# My once active betta laying is now very inactive?



## malonlonlon (Apr 7, 2012)

****First off, I know this is a lot of text, but please have patience with me and help my fish*****

My betta lives in a 10 gallon tank with a filter and water heater. The temperature is about 75, but I've bumped it up to around 80 because I'm hoping his inactivity is just him being cold.

A few months ago, I moved his tank because he was getting a lot of direct light and I was getting a really creepy algae boom. 
It would stay green on his rocks and wouldn't look too bad, unless you moved the rocks around, and then all of the sudden a huge wave for green would come out from under them and dominate the tank. I tried a black out and it cleared it up, so I moved the tank to a darker area.

I used to have a very small fish living with my betta, they got along very well. Suddenly that fish has vanished and my betta lays there at the bottom of the bowl. He used to swim back and forth and go crazy for food. Now I never see him eat when I put food in there and he just lays at the bottom. Occasionally he will get up and move over an inch and continue laying at the bottom of his tank. He no longer flairs his fins up and does not look very happy.

I got my water checked and they said it was fine.

I don't know what to do or what I did wrong??
Should I move him back to the light and just let the algae go crazy? He seemed to have no problem with it, I just didn't like it and that's why I tried to kill it off.
*
I really love my betta, and don't want to lose him. My local pet stores have a terrible amount of knowledge on betta's, so I'm hoping you guys can please help me out.
Please help.*:-(


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

hmmmmm i have the same problem with my gal, and i was doing research. how long have you had this fish?


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## Sea Dragon (Mar 20, 2012)

Perhaps he suddenly ate the fish, does he look bloated?


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## malonlonlon (Apr 7, 2012)

He doesn't look bloated, or fat at all, but he's not skinny. Looks like a healthy weight.

I've had him for about a year.
Bumping the temps didn't work /:


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## malonlonlon (Apr 7, 2012)




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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

Does he have any appearance changes that you can see?


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## malonlonlon (Apr 7, 2012)

Not really, I mean, his eyes look a little large.
He has always kinda had strange eyes to me because he is my first dark betta (usually mine are very light) but I'm wondering if he has pop-eye. 
And if so, does anyone know how I can get rid of this? Could pop-eye change his entire behavior like this?


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

> *Popeye*
> •Symptoms: One or both eyes will swell and bulge out. It in itself can also be a symptom of Dropsy.
> •Treatment: Usually not fatal if treated, but your betta might lose an eye. Conservative: If the swelling is extreme then use ES first. Perform 100% daily water changes. You may be able to treat the popeye with just Epsom and clean water. However, if the swelling goes down but the eyes remain cloudy/white, then switch to Aq.Salt at 1tsp/gal or use medications. Do not combine Aq.Salt with medications but you can continue to use ES during medical treatments. Medication: If ES or Aq.Salt do not do the trick or it is a serious case of popeye, then combine the ES with API Tetracycline, API Fungus Cure, API General Cure, API Triple Sulfa, OR Mardel’s Maracyn.


That is from another thread on this site. If he has always had these eyes (how long have you had him) then I wouldn't jump to conclusions and say that is what it is. 

Shine a flashlight on him and tell us what you see. (Don't shine it in his eyes if you can help it)


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## malonlonlon (Apr 7, 2012)

That is extremely helpful. Thanks.

Yeah, it looks like his right eye is a little bigger than his left. Should I take the filter out when I treat his water with the salt?

I shined the flashlight and didn't see any weird spotting or anything. He looks like he might be starting to get fin rot.

I have the API Fungus Cure and the API Melafix. Both require me to remove the filters. Isn't it a water cleanliness problem though? Wouldn't removing the filter be defeating what I am trying to do? Both are pretty much a weekly dosing, and then it says to repeat if it persists. I don't really like either of the products.


