# HELP! Betta dying I think :(



## socom3riot

Ok, first off, my beta is around 3 year old. Not quite 3 years yet, but getting there. I have been told this is really old for a betta.

I noticed about a week or so ago that the fish started laying on the bottom of its bowl. People said "oh betas are known for being lazy" but in its entire life, I have never seen him act this way.

Now, it has been over a week, and he barely moves. He lays on his side at the bottom of the bowl, will not swim around unless touched. He will not eat, from what I have seen anyway. And he looks as if he is struggling to breathe, with his gills looking as though they are reach far out for oxygen.

One other thing to note is, once in a while, VERY RARELY, he will swim towards the top of the water, and go crazy swimming around and around as though he is trying to get his oxygen, but cannot get it. This doesnt happen often though.

Sorry for the short story, but im just trying to state everything I have noticed. I do realize he is really old, but if there is some possibilty that he is just sick, well, then I am going to try and do whatever I can.

Thanks.


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## socom3riot

socom3riot said:


> Ok, first off, my beta is around 3 year old. Not quite 3 years yet, but getting there. I have been told this is really old for a betta.
> 
> I noticed about a week or so ago that the fish started laying on the bottom of its bowl. People said "oh betas are known for being lazy" but in its entire life, I have never seen him act this way.
> 
> Now, it has been over a week, and he barely moves. He lays on his side at the bottom of the bowl, will not swim around unless touched. He will not eat, from what I have seen anyway. And he looks as if he is struggling to breathe, with his gills looking as though they are reach far out for oxygen.
> 
> One other thing to note is, once in a while, VERY RARELY, he will swim towards the top of the water, and go crazy swimming around and around as though he is trying to get his oxygen, but cannot get it. This doesnt happen often though.
> 
> Sorry for the short story, but im just trying to state everything I have noticed. I do realize he is really old, but if there is some possibilty that he is just sick, well, then I am going to try and do whatever I can.
> 
> Thanks.


Sorry I forgot something. I notice too that its almost as if he cant float right anymore... if that makes any sense... when he does try to swim, its like he is struggling to stay a float. Like hes trying really hard to swim, where as before it looked almost as if he wasnt trying at all.


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## socom3riot

Sorry, I keep thinking of things. 
I notice his body kind of curves too. 

Sometimes it will curve like in a " U " , sometimes it will curve in more of a "S". Almost like hes having spasms of some sort.

I do realize he is really old, at 3 years, but Im still thinking hes sick with something.


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## socom3riot

Thank you to all the 40 views with no reply. Appreciate it.


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## onekatietwo

Yikes. 
Maybe none of the viewers have had any ideas.


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## LaniBaby

it might just be old age. I think no one wants to reply because no one wants to give wrong or sad advice. I can't say that I know of that being the symptoms of anything particular, but my last fish, tuttle, got fin rot. after he started lying on the bottom and stopped eating, there wasn't anything i could do for him anymore. you can try putting him in a little cup with about an inch or 2 of water to see if he wants to eat but just can't swim up to the top well enough. 

are all his fins intact? no issues with the swim fins being deteriorated?


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## dukie1346

Well, of course it may be old age. With him laying on his side and him swimming in an S shape, he may have sbd which may or may not pass. There could be something else wrong, or just age. What size tank or bowl is he in? If he is in a large tank, I suggest moving him to a smaller maybe temporary container with some clean water. If he's struggling to swim, the shorter container may help to let him breathe a bit better. How long has he gone with no food? If it's been a long while, just keep trying to feed him, If it's been only a couple days, don't be all too worried, Betta's can survive with no food for up to 1- maybe 2 weeks. He may get too hungry and fnally eat. Good Luck.......


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## socom3riot

I've noticed his 2 fins on the bottom, the ones that kinda look like whiskers, are changing color, to a white-sh color. Infact his entire body is losing color, hes not the bright purple color he once was. But the whiskers at the bottom of the body are definitely turning white. 

He hasn't eaten in well over a week now. I changed his water today and he didn't even attempt to get away from me, just laid there and let me scoop him out. Then once he was in the small bowl he started goin nuts for a minute and then laid back down on the bottom.

He's in a bowl that holds around 1 US gallon of water. 

