BlueBetta17 (Mar 20, 2011)

Thanks for the list of questions. I mentioned most of the answers to the questions in my first post. The only thing I didn't answer is the water change amount. I normally fully change the water once a week but waited two and a half weeks this time.


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## Little Leaf (Jul 7, 2012)

BlueBetta17 said:


> Thanks for your response but I don't think it's swim bladder, mainly due to the fact that it happened right after I did the change. I feed my bettas three blood worms every other day.


3 bloodworms are too much! use bloodworms as a treat. pellets should be for food. and I think it is SBD because floating + overfeeding = can result in SBD


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## BlueBetta17 (Mar 20, 2011)

Thanks but I've never had a problem with 3 blood worms before. The last time I had a betta get Swim Bladder was from feeding five worms at a time back when I was way less experienced.


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## LizzyP (Jun 21, 2012)

Well, one thing for certain you need to clean your tank more, especially if its a 1.5 gallon, and you at least need a heater. Those are the basic necessities for betta keeping. Just because you have had them for years like that doesn't mean it's right or they are happy. 

Secondly, why do you put salt in there tanks if there is no issue? Prolonged salt exposure damages their kidneys. 

Bloodworms are not a staple diet. Especially 3 per day. My guy gets 1-2 bloodworms per week as a treat. You need to be feeding them betta pellets, I recommend Omega One betta buffet or New Life Spectrum.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Actually, those are signs of SBD. There isn't really another sickness like this. Is she bloated at all? Bloodworms don't provide the needed nutrients for them so I suggest high-quality pellets. Variety is key in every diet! 

I recommend for you to treat her with an Epsom Salt treatment. Just dissolve 1-3 teaspoons of ES in a cup and then into her tank in the next 100% change. Remember to add her after you added in the treated water and to acclimate. Good Luck.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

LizzyP said:


> Well, one thing for certain you need to clean your tank more, especially if its a 1.5 gallon, and you at least need a heater. Those are the basic necessities for betta keeping. Just because you have had them for years like that doesn't mean it's right or they are happy.
> 
> Secondly, why do you put salt in there tanks if there is no issue? Prolonged salt exposure damages their kidneys.
> 
> Bloodworms are not a staple diet. Especially 3 per day. My guy gets 1-2 bloodworms per week as a treat. You need to be feeding them betta pellets, I recommend Omega One betta buffet or New Life Spectrum.


+1

I agree to what Lizzy has said. (;

Oh, and make sure to do 100% daily water changes every day for the next 10-12 days. And remember the ES in each change until treatment is over!


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## BlueBetta17 (Mar 20, 2011)

I'll take note of this! My male had salt put in his tank because it benefited the plants I had in there, and my female had salt put in hers because she was sick for a while and lost her color - seemed to be doing better since there was salt in there. I'll lay off on the blood worms, I do have some Omega One pellets. As far as a heater, I have had trouble with them before, getting the water too hot and stuff but I'll try again. How can I help my female? I haven't seen her cause I haven't been home but if she's still alive do I just let it take it's course?


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## BlueBetta17 (Mar 20, 2011)

The last time I saw her she wasn't bloated, but I had a male before with Swim Bladder who just let it wear off and recovered after 3 days.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Hm... Most plants can't tolerate salt, weird. The Epsom Salt won't hurt. You could try that. Add in some IAL or washed dried Oak Leaves to add some tannins. Just try to make her comfortable as possible.


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## BlueBetta17 (Mar 20, 2011)

Salt seems to be the only way I can keep Anubias alive, lol. Thank you everyone for your answers and sorry if I seemed a little stubborn at first!


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

I couldn't even keep my Java Fern alive in QT. *Head Of Shame* :0
It's OK, you weren't really stubborn anyways.  You have good intentions which is awesome, and you weren't even rude. I hope she gets better.


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## BlueBetta17 (Mar 20, 2011)

Me too and thank you! I will keep the salt out of their water unless it is absolutely necessary.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Good.  No problem, if you have any more questions, feel free.


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## BlueBetta17 (Mar 20, 2011)

Thank you!!


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## Little Leaf (Jul 7, 2012)

pie


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