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

> *Tail rot or fin rot*
> •Symptoms: Betta’s fins and/or tail seem to be getting shorter and shorter or they seem to be falling apart and dissolving, Black or red along the edge of the betta’s fins/tail, Bloody tips, Behavior may not change
> Treatment: Conservative: Treat with Aq.Salt at 1 tsp/gal. Increase water changes to 100% daily. Replace accurate amount of salt following water changes. Add Stress Coat to help repair tissue. If there is little to no improvement within the first 5 days, you can increase the salt dosage gradually to 2tsp/gal but do not continue any salt treatments past 10 days. Medication: If Conservative treatment is ineffective use API Tetracycline, API Fungus Cure, API Triple Sulfa, OR API Erythromycin. Also add Stress Coat to help regrowth. Continue until fins/tail stop receding and start showing some new growth.


I would take out the filter media (you can run the filter empty depending on what type of filter you have) and just run it empty. Read the water change instructions with the Fungus Cure and change appropriately. Test the water every day as well. Also, if you could post a picture of this potential fin-rot, that would help. I am currently treating a fish for Columnaris*. *I know how rough it is to not really know what's wrong. We couldn't diagnose her for the longest time.


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

Do you have him in a hospital tank? I find it's much easier to treat in those, rather than work around their existing tank with decorations. Much easier to do water changes then too. Sookie is currently in a 1 gallon hospital.


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## malonlonlon (Apr 7, 2012)

Sookie looks like a little bruiser!

No, I don't have him in one, but I thought about it though. 
I will keep working on the pictures, I can't seem to get in a good position to take one of him.

I just completely cleaned his tank, once I got down to the rocks I saw a lot of green flair up. So I ended up throwing out over half of them. I washed everything with hot water and then put the ES in. Hopefully this will make an impact. 
I think I'll put the salt in once every day for 5 days and if he's still acting funky, I'll search out the heavy chemicals. Does that sound smart?


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

malonlonlon said:


> Sookie looks like a little bruiser!
> 
> No, I don't have him in one, but I thought about it though.
> I will keep working on the pictures, I can't seem to get in a good position to take one of him.
> ...


Green isn't a big deal. Normally just algae. I just rinse that off. 

The salt is a good idea, but I'd say if he looks worse during that 5 days, go with chemicals. I don't like going the chemical route either, but sometimes you don't have a choice.


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## malonlonlon (Apr 7, 2012)

Yeah, and it seems that anytime I try with chemicals they end up just dying faster. I swear the harder I try to help them the faster they die.

Hopefully the salts will work out, it's only been a day now, but he hasn't been moving much. Yesterday when I put him back into the tank he swam behind in the little silk leaves forest and crammed himself between two leaves for the day. It was weird looking.

Thanks for all of your help. I'm going to try my best to save him. It's extra stressful and hard when you have no direction.


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

malonlonlon said:


> Yeah, and it seems that anytime I try with chemicals they end up just dying faster. I swear the harder I try to help them the faster they die.
> 
> Hopefully the salts will work out, it's only been a day now, but he hasn't been moving much. Yesterday when I put him back into the tank he swam behind in the little silk leaves forest and crammed himself between two leaves for the day. It was weird looking.
> 
> Thanks for all of your help. I'm going to try my best to save him. It's extra stressful and hard when you have no direction.


Trust me, I know the feeling. I find it easiest to treat in a hospital tank. Much easier to clean out. Also, make sure you are dissolving the aquarium salt prior to putting it in the tank.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

y do u dissolve it first? i just use one of those cups with holes in the top and pour it in nd it dissolves in


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

Pogthefish said:


> y do u dissolve it first? i just use one of those cups with holes in the top and pour it in nd it dissolves in


I typically put it in a bottle and shake it around a ton to dissolve it. Then I pour it back and forth into the water. Seems like it gets more dispersed that way. If you just pour it in, it takes awhile to dissolve.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

well with the cup it keeps dissolving in and u dont hav 2 replace it every time u do a water change


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

Pogthefish said:


> well with the cup it keeps dissolving in and u dont hav 2 replace it every time u do a water change



To each his own.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

her


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

Did a little searching, and most advice-givers on here say the same thing...



