# New Betta, Possibly Blind?



## FranklinBloop2 (May 18, 2016)

Yesterday I got a dragon scale (or so they say) Betta from petco, who is now named Franklin. The first day he was pretty lethargic and didn't really do much but swim around the bottom of his new 2.5 gallon tank slowly. This morning I woke up to feed him and my other Betta, Bloop - who is kept in a different 3 gallon tank across the room, and Franklin is face down in his plant not moving so I think "Ill come back and feed him when hes hungry or at least try when hes moving around". Two hours later hes still face down in the plant and think "Maybe before I go to work". An hour later still face down in the plant... tap the side of the glass and he swims around lethargically, not interested in the food at all. Come home from work 7 hours later and hes back face down in the plant again, tap on glass because hes not moving at all - doesn't react, turns on light - doesn't react, thinking "I hope he didn't die on me" I move him with his net to try and move him to where I can look at him, he swims away but barely. He swims to the top of the tank, takes a breath and swims right into the wall, and again, and again. I waved my hand in front of him with no reaction. Put a mirror in front of him, which ALWAYS gets a reaction out of Bloop because Betta fish, and again no reactions. I poke the water right in front of him still no reaction. 

Since I just got him I cant really say that hes changed at all color wise, his eyes have a small amount of lighter color around them but other than that he looks healthy. His color is really bright and vivid, his fins look healthy and full and he seems to swim normally. 

Does anyone think they can help me out with whats going on?

P.s. I am only about 8 months into owning Bettas and Franklin is my second one, Bloop is a blue delta tail Betta. Franklin is a Red and white dragon scale Betta.


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## Betta T (May 19, 2016)

Hi!  
If your betta doesn't have a white spot o his eyes, then he is not blind. My fish ( a female) has been ok, but in one day he started acting in a strange manner. Now, he is doing like your betta. So, in my opinion, his eyes were burnt by ammonia, in my case this is the problem. Test your tank's water and see if there's any problem with the water.


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## Hopefish (Feb 9, 2016)

If he is blind, it sounds like that may be only one of his problems. Many blind bettas do quite well. His lethargy and unresponsiveness concern me. Tell us more about his situation -- temperature, tank size, etc


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## FranklinBloop2 (May 18, 2016)

I tested the Ammonia in his tank and its fine, along with the nitrate, nitrite, hardness, chlorine and Ph balance. Ive had him for a week now and hes actually doing better! Hes swimming around and has gotten more responsive! Ive been putting BettaFix in the water every morning just to see if that would do anything. It hasn't changed how hes looked but he is swimming more and he seems happier. Although I still can't get him to eat... 

He is in a 2.5 gallon tank and its currently at 80/81 degrees and it does have a filter in it. I did my last water change on Thursday and I did a 75% change because his water got super cloudy in a very short amount of time, it hasn't done that since the water change though. Hes got a rock fixture, a purple plant and one moss ball in with him. Ive been trying to feed him omega one freeze dried blood worms.


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## Hopefish (Feb 9, 2016)

Glad to hear he is doing better! Probably he was just really stressed.
Are you rehydrating the bloodworms before you feed?
You may want to try the O1 pellets -- they're better for him anyway.


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## Betta T (May 19, 2016)

I'm glad to hear that he is better. Try also daphnia, they enjoy that, at least mine do.


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## FranklinBloop2 (May 18, 2016)

Its been about 3 weeks now with Franklin. Hes swimming a lot more but hasnt eaten anything but a blood worm. So I went out and got Hikiari Freeze Dried Brine Shrimp. I crushed it into smaller pieces and he loves it! So happy hes eating now!


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## BettaStarter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

Freeze dried isn't good for them. Can cause bloat so I would keep trying pellets either O1 or NLS. Freeze dried is like snickers to Bettas as well.


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