# New Betta lies on gravel, tail fin clamped together



## oceanblaze (Jul 19, 2010)

Hi,

I'm sure this has probably been explained before but I can't find a thread where my symptoms are exactly the same. A little less than a week ago I bought a new betta, from the beginning he has been really sluggish and shy (hiding in the plants most of the time, only eating when he thinks I can't see) which I put down to the fact that he had just changed environments and was stressed. But after about 4 or 5 days I noticed he had started to lie down on the gravel & when he did move that his tail fin was all stuck together at the end, like he was unable to spread it properly. But there is no darkness or discolouration around the tip of the tail & it's not at all jagged which seems to rule out finrot, right? He mostly just lies on the gravel or on one of the fake plant leaves but every now and then he will move around and dart around the tank quite erratically. These symptoms seem to point to ich from doing a really quick search but he definitely doesn't have any white spots on him at all. He has some greyish colouring around his gills and mouth but I think a lot of bettas do. He lives in about a 20 litre unfiltered tank and it's heated to about 27 degrees Celsius. I've been doing 100% water changes daily since I noticed something was wrong but he hasn't been getting any better. Should I buy medication for Ich or could it be something else? Here is a picture

Thanks for any help


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## meeka (Jul 1, 2010)

hi there, he seems lovely.
why are you doing 100% water changes? i have always been advised from various lfs not to do more than 50% as it may alter the biological filter.
Have you been checking you water for nitrate and ammonia? also have you been checking the ph? 
The constant water changes may be stressing him out. If you do have ammonia/nitrate though then you must do 15-20% daily water changes until it has settled down.
A little salt wont hurt in his tank too, its 1tsp fpr every 20L/5g.
He may though just be trying to settle in, especially if he came from a glass jar or something similar and isnt used to all the room. But I really think you should test the water.


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## oceanblaze (Jul 19, 2010)

meeka said:


> hi there, he seems lovely.
> why are you doing 100% water changes? i have always been advised from various lfs not to do more than 50% as it may alter the biological filter.
> Have you been checking you water for nitrate and ammonia? also have you been checking the ph?
> The constant water changes may be stressing him out. If you do have ammonia/nitrate though then you must do 15-20% daily water changes until it has settled down.
> ...


I started doing 100% water changes 3 days ago when i noticed that his tail fin was all stuck together as the tank is not that large and, as I said, unfiltered. Honestly I thought it would be stressing him out but everything else I've read says that with small tanks when there is a possibility of bacteria or an infection 100% water changes are necessary? But if I should stop this then let me know. I've never bought a testing kit because I have used the same tap water with 2 other fish in similar tanks for a year and a half & have never had an issue like this before. Poor water conditions I can understand leading this kind of behaviour, the thing that makes me wonder if it is something like ich is how his tail fin is all stuck together. Even when he swims around and his other fins start to flare a little, his tail fin remains stuck together. Bearing in mind 2 other fish happily lived in similar conditions with the same water source for a long time, could it really be related to water quality? (I'm just asking so that I understand everything properly) I will purchase some aquarium salt tomorrow on my lunch break though. Thanks for your reply!


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

In an uncycled tank you will need to do 100% water changes, although I don't think you'll need to be doing them every day in a five gallon container. The usual water changing schedule for a 5 gallon would be one 50% change and one 100% change a week. Since he's sick you might want to do two 50% changes and one 100% change per week. Make sure you really take your time with acclimating your fish. You may want to lower the water level in your tank so your boy doesn't have to struggle to reach the top to breathe. 

If there are no white spots, then the fish does not have ich. He may have velvet, though, which is another external parasite that can be much harder to see. Try turning off all of the lights in the room and looking at your fish with a flashlight. If you see gold crusty bits, particularly in between the scales, or scattered all over the body, your fish may have velvet. Many fish naturally have gold coloration around the face, so don't assume it's velvet based on your fish's head alone. 

Is the fish eating and pooping? What does the poop look like?


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## oceanblaze (Jul 19, 2010)

I just had a look, there are no crusty bits at all. with the flashlight on he seems to have a kind of copper shimmer all over him but it kind of just looks like part of his natural colouring with the light being reflected off his scales. he hasn't really been eating either & i haven't noticed him pooping


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

Could be internal parasites--generally fish with internal parasites have a distended belly, loss of appetite, lethargy, and abnormal feces (stringy, white). The thing about IPs is that fish tend to respond very well to treatment and pass the worms in a few days and start eating again. Keep trying to get him to eat and monitor the feces. If you think it might be internal parasites, you should use a medication with the ingredient praziquantel. I have used Jungle's Parasite Clear in the past with some success.


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## KBoone (Jul 12, 2010)

Hello,

I had the same problem with a new HM I had gotten for my preschool class. I finally ended-up bringing him home so I could "nurse" him.

I had gotten home from work several day ago and found him "lying" on one of his plants. Of course, I thought he had died! Tapped the class and he was fine.

Anyway, long story short. . . it was the temperature. I increased it. He's fine now.  Maybe try another degree or so. And I agree, all the water changes could also be a contributing factor. Little guy could just need a little longer adjustment period. ;-)


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## zephyrchild (Jul 23, 2010)

My fish started looking and acting EXACTLY like that. Treat him for finrot. I didn't see anything that i thought looked like finrot on mine, it just seemed like his fins were pressed together, and then he died.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

oceanblaze said:


> hi,
> 
> i'm sure this has probably been explained before but i can't find a thread where my symptoms are exactly the same. A little less than a week ago i bought a new betta, from the beginning he has been really sluggish and shy (hiding in the plants most of the time, only eating when he thinks i can't see) which i put down to the fact that he had just changed environments and was stressed. But after about 4 or 5 days i noticed he had started to lie down on the gravel & when he did move that his tail fin was all stuck together at the end, like he was unable to spread it properly. But there is no darkness or discolouration around the tip of the tail & it's not at all jagged which seems to rule out finrot, right? He mostly just lies on the gravel or on one of the fake plant leaves but every now and then he will move around and dart around the tank quite erratically. These symptoms seem to point to ich from doing a really quick search but he definitely doesn't have any white spots on him at all. He has some greyish colouring around his gills and mouth but i think a lot of bettas do. He lives in about a 20 litre unfiltered tank and it's heated to about 27 degrees celsius. I've been doing 100% water changes daily since i noticed something was wrong but he hasn't been getting any better. Should i buy medication for ich or could it be something else? Here is a picture
> 
> thanks for any help


sorry for may grammar i am from russia
hi,i have 5 bettas and my 8-9 co worker has 2-3 ,so about 5 were sick with different symptoms. We went to fish gay at patstore, and medications we get help fish with columnaris,fin and tail rot and other symptoms. I treated my 2 fishes 9 mo ago they completely recovered. 

Please write me . I obsessed with betta and i will be glad to help u the medication i used is truly help.


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## oceanblaze (Jul 19, 2010)

Just an update - I've been changing the water every couple of days & I went to the petstore that sold him & they recommended this aquarium salt / bacteria & fungi inhibitor stuff that turns the water blue so I've been adding that with every water change. He seems to be doing a lot better. I haven't seen him lying on the gravel or remaining still for more than a few minutes in about 3 or 4 days. He is also eating. The only problem is that his tail fin is still all stuck together. But like I said earlier, there are no other physical signs of fin rot (i.e. no jaggedness or dark bits around the edges of said fins). Should I just continue with the regular water changes for a while (seems logical to me since it seems to be working) or should I advance to actually treating him for finrot with antibiotics?
Here is a picture showing the tail fin.


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