> 1 tsp/gall with daily 100% water changes. You can use aquarium not iodized salt only for 10 days.
> Pre-mix it in 1gall jug to make correct daily dosage and water changes easier.
> Usually Oldfish lady recommending to QT fish in small container for the treatment and maintain a water temp of 76-78*.
> 
> You can use a gall from spring water or milk. If it from milk you need to rinse with water very well.





> The crystals will eventually dissolve to the point where you cannot see them, and you really should mix them into clean water before putting it into your tank to avoid concentrated areas of salinity.





> The lowest treatment dose is generally 1 tsp/gal (Dissolve before use) with 100% daily water changes for 7-10 days.


=P


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## malonlonlon (Apr 7, 2012)

He died.


I'm giving up on bettas. I can only manage to keep them alive for a year.


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

malonlonlon said:


> He died.
> 
> 
> I'm giving up on bettas. I can only manage to keep them alive for a year.



Oh no! I wish I could have been of more help. It's hard with fish. Sometimes they just go so suddenly despite everything you do. :-(


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

was it dropsy? poor betta! dont give up it was a freak aaccident!


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

just noticed in the pic his fins look rlly torn up


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## malonlonlon (Apr 7, 2012)

Yeah it wasn't until I saw his dead body until I got to actually see that he was like deteriorating.

I wish I knew what I did wrong.


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

malonlonlon said:


> Yeah it wasn't until I saw his dead body until I got to actually see that he was like deteriorating.
> 
> I wish I knew what I did wrong.


It isn't necessarily something you did wrong. Sometimes they just go and no matter what you do, it still happens. Fish are funny creatures at times. A long time ago, we got two goldfish at the same time. They were the same age, ate the same things, lived in the same large tank. One lived until he was 9, one died suddenly after 2 years. Don't give up on bettas because you've hit some rough patches. I'm sure you take care of them just fine. It's just the way of fish sometimes.


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## BETTACHKALOVE (Nov 22, 2010)

Sorry for your lost. You did the best you could. Usually pop eye you can treat with Epsom salt. 2-3 tsp/gall with 100% daily water changes.

Don't give up on bettas though. We all learning hard way a lot of the time. I have old bettas but my first betta lived just for one year. And many people have their first 2 even 3 bettas died in a few weeks-months. So if you love and want betta give it a chance.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

OMG ok there is a thing going around where the fin deteriorate over about 24 hours, and they die, nobody knows why, and even the experts cant stop it! So dont feel bad and i will look at the pic and see if that was it.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

That looks like it! there is 48-72 hours from when they show symptoms (usually of lethargy) to death. during this time, the fins start to deteriorate and the fish slowly dies, in some pictures I have seen, the scales look slightly raised, and the gills may e inflamed. It is most common in blue bettas after 1-3 years of age, and usually after a stressful incident. It cannot be treated, and you need to thoroughly clean your tank with bleach before adding any more bettas. It was NOT your faut!


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## Basement Bettas (May 12, 2012)

My betta lives in a 10 gallon tank with a filter and water heater. The temperature is about 75, but I've bumped it up to around 80 because I'm hoping his inactivity is just him being cold. 75 to cold for betta.. the 80* should make him happier.

A few months ago, I moved his tank because he was getting a lot of direct light and I was getting a really creepy algae boom. 
It would stay green on his rocks and wouldn't look too bad, unless you moved the rocks around, and then all of the sudden a huge wave for green would come out from under them and dominate the tank. I tried a black out and it cleared it up, so I moved the tank to a darker area. When it cleared up the alage died.. and ended up in the gravel. How many water changes do you do? What are water parameters? A fish shop saying fine is not the same as know if you do or do not have issues with ammonia. if there have been no or little water changes that stuff is rotting in the gravel.

