# Betta swiming on his side...Please answer



## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

*Betta swiming on his side...Please answer HELP!*

My betta is swimming on his side, and I don't know what to do. 
I read online that it could be caused by bloating/low or too hot temps. I have a heater, can I just put that in his tank now, or should i take him out and put it in?

Housing 
What size is your tank? 2.5 Gallons
What temperature is your tank? In the 70s
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, but the room is hot, and i do have a heater
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? He lives alone.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Betta Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? I feed him, about twice a day maybe 3-4 pellets only. 
Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? twice a week, 100% water changes.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?  100%.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? tetra water conditioner 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? his head has gotten a little bigger, and i'm not sure but there looks like a tiny bump.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? he's blowing bubbles from his body, and is wiggling at the top, then it looks like he's chomping at the water. then he'll stop moving and then keeping repeating his blowing bubbles etc. and now he's swimming on his side.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? today
Have you started treating your fish? no...
Does your fish have any history of being ill? not that i know of.
How old is your fish (approximately)? i dont know.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

Is it swim bladder how do i treat that??


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## Pataflafla (Jun 2, 2011)

I'm pretty sure you posted something almost the same thing earlier.

As far as temperatures go, it needs to be 78-80 degrees for best results. Treat him with 1 tsp/gal of epsom salt premixed for 14 days and do 100% daily water changes. Also, soak his food before you give it to him so it doesn't expand in his stomach. Fast him tomorrow to see if that helps also.

For your issue about his head getting bigger, can you get an actual picture of it?


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

would i be able to put his heater in his tank now? and i just changed his water yesterday, and i dont have epsom salt yet.


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## Pataflafla (Jun 2, 2011)

If you have a heater that is suitable for his size tank, then go ahead and put it in. Monitor the temperature for the rest of the day to make sure it's not overheating or underheating his water.

You can get epsom salt at pretty much any pharmacy, or I know for sure Smith's carries it if you have one in town. It should be relatively cheap and should last you for a while since bettas don't need as much as we do for the same effect.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hi SKA, I'm sorry to hear about your guy. Quick question: when you changed the water, was the temp of the new water about the same as the temp of the old water? If there was a few degrees difference, that can be enough to shock a betta and cause temporary swim bladder disease. It happened to me once and I freaked out. 

Can you describe how he's blowing bubbles from his body? Is he blowing them out of his gills? Did this just start after the water change? Did you remember the water conditioner? If you accidentally forgot it (and I have before), he could be suffering from chlorine and heavy metals in the water. If you're not sure, the safest thing to do is another water change, this time making sure you have the water conditioner and making sure the temp of the new water is close to the temp of the old water.

For now, I would recommend you take him out, put the heater in and plug it in, and then return him to his tank. Set it for about 78-80*. Go ahead and put 1 tsp of epsom salt in the tank like Pataflafla suggested, but make sure to pre-dissolve it first. If it seems like he is struggling to reach the surface or getting tired, you can lower the water level a bit.

Like Pataflafla, I think I'd need to see a pic of his head. I'm not sure I understand what you mean about his head getting bigger. 

I hope this helps. Good luck and keep us posted.


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## ChelseaK (Oct 23, 2010)

Sakura said everything I said and more so I erased it


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Sorry, Chelsea. >.< Happens to me, too. Someone says everything while I'm busy typing. XD 

SKA, Wal-Mart carries epsom salt and so do most grocery stores. It's in the pharmacy section. Make sure it has no added scents or colors. It should just be plain old magnesium sulfate.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

He's good about getting to the surface, he seems to be blowing them from his mouth/gills. and he was trying to build a nest but the poor thing busted. right now i put him in a bowl of his own water and just cleaned his tank again, plus added water conditioner plus the heater. since i dont have air conditioning in my room it gets pretty hot. but yea just in case i put it in. the water i just put in is warm, and when i changed my little guys water the water was cold!  so yea i just put the heater on, and yea, when the water temp gets cold the heater will click on for it to warm the water. also should i fast him for a day or two? to make sure he isn't constipated? and sorry for freaking out lol i've never owned a fish and i dont want him to die.