I dont know, I hear everyone talking about nitrates and all this other stuff. I've had this betta for around 3 years, and all I did was take water straight from the tap, let it sit out for around 2-3 days to evaporate any chlorine or w/e. And hes lasted 3 years so far, so I dont think it has anything to do with the water or anything.

I'll see if I can get a picture of him, I'll have to borrow a digi cam from a friend.


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## dramaqueen

Its best to use dechlorinator in your water to take all the chlorine and chloramine out of it instead of just letting the water sit for a few days. I'm sorry to say this but I think your fish is dying. Mine did the same thing before he died. Considering his age, I think he's lived a good, long life.


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## BennysMom

What happened to your Betta?
I am curious because the same thing is happening to mine now.
He was fine a few days ago, then just stopped eating.
He has been on the bottom of the tank for 5 days now, and still hasn't eaten. He has lost all his color and has curved his body as well. I feel so bad for the little guy, like he's in pain and there's nothing I can do about it. My Betta is about 2 years old, and everyone is saying it's old age. So weird that he can be fine one day and close to dying the next.
Please let me know what happened to your Betta and maybe I can help mine.


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## ecoprincess

WoW the symptoms sound a LOT like what is happening to my betta "FreddY". Like your fishy, Freddy has all the sudden started laying at the bottom of his (1 gal) tank. His belly had a little bump on one side but this morning there was a HUGE "poo" in the bottom of the tank....the bump is almost gone but Freddy is not any better. He does the same thing with the spastic swimming near the top of the tank (but only seen this twice in two days). THE ONE DIFFERENCE, is that Freddy is less then 6mnths old.....so i know its not old age. 

I dont want Freddy to die but it seems hard to isolate whats wrong with no other visual problems, his colour is a little duller...his two small fins are also turning white on the tips......its like his head is heavy ... he just sinks. 

Have you found a way to make your betta better yet? I think out fish have the same thing.......i wanna save Freddy.....i dont want him to die.


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## ChristinaRoss

*hmmm, i found this info for you.............I am quite concerned about his body curling and his inability to right himself. constipation **can cause these symptoms if he has been excessively overfed. It tends to occur most often when Bettas are fed a lot of dry pellets that swell in the gut when exposed to water. This can lead to pressure internally and the inability to regulate the swimbladder**. The swim bladder is the gas filled sack that fish use to control their buoyancy. What I find most worrisome is that the swelling appears to be more on one side. This could be a signal of an internal bacterial, viral or parasitic infection or even the early signs of Dropsy**. 

Before we fear the worst you may want to rule out constipation. If you can keep him in a glass bottom bowl without any substrate, this is a good idea when suspecting constipation. It will allow you to monitor how often he is excreting waste. In addition to observing him, consider fasting him for a day or two. Also, when you do feed him again be sure not to overfeed him. A betta's stomach is about as big as one of his eyeballs and he should be fed that amount about twice per day. For a full grown male betta that equates to about 1-2 tiny pellets, two times per day. If you are feeding him pellets, soak them in a cup full of tank water for about 10 minutes before feeding so they can swell to full size before entering the digestive track. This will also help you to better gauge the actual size of the pellets you are feeding. 

If after a day or two he still doesn't excrete any waste, try feeding him a tiny portion of blanched pea. Blanching is just quickly cooking it in boiling water. I usually drop a pea into a mug, fill with water and throw it in the microwave for 45 sec to a minute. Then I run it under cold water so it won't burn him when he eats it. Remember, don't feed him the whole pea; just a tiny portion of the inside about the size of his eyeball. 

Daphnia is also helpful in treating constipation in bettas. You can pick some up at most local fish stores and it acts as a mild laxative. It's also nutritious and bettas love the taste. *
*of course, keep an eye out for any additional symptoms and post them.*

*hope this helps.*


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## ecoprincess

Hi, 

Quick Update....  I got him some aquarium salt and put a bit in his tank....his colour is back (he was pretty grey looking this morning) and he's moving around a bit more....but still staying at the bottom "breathing hard". The small bump where his swim bladder is has pretty much gone away......altho its hard to tell completely with his positions.

