# Betta twitching and not eating



## Aerial (Apr 3, 2015)

My betta is abt 2-3yrs old iv had him for abt 7 months now he's in a 3 gl tank with a filter an air stone an has been that way since I got him he wasn't acting right abt 3weeks ago so I was told to put lifeguard in his tank for 5 days then change part of the water the 6th day an it's been a Lil over a week since than an just the Last 3 days he's been lying on the bottom of the tank an acts like he can't swim up to the top of the tank most of the time an he won't eat an has been kinda twitching but when I change his water he acts fine bt won't eat an still kinda twitches please help me I don't want Sargent to die


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## jarabas (Mar 23, 2015)

Try to answer as many of these questions as possible:
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)?

If you can post some pictures--a close up side view and a top view--that helps as well.


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## Aerial (Apr 3, 2015)

*betta twitching and not eating*

Tank 3 gl temperature 78f yes has a small carbon fiber filter yes has a air stone an a auto adjust heater he's by himself mini krill he won't eat anything else I feed him once a day I skip a day every week on feeding him I change the water once a month an i change all the water an i use aqua safe an easy balance the pH is 7.5 he's abt 2-3yrs old his face has turned white an i just noticed him twitching his head abt 3 days ago he hasn't done that before he's been lying on the bottom the last few days but when I changed his water he's been hanging around the top of the tank an i thought he was sick abt 3weeks ago so I was told to put lifeguard in his tank for 5 days then change part of the water the 6th day an that was a little over a week ago an i just changed all his water today an he started to eat a little bit but he's still kinda twitching his head other than that he seems to be fine as far as I can see


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## jarabas (Mar 23, 2015)

I like the image of him looking at us 
The first thing I suggest is to try lowering the water level in the tank, so he doesn't have to work hard to get to the surface. 
Also, please buy some Seachem Prime and some aquarium salt at your pet store. Drip about 6 drops of prime into your filter. 
Next prepare to chang half the water in the tank. Make up new water adding prime to it, following the dosing instructions on the package. Add a tsp of aquarium salt and gently stir until the salt dissolves. You'll want to warm the water up until it's the same temp as the tank. Change out half the tank water, in stages. Take out a third and add the new water. Wait a few hours and repeat. Wait a few hours and repeat.
Even though you have a filter, you need to do more frequent water changes and add a comprehensive conditioner like prime to keep the water safe and healthy. I'd suggest a weekly 50% change. Keep adding the prime. After 10 days, no more salt.

If you can afford it, get a test kit like the api master freshwater kit and learn to test your water. Learning about healthy water is one of the best things you can do to keep your fish healthy.

I'd also suggest trying a high quality pellet food. My fish love new life spectrum which is made from krill.

It's hard to tell from the photo--does he look to you like he has been sprinkled with salt? Any little white dots?


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## Aerial (Apr 3, 2015)

*Sargent twitching*

hes been hanging around the top of the tank since i change his water yesterday hes still kinda twitching a lil bit bt not as much an i got him to eat a lil bit bt he wont eat pellets or flakes i cant even get him to eat blood worms iv tried everything i can think of hes got 7 different types of food bt wont eat any of it besides the mini krill iv even tried garlic soaked food he just looks at it in disgust he kinda acts like hes depressed or something an no hes never had salt on him he acts fine other than the slight twitching his head an not wanting to eat the last couple days other than last night i got him to eat a lil bit an this morning he ate a lil bt not as much as he normally would an i dont live anywhere near a pet store its hard to just get food for him where i live an i dont see why he would be doing that all of a sudden cause iv had him for abt 7 months now an he just started doing it the last couple days hes usually swimming around an wanting to eat but he hasnt since abt a week after i put the lifeguard in his tank cause he started to turn white an i didnt know if it was from him getting old or if he was sick an i called a breeder i found online an they said to use the lifeguard an it wouldnt hurt him if he wasnt actually sick bt it was hard to tell if he was turning white cause hes geting old an losing his coloring or if he was actually sick and hes not sick bt hes still white so its just from him getting old bt hes not acting right since than i wonder if its the carbon filter bt its been abt 3 weeks since i got the filter an new gravel i just had the glass rocks b4 bt i dont see how it would just now be bothering him since its been almost a month since iv put the gravel an filter in his tank i think hes just depressed bt im not really sure an if he is depressed how do you make him happy again an what might be causing him to just start twitching his head all of a sudden


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## jarabas (Mar 23, 2015)

All fish pee in their water and over time this builds up to a toxic level. The thing taht really hurts them is the ammonia in their pee. Filters can't always take out all the ammonia. That's why I suggest adding PRime--it turns the ammonia into something that won't hurt your fish. 

Even when you have a filter, you still need to change teh water. If you have a test kit you can use the tests to check when it's time for a change. Otherwise, it's a good idea to change at least half the water once a week.

Water straight from the tap also has chemicals in it--chlorine and chloramine--that hurt fish. Prime gets these out also.

If you can't test and treat your water you can't really tell what is making your fish sick. I don't think he's turning white from old age--that doesn't happen to fish. I also don't think they get depressed. Instead, losing his color is a sign that he's stressed. The most likely stress is from bad water.


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## copperfish (Jan 21, 2014)

Someone else was twitching over here and last heard thought was velvet
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=541002


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## Aerial (Apr 3, 2015)

*Sargent twitching*

its nt the water causing him to twitch an i did a lot of research on bettas an yes they can get depressed an yes they do lose there color over time he acts like he cant see bt theres nothing wrong with his eyes an hes been hanging around the top of his tank since yesterday an hes never done that an hes nt twitching all tht much anymore its just every once in a while he does it an he still aint wantin to eat an iv givin him medicine bt tht doesnt seen to be the problem cause hes been acting weird since abt 2 weeks b4 i have given it to him an doesnt seem to be any better other than hes not as white an is nt layin on the bottom of the tank acting dead hes some what swimmin around an is hanging around the top of his tank which hes never done an hasnt went bk down an i cant get him to eat bt 2 pieces in the last 5 days an i cant get him to eat anything other than freeze dried mini krill


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## Aerial (Apr 3, 2015)

*Sargent not moving*

he has stopped twitching bt he still wont eat an is still sitting at the top of his tank next to his heater for the last 2 days an wont move even if i try to get him to move


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## Aerial (Apr 3, 2015)

it was either the new filter or the new gravel that was causing him to twitch an not want to eat an just hanging around at the top or bottom of his tank not wanting to move i took the filter out an the gravel an hes just fine now bt i did notice hes lost a couple of his scales on his back not sure what thats from tho bt doesnt seem to be botherin him


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