# Help! My Betta Feesh keeps sinking to the bottom like a rock



## NewbieFishMarty (Jan 16, 2016)

Hey everyone,

My twin tail half moon betta had swim bladder disease when we first got him about a year ago. We nursed him back to health and he has been fine ever since. Recently he now just lays at the bottom of the tank and looks around. When he tries to swim it is erratic and his tail seems like an anchor and he drops like a brick to the bottom of the tank. Form below:

*Housing:*
How many gallons is your tank? 2.5
Does it have a filter? y
Does it have a heater? y
What temperature is your tank? 81
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? n
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? n

*Food:*
What food brand do you use? aqueon betta pellets
Do you feed flakes or pellets? pellets
Freeze-dried? y
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 1-2 pellets twice a day

*Maintenance:*
*Before* your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? once a week
What percentage of water did you change? 40-50%
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? vacuum
What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner? Prime, R/O Right

*Water Parameters:*
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help  you. Important: Test your water *before* the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0
pH:7.5
Hardness (GH): 25
Alkalinity (KH): 80

*Symptoms and Treatment:*
When did you first notice the symptoms? about a week ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? his fins appear a little less full
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? he sinks to the bottom and has trouble swimming, stays at the bottom a lot laying on his side at times
Is your Betta still eating? y
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? y - API general cure
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? y
How long have you owned your Betta? Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? y, about a year, swim bladder disease

What can we do? We just did the first dose of API General Cure last night and he seems the same if not a little worse off. The product says discontinue if the fish shows adverse effects but I dont know if its the meds or if he is just getting worse due to his condition. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. I will try and attach a photo shortly. We used the API meds because it seems like swim bladder again and possibly a parasite due to stringy white poop that hangs from him at times.

-Andrea and Mike


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## AmazingBettas (Feb 28, 2017)

Now, I'm still mostly a newbie myself, but I can tell you that he is not getting enough food! I feed my VT female 3 pellets at 8 a.m., a bloodworm at noon, two pellets around 4 p.m., and 3 more pellets at 8 p.m.
It's good to feed them little bits of food throughout the day rather than giving them a ton of food at once.
Also, 81ºF is a bit hot. You should keep it at 78ºF or so 
Lastly, I used to feed my betta those same pellets until I realized how bad they were... They have almost no meat in them and bettas are carnivores. I suggest getting him Omega One Betta Pellets 
Sorry I'm no help to his illness, but those are just some tips^
Hope he'll be ok! <3


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Sorry you're having trouble. 

We really need photos; especially one from above. Can you tell if he's pineconing? If he is you can start immediate treatment. Dissolve one teaspoon of unscented Epsom Salts per gallon of water. Do 100% water changes with a fresh mix for 10 days. If you don't have a hospital tank you can clip a small container to the side of his aquarium so his water stays heated. Punch holes in some plastic wrap to cover his container.

Do not feed him for a few days; it won't hurt him. Switch him to a more nutritious food like New Life Spectrum, Omega One or North Fin Betta Bites. If he is prone to bloat feed him two pellets 3x per day; if the bloating stops you can increase to three pellets. I prefer to keep my Betta habitats between 78-80; however, 81 is just fine and not too warm.

There'll be more when we see the photos. Regardless, you can start the ES treatment. It won't hurt him.


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## NewbieFishMarty (Jan 16, 2016)

His back end is very flat and he just lays this way all day.


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## NewbieFishMarty (Jan 16, 2016)

He isn't pine-coning. What about the current API treatment we already started? I forgot to mention I did try fasting him for about 2 days with no change in behavior. We feed all of our bettas typically 2 pellets twice daily and never had any issues, with the occassional blood worm treat (freeze dried). I added a picture. Let me know what you guys think. I will look into better food for all of our bettas as well.

-Andrea and Mike


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## NewbieFishMarty (Jan 16, 2016)

Anyone else willing to comment? Could use some advice on the last part of our post.

-Andrea and Mike


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## AmazingBettas (Feb 28, 2017)

My old betta did this... sadly he died within a few days after he started...
I don't know if I helped him or not but what I did was fast him, and I added one Indian Almond Leaf. The tannins from the leaf seemed to help, though he was old and quite sickly when I got him so that's probably why he died.

I would defiantly test your water. He could be quite sensitive to ammonia if the ammonia in your tank is high. My current VT female is SUPER sensitive to ammonia and will try and jump out of her tank to escape it. She's also squeezed herself behind the filter and refused to eat or come out. After some water changes, she was fine thankfully 

I would add 1 teaspoon of Epsom Salt per gallon of water. This helps with constipation. 

