# Betta Floating in One Spot



## FishieLover97 (Apr 8, 2012)

Recently I have noticed my betta floating in the same spot. It will move around if I turn on/off the light or put my finger around the tank. It doesnt really even bother to go near it's food. What is wrong with my fish?


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

We're going to need some more information about your betta and his tank. You can't diganose an illness based on one general symptom. It's like you going to the doctor, saying your head hurts, and him diagnosing you with a brain tumor. It doesn't work that way. 

Answering these questions will get us started:
Housing 
What size is your tank?
How long has it been set up?
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)?


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## FishieLover97 (Apr 8, 2012)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 1 gallon (Small yes but were moving in a couple of months, so once we move he gets a 10 gallon)
How long has it been set up? Since April 13th
What temperature is your tank? 75 degrees 
Does your tank have a filter? Undergravel Filter
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Some sort of bubbler. 
Is your tank heated? No, however the light and room temperature provide a good 75 degrees 
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Used to live with a algae eater but it died.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 pellets morning, 2 at night and sometimes a snack when I get home

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? A little over a week. Today is his next water change. I recently added a plant.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? About half
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Water Conditioner (Kents Marine Betta Bowl Essential)

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

Ammonia: N/A
Nitrite: N/A
Nitrate: N/A
pH: N/A
Hardness: N/A
Alkalinity: N/A

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? It hasnt changed
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Just floats in one spot. Even if it moves around it ends right back in that spot.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Friday
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I don't know whats wrong so I don't know how to medicate it.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Nope
How old is your fish (approximately)? Got it from PetCo in April and it was a full grown male...

Hope this helps!


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

In anything around 1 gallon with one Betta you should ideally do 1 50% and one 100% water changes weekly to minimize ammonia, and nitrites content. In a A tank of that size you shouldn't have to worry about nitrate/nitrite poisoning as nitrates/nitrites are both a result of bacteria oxidizing ammonia into those substances. Cycling doesn't occur as much in tanks less than 5 gallons. In a tnk upwards of 5 gallons. It has the ability to hold a stable cycle, and depending on the stocking. You should do 25-50% water changes weekly As 100% changes can slightly impact the cycle

Bettas are tropical fish originating from Thailand and are known to be very inactive in unheated tanks but handle it very well. They can be placed in lower temperatures for short periods of times. But it will have a negative impact on the fish. Ideally you would want to aim for higher temperatures around 78-80 for them to thrive


This could possibly be a symptom of Swim Bladder Infection which is usually caused by over feeding. My recommendation towards treating this would be along the lins of introducing a dose Of Epsom salt at around 1 teaspoon per gallon

*Symptoms*
- Bloating
- eradicated swimming 
- floating towards the surface of the water
- trouble swimming up
- seems to be doing "rolls"

*Treatment*
Treating this usually non fatal illness will be very easy to do. Usually a dose of aquarium salt, something along the lines of 1 teaspoon per 3 gallons for tetras, and 1 teaspoon per gallon for more salt tolerant fish such as Bettas. Typically after 1-2 Epsom salt treatments it will go away. Ideally during this treatment time you would also want to offer peas, and daphnia to the fish as this will also help

*Cause* 
This illness is usually caused by incorrect feeding with diets that have little or no nutritional value, or over feeding. Or incorrectly feeding more than the needed periods in the day to feed, like feeding very often 

*Prevention*
This illness is easily prevented by going along the lines of not over feeding, providing a varied diet with many good foods, and avoiding feeding lots of low nutritional value foods


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Hmm. I'm noticing a few problems here, the first of which is temperatures. As Mo said, betta are tropicals and need to have a steady temp of above 78F. Lights (which should be turned off at night) will only heat while on; thus your tank will cool down at night. Room temp will also change throughout the day. While a 1 gal bowl isn't out of the question to house a betta in long-term, it has some major problems such as rapid ammonia buildup and rapid temperature swings. You really should get an adjustable heater for him to make sure the temperature stays stable. 

Cold temperatures can cause lethargy and lack of appetite. They can also cause constipation because a betta's digest system is dependent on temp. Too low of a temp causes food not to be pushed through his bowel fast enough and will cause a blockage. 

To address the reason of why the algae eater died, the tank is simply too small to house anything other than one betta fish. The algae eater was either a pleco (which grow to over a foot long) or an oto (which should only be introduced to established (4-5 months old) tanks larger than 20 gallons. 

To help him recover faster, you need to step up your water changes to 2 times a week. One 50% and one 100% water change. Since your tank is too small to cycle, you will need to do this until you get him into the cycled 10 gal tank.


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