ALSO: I wanna buy him a plant and I wanna make sure it doesn't hurt him or anything, and I was wondering if there were any good plants from walmart i could put in his 2.5 gallon tank?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Don't worry, you're not freaking out. You're acting perfectly normal. 

Yes, I would definitely fast him for a day at least. More food would only add extra pressure to his swim bladder. 

As soon as you get the epsom salt, go ahead and put him in that. I think that will be the best thing for him. Definitely post if his behavior changes at all.

Hang in there both of you!


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

thank you!


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## betta lover1507 (Aug 6, 2011)

on bettatalk it said " lower down of what you feeding" straw berry had that and she got over it quick maybe his is more severe sorry if i can't help =[


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

You're welcome, SKA. Feel free to post or PM me if anything changes. But definitely get the epsom salt tomorrow.  Good luck with Geppetto.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

does aquarium salt do anything? i have some of that...


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

In his case, I think the aquarium salt would actually do more harm than good. What you want is something that leaches the extra fluids out of his body and epsom salt does that because it's a laxative.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

oh. okay.  thanks. also i plan on fasting him for 2 days, just to make sure. lol. i wish i knew how old he is cause i read that sometimes bettas get swim bladder when they are near to the end of their lifespan.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Yes, that's true, they do. As fish get older, their body stops functioning as efficiently and that's why they start getting a lot of health problems. Same with mammals, too. :/ How long have you had him? Most bettas we get from pet stores like Petco are about 6-12 months old by the time they reach the shelves. Considering that the average lifespan of a betta is 1-3 years, with anything over 5 being amazingly old, most of our pet store bettas that we have for over a year are pretty old.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

i got mine from a local pet shop called exotic aquatics. i haven't even had for a whole week yet. it will be a week tomorrow. also i'm wondering if it's the cold water that's bothering him.  alsooooo i got him an anemne sorry i cant spell, and i put it in his tank yesterday. heres a link to something like it...http://www.walmart.com/ip/Regent-Aqua-Garden-Anemones-Pets/10321555

do bettas not like something like that????


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Is he in cold water? If so, carefully acclimate him back into his warmer tank. What you can do to acclimate him is dribble a teeny bit of tank water into his bowl every few minutes until the volume of water in the bowl has doubled. Then gently add him into his tank. 

If you've only had him a week and you got him from a local pet store and not a chain pet store, my guess is he's about 3-6 months old.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

oh okay. yea i believe that the store was a local store. and yea every ten mins i'm acclimating him to the warmer tank water. i'll be doing that for 45 mins, and it's been 30 mins now. also what are some good plants for him to get? something that wont hurt his fins.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Do you want live plants or fake? If you get fake plants, I recommend silk/fabric ones with broad leaves. Plastic plants are okay as long as they aren't super spiky. Again, plants with broad leaves are good. If you get live plants, you probably will need floating ones unless you have substrate (gravel or sand etc). Water wisteria will float, as will java moss. Water sprite also floats. 

Is he still blowing bubbles?


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

yeah, i'd rather have a fake plant. and yep he is blowing bubbles, also he is sorta diving down around his tank, exploring the heater, then hiding behind his castle then bouncing back up to the top, and blowing bubbles.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Sounds like he is regaining a bit of control of his swim bladder if he can dive down a little. That's good.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

actually he's managing to get to the bottom of the tank. and he appears more active. also i got him this:http://www.walmart.com/ip/Regent-Aqua-Garden-Anemones-Pets/10321555

a few days ago, and i had put that in his tank yesterday. do they like things like that? or not?