As for food, you need to be very picky with what you feed her. My female gets bloated extremely easily as well. I feed her Omega One Betta Pellets. Do not feed your betta freeze dried or flake food because it will make him bloated, most likely.

Are his gills red or black? Does he look swollen? Is he acting like he's having trouble breathing?

Also, when my friend's betta did this a couple years ago we got a frozen pea, microwaved it so it was like room temp, peeled it, and fed her betta little pieces of it. He got better almost instantly. I know some people say not to feed them peas because they are carnivores, which is true, but I've always found feed them a pea helps a lot.

If you have any frozen peas on hand I highly recommend that.

Hope this helps!


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## Nova betta (Dec 5, 2014)

Is he bloated at all? Do you have any other medications on hand? If you do I would start him on a anti bacterial med. Furan 2, maracyn 2 or kanaplex could work.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Did you start the Epsom Salt treatment as recommended? The photo doesn't show us anything, sorry.



AmazingBettas said:


> <<snip>>Also, when my friend's betta did this a couple years ago we got a frozen pea, microwaved it so it was like room temp, peeled it, and fed her betta little pieces of it. He got better almost instantly. I know some people say not to feed them peas because they are carnivores, which is true, but I've always found feed them a pea helps a lot.
> 
> If you have any frozen peas on hand I highly recommend that.<<snip>>


To be clear to anyone reading: A majority of members on this forum do not advocate using peas because there are better, safer alternatives. Frozen Daphnia is a better, natural choice. ES baths relieve not only bloating but constipation and is also a better alternative that taking chances feeding peas.


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## AmazingBettas (Feb 28, 2017)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Did you start the Epsom Salt treatment as recommended? The photo doesn't show us anything, sorry.
> 
> 
> 
> To be clear to anyone reading: A majority of members on this forum do not advocate using peas because there are better, safer alternatives. Frozen Daphnia is a better, natural choice. ES baths relieve not only bloating but constipation and is also a better alternative that taking chances feeding peas.


Hmm, I guess my betta just likes peas then? Because she was in a really bad condition and after feeding her a pea, she was back to herself within an hour


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## Falcon (Jan 9, 2008)

you're not feeding the betta enough. 

2 to 4 pellets a day is not very much. 

He looks thin either it's wasting disease or hes not eating enough.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Falcon said:


> you're not feeding the betta enough.
> 
> 2 to 4 pellets a day is not very much.
> 
> He looks thin either it's wasting disease or hes not eating enough.


 @Falcon: Good catch. I missed that one. Yes, he may be weak from lack of food. I'd try frozen for at least one meal a day; even every meal to get him eating and fattening up. So sorry I missed that.


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## NewbieFishMarty (Jan 16, 2016)

He doesn't seem constipated as we have seen him poop. We haven't started epsom salt treatment because we were in the middle of the API General Cure treatment and didnt want to further complicate things just yet. he is still eating, though I hesitate to feed him more than 2 pellets twice a day. Correct me if I am wrong but stomach size is the size of their eyeball and 2 pellets each feeding has been what we have fed him and 2 other Bettas we have since we have had Bettas. We ordered New Life Spectrum as an alternative food for our Bettas. They also get a freeze dried bloodworm as a treat every so often. Tomorrow is the 4th day of the API General Cure treatment and we will be doing another water change. We used this since we thought it might be wasting disease. Ammonia levels are zero on the API test strips. 

We are extremely weary of epsom salt amounts for our 2.5 gallon tank. Every time we read something online people say massively different amounts to use. And some are flaming others saying no that amount will kill your Betta. Tomorrow after we perform a water change we will try the epsom salt treatment. We are adding this to his main tank as we do not have a hospital tank and this will be an over time treatment and not one of those salt baths I keep hearing about. If we could get a general consensus of a few people for an amount of epsom salt we would feel much better about this approach. To note the 2 other Bettas we have are perfectly fine with the same water quality levels as listed in this post. 

Thanks everyone, hope to hear back soon.

-Andrea and Mike


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

The best way to determine how much to feed is not by number of pellets as some are .5mm and some are 1mm. I judge by whether their bellies are a bit rounded. You could try feeding him 3x per day instead of two.

I only recommend the heavy ES dips when a Betta is almost beyond hope. However, one teaspoon per gallon will not hurt them. You don't have to treat the entire tank. Get a container you can clip to the side of his tank; poke holes in the lid (from inside out so rough part is not pointed toward him; do 100% daily water changes for 10 days but no more. 

All Epsom Salt does is remove fluid; if he's not constipated or pine coning then the ES bath isn't necessary. Double Tails are notorious for SBD and other issues because of their exaggerated body shape. Same as deep chested dog breeds are prone to gastric torsions.

If he looks anything like this from above he definitely needs his food intake increased.


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