# Betta Sinks To Bottom Of Tank & Lays On His Side



## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

Hi All!

My male betta is in a 5 gal tank alone, with a biowheel, carbon filter and a heater. I've blocked the stream from the filter so he doesn't get bounced around from the current, and I have a guard on the filter in take. There is a hood with a pretty nice bulb in it. Although, that probably needs to be replaced. I have 1 plant in the tank, but it's not doing so great. I want to say it's a fern?

I change the water about 25-50% once a week. All of the water tests are good, except for the pH sometimes gets a little high. That's usually when I change the water again. The temp of the water fluctuates between about 76 and 82 depending on how efficient the air conditioner in the office has been. I always treat the water and add some AQ salt to ensure that he stays healthy.

I've had him for about a year and a half.

He's never been a really active, but about 6-7 days ago, he started acting really lethargic. He would lean against the items on the bottom of the tank, and just hang out there. Then he'd swim to the top in a shot and then sink to the bottom like a rock. I began to notice that he leaned to one side, and that's why he was leaning against things. 

My first thought was that he was constipated or had swim bladder disorder, so I fed him some pea. I believe he took a bite of one piece, but I can't be entirely sure. I stopped feeding him the Aqueon pellets that I normally feed him to help treat constipation. I didn't turn the water temp up because it's been getting hot around here this summer and I didn't want it to get much higher than 82.

On friday, he started to just lay sideways at the bottom of the tank, breathing heavily. He still shoots to the top, but then sinks quickly to the bottom. So I changed the water again and replaced it with the "Ready Water" from Petsmart. I also used half a tablet of the Tetra Fungus Guard because it was the only thing that even remotely said that it treated swim bladder. Plus, I figured that it a wide-scope treatment wouldn't hurt. 

I left him over the weekend and today he's still alive, but still laying on the bottom and breathing hard. I have several things in the tank for him to lay on closer to the surface, so that he doesn't have to swim as far.









The white patch you see on him is actually on the outside of the tank. There isn't anything else I see that could be alarming on him. No patches or bulges or anything.

Do you guys have any ideas? Is it just old age and he's passing very slowly? Or is there something I can do for him?


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14 (Oct 22, 2013)

It sounds like sbd, is he lethargic or is it just not worth his effort to swim? You can try to treat sbd with Epsom salts (1tsp/g) and frozen daphnia, peas are kinda not a good thing to use sometimes since betta can't digest them properly.


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## Kozmotis (Jul 14, 2014)

This article covers the problem that your little friend is having.  http://velvetdragon.com/bettas/sbd.html#symptoms


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## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

Bikeridinguckgirl14 said:


> It sounds like sbd, is he lethargic or is it just not worth his effort to swim? You can try to treat sbd with Epsom salts (1tsp/g) and frozen daphnia, peas are kinda not a good thing to use sometimes since betta can't digest them properly.


Thank you. I will try that. Just put the Epsom salt in?

It seems lethargic. Hard to tell though. He swims to the top in a flash and then he kind of sinks to the bottom. He'll try to stop at places along the way but slips and falls to the bottom.

Where do I get the frozen daphnia? He's not eating at all and his breathing seems VERY labored. I haven't tried to feed him peas since Friday and haven't fed him anything else until today when I tried. But he has no interest in eating or doing anything but sitting at the bottom


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14 (Oct 22, 2013)

Yup, take out some tank water, dissolve it in that, add it in, do an extra water change in 2 days (so 2 changes this week)


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## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

Kozmotis said:


> This article covers the problem that your little friend is having.  http://velvetdragon.com/bettas/sbd.html#symptoms


I've done all of that except for clean the bottom of the tank.


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

Do not feed him peas. They will cause more harm then actually helping.

you can get frozen daphnia at local fish stores. Some people say that petsmart carries it but my petsmart doesn't so it will depend on where you live. Do not get freeze dried, it will just cause him to get more bloated.


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## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

VivianKJean said:


> Do not feed him peas. They will cause more harm then actually helping.
> 
> you can get frozen daphnia at local fish stores. Some people say that petsmart carries it but my petsmart doesn't so it will depend on where you live. Do not get freeze dried, it will just cause him to get more bloated.


Like I said, I haven't fed him anymore since Friday. But he won't eat anything. So even if I got the daphnia, he wouldn't eat it. I'm not even certain he ate anything from the pea. He hasn't eaten since probably Tuesday or Wednesday.


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

Try a few days with epsom salt and once that helps his system clear up a bit, he may want to eat


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## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

Thank you for your help. I'll keep you updated!


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## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

I added 4 tsp of epsom salt to the water today. I want to make sure that's OK, since I had added the Tetra Fungus Guard on Friday and always add aquarium salt with my water changes.

I'm floating him in a cup at the top so that he doesn't have to travel far for air. I'm hoping that helps his heavy breathing. I tried to give him a few pellets to see if he was interested but he's not even remotely interested in it.

Here's a video: http://youtu.be/iqRB1reL8cQ

You can see how hard he's breathing. One of his eyes is starting to look like he has popeye. Here's a picture of that. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jszc8oo9x738u7t/photo.JPG

Should I turn the light off for him or anything? I'll test the water again this afternoon and let you know.


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

I would stop adding the Aquarium Salt since it can actually make SBD worse.


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## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

Water stats:
pH 7.6
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

I did give him some Melafix in the water about 3 weeks ago because I suspected fin rot, but I've changed the water several times.

Still VERY labored breathing. (You can see the inside of the gills come out when he breaths.) He's still in the cup. Should I let him out of the cup?

Any more thoughts?


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## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

The reason why I'm worried about him in the cup, is that he's been having a hard time flipping himself so he can lay down straight. He struggles getting his tail out from underneath himself.


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## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

24 hours in with Epsom salt, and we're still the same. 

When I change the water tomorrow, should I add more epsom salt?


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

yes. add enough epsom salt to keep the dosage the same. For example, if you change 1 gallon of water then add one teaspoon of epsom salt to the new water.

Epsom salt can take a few days to start to show any effects.


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## Kumo (Oct 26, 2013)

Do you clean your food out after 10-25 minutes of feeding him? If not, he might be suffering from ammonia poisoning. It sounds like he has swim bladder disorder. I'd recommend trying to stabilize the tank temperature too.


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## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

He normally ate the food right away, so I never removed it. I checked the water parameters yesterday and there wasn't any trace of ammonia. 

Water stats:
pH 7.6
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

I think the heater is keeping it pretty stable. It moves a degree or two right now.


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## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

By the way, thank you everyone for your help so far!


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## LizzEGirlE (Jul 14, 2014)

Hi all,

I found him gone this morning. Thank you for the help you offered.


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