# Is my betta stressed?



## sybilline (Sep 6, 2011)

In my 20 US Gallon tank I have 3 platys, 2 mollys and 1 male betta. I introduced the betta and the mollys at the same time with caution, however I've never seen either fish bother the other.

What are the signs of a stressed betta? I'm worried because my betta seems to stick to the front of the tank, just swimming along it and he doesn't seem to venture into the middle or the back of the tank. I've turned the filter down to about 1/3 to 1/2 halfway so is cycling 400-600L of water an hour. He doesn't seem to be struggling against the current and he hasn't been bothered by the other fish.

Is my betta acting normally?

Here's a picture of the betta incase you feel he looks unwell:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/155/bettav.jpg/


----------



## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Hi and welcome to the forum =) Handsome guy you have there. He looks good, other then I believe he had a chunk taken out of his back tail it looks like. Another or himself got to him it looks like, but I could be seeing it wrong. His actions are of a physically healthy fish.

He may be stressed out with such a large tank. Is it a 20 long or 20 high tank? If it is the high, he won't be going down towards the bottom much since they prefer to be semi-close to the top to breathe. They do good with a lot of surface space and not overly deep. 
Not all bettas like other fish. Some handle and love company, others just hate it. It varies by the individual. As well as some just don't like big enclosures and prefer something small. Is it heavily planted with hiding places? They come from, and feel secure with tall plants, plants on the surface and caves. 
You want there to be no surface ruffling, ideally, when baffling a filter. You want to feel hardly any water coming out. 
Or, he could just feel safer right there and will swim there always without being overly stressed. 
It's hard to tell without actually watching him =(

Keep an eye out for clamped fins, loss of color, a thick stripe going down his side, lethargy. Also be careful of how much he is eating. They will eat themselves to near death, so if you are just tossing in flakes for all of them, he will have a grand ol' time and can become bloated easily. 

Good luck and wish you the best.


----------



## sybilline (Sep 6, 2011)

He came from Pets at Home like that, it definitely isn't the work of one of my fish.

Its a long tank, 24x12x15, he swims all over the front of the tank, he just sticks to the front 

He refuses flake food so when the others are feeding on flakes I feed him micro pellets, 3-4, is that too much? 

The filter does move the surface, however I've read that surface ruffling is good? Also, the current isn't overly strong as when I put the flake food in the food only goes in a slow circle so I can't imagine my betta is too stressed over it.

I'll look out for the signs, he moves lots and isn't lethargic and the only thing that I see wrong with him is his tail, however I assume that happened at the pet shop.


----------



## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Bettas prefer no ruffling, but a little is ok in a long tank like that. There is plenty of smooth surface in other areas. Pellets are fine, 2-3 per feeding, 4-6 per day is a healthy amount. 
Just keep the tank water clean to avoid fin rot until his fin heals, if you have stress coat, that will help promote growth a little faster.
He may just like to be up front so he can see what is going on in the room, they are curious and they pay attention to our going-ons. Mostly, they keep an eye out if you are coming to the tank to feed them. =P
He sounds healthy and fine all in all. He will adjust to the size and occupants and I'm sure in time he will start exploring more.


----------



## sybilline (Sep 6, 2011)

Myates said:


> Bettas prefer no ruffling, but a little is ok in a long tank like that. There is plenty of smooth surface in other areas. Pellets are fine, 2-3 per feeding, 4-6 per day is a healthy amount.
> Just keep the tank water clean to avoid fin rot until his fin heals, if you have stress coat, that will help promote growth a little faster.
> He may just like to be up front so he can see what is going on in the room, they are curious and they pay attention to our going-ons. Mostly, they keep an eye out if you are coming to the tank to feed them. =P
> He sounds healthy and fine all in all. He will adjust to the size and occupants and I'm sure in time he will start exploring more.


I only introduced him 3 days ago, could that be a reason?


----------



## sybilline (Sep 6, 2011)

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

Betta view of his fins, just walked into the room and he was at the top in the middle of the tank, maybe he's feeling my concern


----------



## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Yeah, if you got him that way he may of nipped it himself out of stress or boredom. Just keep an eye on it, make sure the edges of his fins don't get black/red and frayed/shredded. Otherwise it will heal on his own. Once you see clear to whitish coloring in that area then you know it's healing (fin regrowth). He is a cutie!

He was probably thinking "FOOOOOOD!" when he saw you... they remind me of our dog here, she is half lab and she is very food fixated lol. I can't get up without her thinking I'm heading into the kitchen for food and she tries to beat me there lol.


----------



## sybilline (Sep 6, 2011)

Myates said:


> Yeah, if you got him that way he may of nipped it himself out of stress or boredom. Just keep an eye on it, make sure the edges of his fins don't get black/red and frayed/shredded. Otherwise it will heal on his own. Once you see clear to whitish coloring in that area then you know it's healing (fin regrowth). He is a cutie!
> 
> He was probably thinking "FOOOOOOD!" when he saw you... they remind me of our dog here, she is half lab and she is very food fixated lol. I can't get up without her thinking I'm heading into the kitchen for food and she tries to beat me there lol.


Haha, I got worried when you said red as when his fins catch the light his fins turn into a blue/red streak, but its not around the edge of his veins and its sort of veiny!

Would be nice to see what happens when I'm not in the room, when I walk in they all swim to the top and frenzy


----------



## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

lol funny "Feeeeeed us".. and I just caught the 3 day part - yes, that could play a role in it. Once he gets used to the tank, and realizes his tank mates aren't going to eat him, he'll become brave and swim around more, finding nooks and crannies =)


----------



## EverythingNice55 (Jul 26, 2011)

Welcome to the forum! Hmm... He seems fine to me. i think it's normal, but when you're worried, it's always a good idea to keep checking up on him. If anything else strange happens, please tell us! Good luck!


----------



## sybilline (Sep 6, 2011)

I think I found the problem, I introduced 2 male mollys into the tank and observed the bigger molly chasing/bullying the smaller male. I decided to leave it as I've read mollys establish a pecking order. However I came home yesterday to find two of the platys fins had been split a tad and the small tear in my bettas fin had become completely torn. I decided it was more than coincidence and decided I needed to seperate the bigger molly from the tank.

I separated him by putting him in a breeding tank that floated around, I rang pets at home and they wouldn't take him back as he could introduce disease into their tanks. I have no friends into the hobby nor would I wish to give them the bully molly, so the only thing I could think of was to euthanize the fish. I used the clove oil method, I know you'll dissatisfy greatly with this as he was a healthy fish however in my eyes it was my only option, I still feel grieved that I had to do this.

Long story short, my betta seems much happier and is exploring every bit of the tank, the smaller molly seems happier as he's showing his fins happily instead of scrunched up and the platys are happier as they're back to their usual selves (they were the first fish I had before I introduced the betta/mollys)

Thanks everyone


----------



## Qishi (Sep 26, 2011)

You could have sold him on craigslist or even given him away for free to a new owner. It's sad he had to be euthanized when he was perfectly healthy


----------



## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

Aw, I feel as though you could have tried to re-home the guy. What's done is done I guess. Remember to keep the water super clean to heal the bettas fins.


----------