I used to have a very small fish living with my betta, they got along very well. Suddenly that fish has vanished and my betta lays there at the bottom of the bowl. ** If you did not find the other fish on the floor he died.. and has decomposed in the tank. Serious ammonia spiking there. He used to swim back and forth and go crazy for food. Now I never see him eat when I put food in there and he just lays at the bottom. Occasionally he will get up and move over an inch and continue laying at the bottom of his tank. He no longer flairs his fins up and does not look very happy.

I got my water checked and they said it was fine.

I don't know what to do or what I did wrong??
Should I move him back to the light and just let the algae go crazy? He seemed to have no problem with it, I just didn't like it and that's why I tried to kill it off. ** killing it off is not an issue unless you left the dead stuff in the tank. It is vitally important to know your water parameters. I don't trust the LFS to know much about what is actually healthy unless you are in a mom and pop type shop where they know what they are doing.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

you should start a new thread for that, and get a uv sanitizer, it kills floating algae


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## BETTACHKALOVE (Nov 22, 2010)

Basement Bettas since you didn't start new thread i will respond in here.

Take hospital tank. One gallon is fine even 0.5 is fine. Do complete water change. Didn't keep his water just put him in the hospital tank. Make sure new dechlorinated water the same temperature +-2*. 

Does he has any other visual symptoms on his body? 

Since you saying that other fish died and decomposed i would think that your betta could get infected. Differently take him out and do water change today. See how he doing. Even when you have food in the tank on the bottom it takes 72 hrs to decompose and it can give infections. And with dead fish it even worse. So i think it the reason what is going on. And warmer water will make it worse.
I personally don't like 80* especially what you had with dead fish. The bacteria, fungus get worse with warmer water.

76*-80* is the perfect temperature though. My bettas live in 74-75* for long time and don't get sick ever.

I would also have aquarium salt ready. You can buy in in any pet store. I think he has bacterial infections.

Give us update how he doing . So we can decide if he needs aquarium salt treatment. Do you know instructions on it?

I also would definitely disinfect the tank. I can give you instruction on that. You need to move him out and don't put anything with him from his tank


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## malonlonlon (Apr 7, 2012)

Thank you.

Basement Bettas posted that in response to my post guys.


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## Basement Bettas (May 12, 2012)

malonlonlon said:


> He died.
> I'm giving up on bettas. I can only manage to keep them alive for a year.


That is doing better than most. These fish are put thru a lot.. and if you had if for a year you did well. Most are close to a year when you get them. Unless you get one from a breeder they are mass produced like goldfish. Break your tank down and sterilize. I like to fill the tank and add a ton of salt.. then let it sit a week. That is how I sterilize my barracks. Then drain down and rinse well. And, if you buy from a LFS stay away from "rescuing" anybody. Buy the healthiest one you can. Why get something that has problems?? You are not doing anybody any favors and you risk bringing somethingf into your home you may never get rid of. And who wants to throw money away on meds?? Before putting the fish in the tank put him in a large jar, keep warm and feed well doing every other day water changes. Watch him a bit before exposing your tank to him. If all looks good then intorduce him to his nice big home. Then stay on top of your water. Put the tank where you will not get the algae build up and again do water changes every week. there is not a fish in existence that does not need water changes..


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## BETTACHKALOVE (Nov 22, 2010)

Agree with everything BASEMENT Bettas wrote.

Also i usually recommend wait store get new shipment if you decide to have another betta.
One year is not bad. Especially if it your first or even second one. My first betta live almost a year. Well now my bettas are old but i have bettas for about 6 years years.

BTW i do what some people don't recommend and looks like it the best, at least for my bettas. I do 100% water changes.

There is another way to disinfect the tank. I am not sure if salt and water can kill bacteria ?
I know boiling water can kill. So i would offer another way to disinfect. If you interesting i can give instructions.

Good luck. I really hope you will rescue another betta.


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