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## OddballFishCoveter (Aug 18, 2011)

I have that exact anemone. While I have many fake plants and decor in my 10 gallons that are bright colors, I've recently read that sometimes fake plants with unnatural colors can stress certain fish. I personally think he won't be harmed by it, he might even like it to lay among the anemone fronds. Just make sure you soak and scrub the decor well in hot water before putting it into his tank, so that any chemicals that may still be on the surface are released.

Hope your betta makes a full recovery and stays healthy.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Yeah, I think that anemone thing is fine. I've seen other people get coral-like decor for their bettas and the betta loved it.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

I just cleaned it now with some hot water. do you think i could put it in his tank now while he's in it?


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

@ sakura. thanks so much for your advice and help. and thank you to everyone who responded so far


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

SKA, yeah, I don't see why not. He would probably like something new to explore. And you're welcome, I don't mind helping you out at all.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

awww youre so nice. okay i just cleaned his toy with hot water and i now just put it in his tank. so...hopefully he'll enjoy it.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

How's he doing? Is he swimming around more or is he about the same?


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

he seems better, he's exploring his new toy now. he's not as active, but he is wiggling more. im hopin he'll be better after some fasting.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

That's good to hear. He's not floating on his side anymore? If not, that's a very good sign.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

nah. not really


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Great.  I'm very glad to hear that.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

lol thanks ^^ im happy too. how are your fishys doing?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

They're all doing pretty good. I finally got my newest guy to eat so I'm happy.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

oh. do you know why he wasn't eating before?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Has he not eaten at all since you got him? Does he try to eat and spit the pellets back out?


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## Pataflafla (Jun 2, 2011)

I think you were being asked why your new one wasn't eating.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

lol yeah i was asking why your betta wasn't eating lol :3 my boy eats like a pig.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

You're right. I feel silly. Thanks Pataflafla. Uhm, I actually had no idea why my new guy wouldn't eat. I finally put him in some General Cure medication and I guess that did the trick because he ate some bloodworms today. Yay! It's been about a week.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

awww well i'm glad he's eating.  are blood worms good for bettas? i heard that that can cause parasite infections or something like that.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

If you feed frozen or freeze-dried bloodworms, they're sterilized during the freezing process so you don't have to worry. It's only if you feed live foods that you need to worry.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

ohhh


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I definitely recommend frozen bloodworms, if you can handle them. I use tweezers to feed them so I don't have to touch them. Bettas love them a lot.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

they give me the shivers just looking at them


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I know what you mean. You could also try frozen brine shrimp. Not quite as creepy looking. Mostly it looks like a pink blob. But it smells like dirty feet. 

Anyway, I'm glad to hear Geppetto is doing better. I'll check back in first thing in the morning. I'm off to do some chores before bed.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

lol thanks, and have fun doing chores O.O ^^


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hello, how is Geppetto doing today?


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

he's doing good as far as i can tell.  thank you for asking and caring. i haven't fed him, so im thinking maybe he was bloated and constipated yesterday.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I'm very glad to hear he's doing better. Continue fasting him today and see how he is tomorrow. If he seems okay, maybe feed him 2 pellets for the day.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

yep that's what i plan on doing lol. how are your fishies?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

All my bettas are doing good. Thanks for asking.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

no prob ^^ my betta managed to get a piece of hair or a thread of my sweat pants stuck floating away from his body around his gills. Now, I looked up colmunaris or however you spell it, and it doesn't look like that, it just looks like i accidentally got some material into his tank. he's not lethargic, or has any of these symptoms:

White spots on mouth, edges of scales, and fins 
 Cottony growth that eats away at the mouth
 Fins disintegrate beginning at the edges
 'Saddleback' lesion near the dorsal fin
 Fungus often invades the affected skin
 Rapid gilling in cases where gills are infected

I was just wondering if i should just hope that the thing detaches itself from him, or...? I don't know.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Sorry, changing water in my tanks. It should detach itself on its own. A lot of people with cats or dogs get pet hair in their tanks and it doesn't hurt the betta at all, just clogs the filter if you have one.


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## SKA123 (Sep 4, 2011)

thank you for answering


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