# Fish only stays in top corner of tank



## sheltup (Apr 3, 2021)

Hi all, I just got a new betta fish three days ago. The first day we got her she was very active and eating well, swimming around the tank too. Since today and yesterday she seems to only want to stay near the surface in the corner where her heater is (temp is 79). today we did a 50% water change because I read there may be something wrong with oxygen levels, and we also added half a teaspoon of baking soda because the alkalinity was quite low, and is better now. she doesn't seem to care for food now, she woke up during the water change and was pretty active for a while but then she went right back to her corner. Could this just be stress from the recent move or is it something more? We are also going to get a lot more decor so she can feel safer and have more hiding spots. We also ordered an aquaclear 20 filter that's on its way just in case there's something wrong with the current filter, the brand is topfin. We also ordered better food and are trying to feed her the flakes for the time being. I will attach a picture of her as well, does she look bloated to you guys? The fin on her back worries me a little bit because it looks quite small and thin but I couldn't capture that in a picture. The rest of her fins look fine.

How many gallons is your tank? 5
Does it have a filter? yes
Does it have a heater? yes
What temperature is your tank? 79 F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? no

Food:
What food brand do you use? API
Do you feed flakes or pellets? flakes
Freeze-dried? no
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? I've tried to feed a few flakes twice a day.

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? I have only performed one water change, I have had it for two or three days.
What percentage of water did you change? 50%
What is the source of your water? sink
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? did not vacuum substrate
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? tetra cleaning bacteria, conditioner is API

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: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
pH: 7.4
Hardness (GH): 100
Alkalinity (KH): 160

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? the day after I got her
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? has not changed 
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? she sits in the corner of tank, it looks like she's always sleeping.
Is your Betta still eating? no
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? did a 50% water change, added 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for alkalinity. we are ordering new filter and more hiding spots
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? not sure
How long have you owned your Betta? 3 days
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? not sure


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

Hi! I have a few thoughts;

Try baffling the outflow from the filter you have now - it could be that she's uncomfortable with the water flow.

Stop adding baking soda - the parameters you need to focus on are ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. The others are parameters that fish can accomodate, except when these fluctuate.

You'll want to do another water change - that ammonia needs to be zero.

Did you cycle the tank? Here is a fish-in guide;








CYCLING: the two-sentence tutorial


Change half the water when either ammonia or nitrite approach 0.50ppm, or weekly, whichever comes first. Add Prime at 2-drops per gallon of tank size every day until cycled. That’s all you have to do. You can stop reading now. But there’s a lot of information packed into those...




www.bettafish.com


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## sheltup (Apr 3, 2021)

Mbpoppy said:


> Hi! I have a few thoughts;
> 
> Try baffling the outflow from the filter you have now - it could be that she's uncomfortable with the water flow.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the reply! unfortunately with the filter I have now I cannot change the outflow and it seems to be pretty subtle as it is.


Mbpoppy said:


> Hi! I have a few thoughts;
> 
> Try baffling the outflow from the filter you have now - it could be that she's uncomfortable with the water flow.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your reply! Unfortunately with the filter I have now there is no way to change the outflow, and it seems pretty subtle as is. 

I mistakenly thought that cycling meant adding the conditioner and then just letting the tank sit for 24 hours so I will definitely do another water change right now to take care of that ammonia.

She just took a bite of food which is great, we also ordered an air pump to ensure she's getting enough oxygen in there.


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## sheltup (Apr 3, 2021)

Here is another picture of her, I'm just not sure whether or not that dorsal fin is normal.


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## SammiDraco (Mar 24, 2021)

Hello and welcome!

I was wondering where you got her from? Was it a pet store, or a super-store grocery, or online, etc? And what were her conditions before you got her? In my area, it's rare to find a betta in good, clean, safe and healthy conditions in pet stores. They're often kept in a tiny little tupperware without even enough water to move around, and they're usually sitting in their own excrement and rotten leftover food for days or longer. Nothing can survive those conditions for long, and sometimes when you bring them home they're already on the verge of death. Sometimes you'll even get infection or disease from these conditions. I've personally gone through four bettas who have all died within a week before finding one who was able to hang on.

