# Betta sitting on bottom of tank? Swimming in short bursts?



## TimmyD

Alright so about 2 hours before I was going to bed last night, I noticed my fish was sitting at the bottom of the tank. I was a little worried, but he has always slept on top of something, or at the bottom under a plant or something.

About 4 days ago I switched him from a 2 gallon to a 10 gallon. It has a filter, a 10-30gallon heater,(it's only filled up about 7 gallons) the water is at about 75. I also used bottle water and it was a 100% change from tank to tank. I got the bottled water tested and it had a 7.3PH level.

The first 3 days in the tank, he was fine, he was swimming around it a lot, he would flare a little bit at his new reflection, he seemed much more happy and active than before.

But last night, and all through last night, he just sits at the bottom, he won't really move at all. I would have to touch him for him to move, and then he really freaked out when he did that. (Thought he was dead.) He'll get up and swim for about 2 or 3 minutes, but it's just in these weird crazy bursts. It looks very unnatural. 

I really don't know why he is doing this, I really don't see anything wrong with him?:-(


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## Oldfishlady

Bottled water is not regulated and some of it is just filtered tap water and and can contain chlorine, did you add a dechlorinator? Long term use of bottled type water also can have all the needed minerals removed by the filtering process that the fish needs for good health. Why can't you use your tap water?
Also, how much and how often on the water changes and when was the last one? Ammonia can build up within 3 days so I would make a 50% water change just to rule out water quality issues.
I would also raise the temp some to 78-80F area
Any other fish with him in the 10g or live plants


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## Mister Sparkle

I agree on the need for a water change. That's a new aquarium, and 3 days of ammonia build-up just might be enough to make him feel lethargic. The pH is a lot less likely to hurt a betta than ammonia/nitrite content. And if he went from, perhaps 80-degrees to 75-degrees, that might have been a shock to him. 

Any other symptoms? Swelling in the midsection, perhaps?


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## TimmyD

Oldfishlady said:


> Bottled water is not regulated and some of it is just filtered tap water and and can contain chlorine, did you add a dechlorinator? Long term use of bottled type water also can have all the needed minerals removed by the filtering process that the fish needs for good health. Why can't you use your tap water?
> Also, how much and how often on the water changes and when was the last one? Ammonia can build up within 3 days so I would make a 50% water change just to rule out water quality issues.
> I would also raise the temp some to 78-80F area
> Any other fish with him in the 10g or live plants


Well I was using bottle water in the other thank, same kind, for about a month, and he was fine. I don't use my tap water because it has a lot of chlorine in it. I usually do water changes every 4 days. The last one was earlier this morning. I removed 75% of the water, and added 50%. So I lowered the water a bit hoping it would warm up a bit. The heater I have is suppose to be 78..but it doesn't really seem to warm up that high, and the heater is off and on every 15minutes. I'm thinking that maybe a problem..

There are no other fish, another Betta was bought and put in the old tank, and she is doing fine. I have no live plants, I have a new open log that I put in there, and that's his favorite, and there is some fake plants, but nothing real. I don't think oxygen is a problem.


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## TimmyD

Mister Sparkle said:


> I agree on the need for a water change. That's a new aquarium, and 3 days of ammonia build-up just might be enough to make him feel lethargic. The pH is a lot less likely to hurt a betta than ammonia/nitrite content. And if he went from, perhaps 80-degrees to 75-degrees, that might have been a shock to him.
> 
> Any other symptoms? Swelling in the midsection, perhaps?



The water maybe dropped about 3 degrees. He seemed fine the first 3 days in the new tank, now he is just sitting at the bottom, you'd think he was dead. I just changed the water, and while I was changing the water, he got up and was swimming around. I noticed before when he would float, he would be stationary. He seems like he could just sit there forever, now it seems like he kind of sinks.

I really see no health problems, and he looks great, he isn't over eating or anything like that.


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## Mister Sparkle

If he does OK for the rest of the day, I'd do another 50% water change tomorrow and then every other day after that for a little while. If he continues to have problems swimming, watch for swelling in his midsection. It's a possibility you could be dealing with SBD. Let's hope that's not it.


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## TimmyD

Alright, thanks mister sparkle. He got up and went in the log to lay on the bottom. I see no swelling, but i'll keep on the lookout, and when he gets up again I'll try and feed him a little.


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## TimmyD

UPDATE:

He came up and was looking for food, because it was about his time to eat. I fed him 3 flakes and he ate them all, he was still looking up but I'm not going to feed him anymore. He swam around for about 10 minutes, but instead of just swimming naturally, he is still swimming in these bursts. I've seen him swim like this before but that's when he'd see his reflection and flare. Sorry if I'm posting so much I'm pretty worried.


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## TimmyD

If anybody is wondering I put him from his 10 gallon back to his 2 gallon, in the first hour he is back to his old self. I'm thinking it was probably stress related from a such bigger and new tank.


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## Oldfishlady

Your right Timmy, it could be stress from the new bigger tank and temp related shock issue too, also get some dechlorinator and use your tap water for water changes it really is much better for him mineral wise and when you use bottled water you need to use dechlorinator too because the bottle water can have chlorine in it too due to no regulations on it and it may just be filtered tap water....glad to hear he is better....would love to see some pic....


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