# Betta fish does not swim - stuck at bottom of tank



## maizo (Jan 3, 2012)

I have a Blue Betta fish called Rico. Rico has been stuck at the bottom of the tank for several weeks now. It has not eaten for a while and it does not swim unless forced to. When it swims it is upside down or sideways and only for very short periods of time. He used to be a healthy eater and very playful and aware of everyone. His color has remained impecable, fins, scales and eyes look normal and there are no other signs of diseases.

His tank is small, about 1 1/2 gallons of water, I always use Water conditioner. Originally I thought Rico was suffering from swim bladder disease so after doing some reasearch I added salt and bettafix medication to try both the bacterial and constipation versions of the disease. I started that about 2 weeks ago. At that time I started to change the water every 2 days at first for 10 days but I saw no change and it seemed to bother Rico more so I stop doing that and still no change. I have not tried the peas solution since he does not seem to want to eat.

I feel bad for Rico and was wondering if he is suffering and what should I do next?

TIA


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Hmm, does he "swirl" when he swims? like in a spiral? Do you see any scales sticking up? do you know what temperature his tank is at?


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## maizo (Jan 3, 2012)

*Swirl?*

Thanks for answering. 

I am not sure what you mean by "swirl". He does not rotate when he swims but his swiming is not normal either. It is jumpy. I don't have a water temperature device in his tank, but the house is kept in the low 70s in the winter... He is positioned in the kitchen island with plenty of indirect sun exposure, when there is sun that is...

He has no scales stuck in any position.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Okay, then we can rule out dropsy, and we can rule out organ failure (dropsy scales stick out, organ failure they go into a spiral and soon die).

It may be because of the temperature. You may need to get a thermometer, and a mini heater 

How often do you clean the water?


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

How much bettafix did you use? Be careful with it and don't OD him on it. It has a tree oil in it that can cause them to sufficate. And what salt did you use? You can't use table salt - only aquarium or epsom depending on what the issue is. Swim bladder you use epsom - 1 teaspoon per gallon. Usually for Swim bladder they swim funky, like they will be struggling to swim down and then will just float back up, or they swim sideways. 

Skip the pea idea, that I think is more for goldfish. 

When was the last water change? 



> *Swim Bladder Disease (SBD)/Bloat*
> •Symptoms: Betta has trouble swimming, maybe he can’t stay upright and can only swim on his side.
> •Treatment: This is not a contagious or fatal illness. If it isn’t congenital (aka a condition that he/she has had since birth), then it is caused by over feeding or feeding the wrong foods. Bettas will typically recover after a day or two of Epsom Salt treatments (1-2tsp/gal) and fasting. You can help prevent a reoccurrence by switching to a better pellet food, feeding less and offering a more varied diet. To make it easier for the betta to eat and breath, you can make the water shallower. You can offer him/her frozen daphnia (sold at Petsmart) as daphnia will help him/her pass stool. *DO NOT FEED THEM PEAS*.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Thank you for bringing up the pea issue. There is a lot of controversy (and beware some people on here will attack anyone for going AGAINST peas) but I know bettas are carnivorous. There was something to use as a substitute that someone mentioned - better for bettas and healthier, and works the same: daphnia. Just like the above post quoted


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## maizo (Jan 3, 2012)

*BettaFix & salt*

Hi,

Thanks to both of you for responding. I am using about 18 drops of bettafix for 1 1/2 gals of water. I have used it in the last 3 water changes and seen no improvements. I am using Aquarium Salt, 1 teaspoon for the 1 1/2 gals of water. I changed the water yesterday. I do a 90% water change, 90% new water + water conditioner. Looking back I think it all started after I added to much water conditioner by accident. Does that make sense?

TIA


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Did you ichange conditioners recently. Some bettas are more sensitive to such things. I dont think an od of conditioner would do much unless you dumped whole bottle in.

However if it is swim bladder aquarium salt will make it worse. You want plain, unscented epsom salt.tabespon per gall


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