If these were the conditions you got your little girl in, I'd say the best thing you can do is keep a close watch on your parameters. Pretty much everything Mbpoppy says. A good diet comes next. I personally recommend frozen foods like bloodworms, brine shrimp, and daphnia. Or even refrigerated mosquito larvae. But there are a lot of wonderful alternatives that others can recommend as well.

As for the decor, make sure that it's all non-toxic. There are lots of plastic decor out there that claims to be aquarium-safe, but in the end it leaches out a lot of harmful chemicals into the water. You can do some Google searches to find out if yours is safe.

In the meantime if she seems stressed and has nowhere to hide, you can try turning off the aquarium light or even putting a towel over the tank to keep everything dark for her. It might help make her feel more comfortable and safe. Being too stressed can cause any healing process to slow down. Also I'm not sure if you're already using this or not, but API makes a "stress coat" conditioner that's supposed to work well for stressed out bettas. If you're not already using it, it might be worth a try.

As for her dorsal fin, I think it looks pretty normal but I'm not 100% sure. I know when my betta gets freaked out or is feeling insecure he'll pull his dorsal fin closer to his body until he feels a bit more relaxed. (Unless he feels threatened, in which case he flares out, but that's a different story.) I would say you could always put a mirror up to her tank to see her flare, just to get a better look at her fin, but if she already seems really stressed and unwell then it might be better to hold off on that for a while until she's doing better.

In the end you can only do your best. Good luck! I hope she's feeling better soon!


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## sheltup (Apr 3, 2021)

Thank you so much for all this info this is so helpful! Unfortunately she did come from a pet store, but was extremely interactive and hyper even in her little cup. I just realized that I mixed up the directions on my test strips and waited too long to read the ammonia strip after putting it in the tank water, so the ammonia is actually zero. I'm pretty optimistic as she seems to be feeling a little bit better since today's water changes. I will definitely look into the stress coat conditioner, and we are waiting on our frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp to come in the mail as well as some NLS pellets and some other things for the tank. Thank you so much for your help and I will make sure to update as needed!


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

By the way, I have a topfin hang off the back filter - is that what you have? I find the outflow is too much. Yours a baby so she doesn't have a lot of strength to handle water current. Her top fin is fine, I think--it just needs to grow. I've gotten my fish from a pet store - some stores do a decent job of taking care of their fish 

You can use plastic sewing mesh, cut to size and doubled, with a couple of plastic cable ties to wrap around the top of the filter which slows the outflow.

You might want to additionally keep a close watch on her to see whether she gets stuck against the bottom of the filter - I had to put some more plastic mesh around the bottom of the filter can so the inflow didn't "catch" my little female.

Another option if you have a different type of filter would be to put an unused soap dish underneath the outflow.


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## sheltup (Apr 3, 2021)

Mbpoppy said:


> By the way, I have a topfin hang off the back filter - is that what you have? I find the outflow is too much. Yours a baby so she doesn't have a lot of strength to handle water current. Her top fin is fine, I think--it just needs to grow. I've gotten my fish from a pet store - some stores do a decent job of taking care of their fish
> 
> You can use plastic sewing mesh, cut to size and doubled, with a couple of plastic cable ties to wrap around the top of the filter which slows the outflow.
> 
> ...


We got our tank as a kit so the filter for it is sort of built into the back of the tank, I will upload a picture that shows the outflow. That's reassuring to know about the fin and as of now she's actually using one of her hides so I think we're on the right track! We have an aquaclear 20 filter on the way so we will probably end up just turning off the built-in one and that way I can easily control the flow of the aquaclear


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## sheltup (Apr 3, 2021)

sheltup said:


> We got our tank as a kit so the filter for it is sort of built into the back of the tank, I will upload a picture that shows the outflow. That's reassuring to know about the fin and as of now she's actually using one of her hides so I think we're on the right track! We have an aquaclear 20 filter on the way so we will probably end up just turning off the built-in one and that way I can easily control the flow of the aquaclear


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

One more thought (I love your baby, can you tell ? ) if you don't like the new filter or it takes up too much room, you could try a smaller 1-4 gallon topfin filter. Not that I'm recommending this in general for large fish (more input more output lol, and poops that don't get cleaned right away create more need for filtering and water changes) or more than one youngster, but that's what I have in my 5 gallon for my little female, which is also a topfin kit. I wanted less vibration, noise and less outflow than the filter had which came with the tank. It's not a perfect solution - still has vibration even with suction cups keeping it off of the tank wall, but it's quieter and has a lower outflow.