I haven't fed him now in 2 days....and he hasn't had anything to eat in 3. He seems very uninterested in anything, so any attempt to feed him is unsuccessful. I spent some time with him thru-out the evening.....b4 his "bedtime" he seems a little responsive to my presence.

I notice his scales are a little pronounced......however nothing drastic.....im thinking that its my own paranoia taking over now that i am looking at him "through a microscope". I dont usually feed him the pellets....he doesnt like them (if thats possible) i give him the flakes with the worms in it.....i will try the pea tomorrow, will see if he eats it.

SoCom???? How is your betta??

Thnx for the help!!


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## ecoprincess

Hey....

Well today Freddy is at the surface of the water, his breathing is better (since he can now grab air from the top) and his colour is almost completely back to normal.

His back end still sinks a bit but his spirits are up. I tried to feed him and when i directed a small flake over his head HE ATE IT!!! YAY!

He is back to being responsive to my presence completely. His small fins "wag" when i approach the tank and talk to him.

I think in Freddy's case, he definately had swim bladder. (i keep him in my store so it might have been an issue of being over fed when i wasnt around) With all luck he will be back to "normal" in another day or two.

Just to recap what i did..... after orginal symtoms (no appetite, sinking/staying at the bottom, curved body, small bump at the rear end of his body, he even floated upside down at one point, then rapid loss of colour, heavy breathing and spastic jolts to the top of the tank for air) I reduced the level of the water so he didnt have as far to go for air, changed his water completely, i added (for the first time) aquarium salts (as per the direction on the box) and spent some "quality time" with him checking up on him and talking to him. 

He seems to be on the mend. Thank you for your advice and comments....hopefully this will help if anyone elses betta goes thru similar symptoms.

I will keep u updated if there are any other changes.


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## dramaqueen

I'm so glad that Freddy is doing better!


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## sgoheen08

My betta is about 2 and a half years old and he has all the same symptoms except for no curving of the body, atleast I dont think and there is no noticeable bump anywhere..He hasnt eaten in 3 weeks now but still seems active. I keep up with his water and change it once a week, now that he has a filter in his new 1.5 gallon tank..maybe he is not getting enough oxygen from the big tank? I feel like I am the one stressing him out by constantly changing his water,etc. He used to NEVER have an issue with eating, we may have overfed him at one point but since not eating for three weeks, I figured if there was something, it would have passed..there was poo in the bottom of the tank everytime I change it..I am going to try the salt and get a glass small bowl to put him in to monitor and see what happens...he doesnt have any rotting or anything...but the reason why i got him a bigger tank is because his tank was leaking and I caught it just in time, there was just enough water for him..so he was probly sitting in his feces til I caught it..ever since then, he has been acting strange..no loss of color though, or any kind of rotting..not sure whats going on with him..Not one day goes by without me next to his tank talking and trying to keep him active...everytime I approach the tank, he is either laying at the bottom or sitting right at the surface behind the filter..must be warm there..?


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## schluss

*time for me (and Clifford) to join the party...*

Clifford has the bump, white whiskers, S-shape body position, and struggles to swim. He has been floating at the surface -it seems as if he has a tough time NOT being at the surface. I'm going to pick up aquarium salt tmrw (if he's still kicking in the morning). I've had him for almost two years. Both myself and Brian -his brother -will be sad to see him go... Cross your fingers for us guys.


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## ladygrinningsoul27

My betta has been in this state for several weeks now. I feel so bad for the little creature and don't know how to help him. I've had him for about 2.5 years. 
When this affliction first started, he would lie at the bottom of his bowl and wouldn't eat. Now when he sees me and his food container, he struggles to reach the surface where he takes a few nibbles, but then it's too much for him, and he sinks to the bottom. When he's at the surface, he's in a vertical position.
I am assuming it's getting near the end of his life span. He's always been very healthy, and not a finicky eater.


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## Elowyn

I wish I would have read your post sooner, my betta died today. He was exhibiting the exact same symptoms. I only had him for a week. ( I bought him last Sunday.)


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## KMJBandmooch

dont worry Elowyn. my fish did the same thing after just over a week. minus the white on his fins exxactly the same. i put him in a smaller bowl. it didnt help. anyways, dont feel bad, get another fish, and try again, they are quite lovely


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