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## sheltup (Apr 3, 2021)

Mbpoppy said:


> One more thought (I love your baby, can you tell ? ) if you don't like the new filter, you could try a smaller 1-4 gallon topfin filter. Not that I'm recommending it in general for large fish (more input more output and poops that don't get cleaned right away create more need for filtering and water changes) or more than one youngster, but that's what I have in my 5 gallon for my little female, which is also a topfin kit. I wanted less vibration, noise and less outflow, and it's not a perfect solution - still has vibration even with suction cups keeping it off of the tank wall, but it's quieter and has a lower outflow.


Okay awesome, I'll definitely keep that in mind! And she is soooo adorable and so smart and interactive too, she's like a little human trapped in a fish body 😂 I definitely got lucky with her


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## sarille (Apr 4, 2021)

sheltup said:


> Hi all, I just got a new betta fish three days ago. The first day we got her she was very active and eating well, swimming around the tank too. Since today and yesterday she seems to only want to stay near the surface in the corner where her heater is (temp is 79). today we did a 50% water change because I read there may be something wrong with oxygen levels, and we also added half a teaspoon of baking soda because the alkalinity was quite low, and is better now. she doesn't seem to care for food now, she woke up during the water change and was pretty active for a while but then she went right back to her corner. Could this just be stress from the recent move or is it something more? We are also going to get a lot more decor so she can feel safer and have more hiding spots. We also ordered an aquaclear 20 filter that's on its way just in case there's something wrong with the current filter, the brand is topfin. We also ordered better food and are trying to feed her the flakes for the time being. I will attach a picture of her as well, does she look bloated to you guys? The fin on her back worries me a little bit because it looks quite small and thin but I couldn't capture that in a picture. The rest of her fins look fine.
> 
> How many gallons is your tank? 5
> Does it have a filter? yes
> ...


Hi! I also noticed this behavior in my fish after we moved houses. It may be that the filter isn't able to make the heat flow all the way around so your fish likes where it's warm. It may also be that your fish is still adjusting to it's new environment! This behavior stopped after a few weeks in my fish and he stopped hanging out at the corner. You can try waiting it out a bit to see if your fish slowly starts swimming around the tank.


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## Asbofish (Sep 25, 2020)

sheltup said:


> View attachment 1028750
> 
> 
> Here is another picture of her, I'm just not sure whether or not that dorsal fin is normal.


Welcome to the forum. 

Dorsal looks structurally fine just a little clamped in posture due to stress of cycling. That should resolve itself when ammonia levels drop and a steady nitrate build starts. 
Don't worry too much, just keep on top of water changes.


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## KekeTheBettaDoc (Dec 3, 2020)

What a cute little girl-does she have a name yet?

Like Sammi Draco said a good diet should also help her perk up. Unfortunately API food is pretty low quality and has a lot of fillers and such- I prefer foods such as New Life Spectrum, Northfin Betta Bits, Omega One Betta Buffet, Fluval Bug Bites etc. Frozen foods a few times a week may also be good as she looks quite young.

Make sure to get her on a good water change schedule-every 24 hrs with Prime and Seachem Stability until cycled and then after that a 25% water change weekly. Make sure to gravel vacumn the substrate to get all the gunk out.

In my opinion test strips are incredibly inaccurate and expensive-it's around 4 test strips for $6. The API Master Kit has around 800 tests for $22 and I have been using it on my 6 tanks for the past 2 years with no issues.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Female dorsal fins are smaller than male dorsals. So she's normal.

What you need to do is pretty much answered in the above posts. I would only suggest adding Indian Almond Leaves or plain Rooibos Tea. In addition to having antibacterial and antifungal properties, they offer a more calming and soothing habitat.

Unless a filter is so strong that it blows your Betta all over the tank and there are no areas to rest or eat the current is fine. All aquariums need good current to keep them healthy.

You don't need another filter. If you feel you need to baffle (it doesn't sound as if you do) the best way is to use a stick-on soap dish under the output. This gentles the flow but doesn't interfere with the function of the filter. You can add colored glass, marbles, etc., to the dish for color.

For future information, filters are ranked by the number of gallons filtered in an hour (GPH). Five gallons per hour is best GPH (25 GPH for a 5). Any less and a tank isn't being sufficiently filtered/cleaned. If a filter is adjustable, the lower you adjust the less efficiency of the filter. I hate to tell you, but the AquaClear 20 is too strong for a five gallon. It is for 10-20 gallons. Of course, you _could_ get her a 10 gallon. 
***
I agree with most of what KeketheBettaDoc said. However, SeaChem directions instruct Stability be used double dose on Day 1 and single dose Days 2-8. Probably won't hurt to use it every 24 hours but it would be a waste of money. I have been using it to cycle my tanks for 8+ years and am always successful using it as directed.

For anyone choosing Stability, shake the heck out of the bottle and then shake it again.


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> plain Rooibos Tea


The plain tea version is key - there's Rooibos Chai and other types of variations of Rooibos. The ingredient list should just read Rooibos, preferably Organic, and nothing else


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## sheltup (Apr 3, 2021)

KekeTheBettaDoc said:


> What a cute little girl-does she have a name yet?
> 
> Like Sammi Draco said a good diet should also help her perk up. Unfortunately API food is pretty low quality and has a lot of fillers and such- I prefer foods such as New Life Spectrum, Northfin Betta Bits, Omega One Betta Buffet, Fluval Bug Bites etc. Frozen foods a few times a week may also be good as she looks quite young.
> 
> ...


Thank you for all this great information! My little girl doesn't have a name yet, I'm still thinking about it  we've ordered some NLS betta pellets as well as frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp. I'll make sure to get that master kit too, that seems like a much better option for us, not to mention I'm going through the test strips like crazy. This morning she's doing awesome, she's super active and trying to eat her food (she keeps spitting it back out, which I'm hoping will be resolved once we get her on the new food).


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## sheltup (Apr 3, 2021)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Female dorsal fins are smaller than male dorsals. So she's normal.
> 
> What you need to do is pretty much answered in the above posts. I would only suggest adding Indian Almond Leaves or plain Rooibos Tea. In addition to having antibacterial and antifungal properties, they offer a more calming and soothing habitat.
> 
> ...


Oh no! I hope I can find a way to baffle the outflow of the new one, I'd hate to have bought a filter only to not be able to use it  I had heard some good things on here about using the aquaclear 20 for a five gallon so hopefully things will work out one way or another. We are definitely going to get the stability and I will look into the tea as well. Thank you so much!


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

sheltup said:


> I'd hate to have bought a filter only to not be able to use it


You should be able to return it if necessary - check the returns policy before you unbox it. Some companies such as Amazon as well as Chewy have incredibly easy and no-expense/no hassle returns.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

sheltup said:


> Oh no! I hope I can find a way to baffle the outflow of the new one, I'd hate to have bought a filter only to not be able to use it  I had heard some good things on here about using the aquaclear 20 for a five gallon so hopefully things will work out one way or another. We are definitely going to get the stability and I will look into the tea as well. Thank you so much!


What makes you think the current filter isn't working?

If it hasn't been mentioned, new Betta will sometimes not eat for two weeks. It is not unusual nor usually indicative of any issue. So it just took your girl a bit to adjust.

Know that when they take the pellets into their mouth they are rasping the food with their teeth and swallow bits of food so she's not starving.


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## sheltup (Apr 3, 2021)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> What makes you think the current filter isn't working?
> 
> If it hasn't been mentioned, new Betta will sometimes not eat for two weeks. It is not unusual nor usually indicative of any issue. So it just took your girl a bit to adjust.
> 
> Know that when they take the pellets into their mouth they are rasping the food with their teeth and swallow bits of food so she's not starving.


I guess originally my thinking was that she wasn't getting enough oxygen due to poor filtration which is why she stayed at the surface. But she's doing awesome now so I'm sure it was just the stress of moving to a new home. I will probably return the filter once it arrives.


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