# Betta floats to top of tank.



## bevely

Hi everyone, I'm new here on bettafish, and I'm also the new owner of a female betta. I'm coming here seeking advice, because I have noticed some odd behavior from my betta and would like to see if I am being paranoid if she actually has an issue.

Housing 
What size is your tank? 1 gal
What temperature is your tank? Not sure. 
Does your tank have a filter? No, but I do keep a lamp on shining on the tank.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hikari Betta Bio-Gold
How often do you feed your betta fish? 1-2 Pellets a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? A water conditioner, I don't remember the name..

I haven't actually changed the water yet, as I just got my beta a few days ago.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? 
I have not tested the water

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? 
Her physcial appearance looks okay.

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? 
She seems to float to the top of the tank against her will.

When did you start noticing the symptoms? 
I just got her a couple days ago, but I really started noticing she could not stay at the bottom of the tank for long yester day

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
I have done a bit of research and found she may have a swim bladder disorder. I fed her a tiny bit of green pea this morning as I hear it's a good laxative for bettas. I figure she'd like the treat whether or not she's actually sick.

Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not sure, just got her
How old is your fish (approximately)? Don't know. 

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I just got my betta Saturday night, and yesterday I noticed her behavior probably isn't normal for a betta.

I noticed her tail started rising upwards when she was at the bottom of the tank. She doesn't stay down there for long, and just ends up rising or swimming back up. She likes to stay in the top corners of the fish tank, unmoving. It seems she sleeps there too.

She does not flop to her side, and she swims fine, no odd movement or trouble just swimming as I can tell.

Basically it looks as if there is a balloon tied to her tail and she floats back up.

She eats her pellets, and she quickly ate the bit of pea I dropped in, too.

I did some research and if anything is wrong with her it seems she has a swim bladder disorder. Apparently if I feed her peas it will act as a laxative and she'll get better?

The only other reason I can think is there are bubbles from the tap water forming in the tank. Is it possible there are many tiny bubbles floating up making it hard for her to stay at the bottom?

I'm just a bit concerned and would like to see if anyone could offer some advice, thanks.


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## bevely

Here is a picture of her in her usual corner. She stays like this unmoving for the most part, sometimes bobbing up to breathe. I can't imagine this is normal behavior...

When I feed her food she gets really energetic, the bit of pea I used as a laxative for her sinks, and she chases it down to the bottom before eating it. Other than that, she usually just stares into the corner of the tank, it seems odd.

She can't stay submerged for long, as she floats back up which I assume is a SBD issue, but is her stillness also related to that? She doesn't move *at all* unless it's to bob up for breath, I don't even see her gills moving, though Im not sure if they normally would..

Could her not moving be a sign of bad water quality? Or maybe the water is too cold? I live in Florida, so it's never really cold down here. I also keep a table lamp shining right down on her tank.

I didn't really plan for her, I was at the pet store and decided to get the ugliest looking betta I could find to save it from a life on the store shelf. My brother was with me, who worked at a pet store and showed me the basics, but she only has a 1 gallon tank with no heater and no filter, and after doing a little betta research I'd like to upgrade her tank soon.


Sorry the picture is so blurry, I took it with my phone


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## bettafish15

Dont know about the floating thing, but the temp will swing around alot with the lamp being on in the daytime and not in the nightime, so a heater to keep things stable for the colder temps at nightime would be ideal  A thermometer too! ;D Once she gets better, I'd feed her 4-5 pellets a day.


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## danifacetastic

Also with a one gallon tank you'll be needing to do water changes like every other day. I'd upgrade to a 2.5 gallon when you can. The one gallon will be fine for now but you'll need to do more water changes. Also get a thermometer and a heater...it's VERY important unless you live somewhere where it's always in the seventies.


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## Oldfishlady

Sorry you are having problems......

I would get a thermometer and check the water temp-you want to keep the water temp stable in the 76-80F range...often this can be a problem/reason for the buoyancy issues-you may need to add a heater-the light will help but only short term-once you turn if off the temp will drop and the temp swings can be stressful for her.

If your house is cold you may want to cover the top of her container with plastic veggie wrap or something to maintain a warm humid environment for the labyrinth organ-cold/cool dry air can also cause problems and buoyancy issues.

In a 1gal unfiltered tank I would make twice weekly water changes of 1-50% and 1-100%-try and keep the water temp within a couple of degrees between new and old water and always use dechlorinater with any new water added to the fish if you are on city water supply

Once you get her water temp stable and if she continues to have buoyancy problems you can do an Epsom salt 1tsp/gal (Not aquarium salt)treatment along with 100% daily water changes for 10 days

Sometimes they can have either an inflamed or infected duct that connects the swimbladder and intestines that can cause buoyancy problems....sometimes this can also be related to genetic and/or how the Betta was raised at the breeders and if so she will always have buoyancy problems but usually they are fine and can still live a normal life


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## danifacetastic

Hey Oldfishlady...I'm going to start using aquarium salt in my divided 10 gallon (3 ways) for one of my boys I think has been tail biting. How much of a water change should I do...how often...and how long should I use the salt? Or should I quarentine the fish?


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## Oldfishlady

danifacetastic said:


> Hey Oldfishlady...I'm going to start using aquarium salt in my divided 10 gallon (3 ways) for one of my boys I think has been tail biting. How much of a water change should I do...how often...and how long should I use the salt? Or should I quarentine the fish?


I responded to your thread......


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## danifacetastic

Oldfishlady said:


> I responded to your thread......


Thanks so much. I just hadn't gotten anyone to respond since I posted stuff yesterday. I trust you a lot though


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## bevely

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am looking into getting a bigger tank with a filter and heater. Preferably 5 gals, so I can fill it with fun stuff.

I put in her the cup I got her in, with bottled water instead of the well water from tap. She seems to be a bit better in the cup, and is even resting on the bottom. Her tail still drifts upwards though, but she is able to control it better and stay down without much trouble it seems. 

I'm going to change her 1gal with bottled water and see how she does in it.


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## danifacetastic

She'll have an awesome time in a 5 gal all by herself. Correct me if I'm wrong but you should still use water conditioner in the bottled water.


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## Oldfishlady

I would use your well water.....due to the filtration process of bottled water is can lack the needed minerals the fish needs for good health and often it is just filtered tap water that can still contain chlorine/chloramines-using 50/50 mix along with a dechlorinater would be fine however, but long term bottled water use can cause problems/health issues for the fish.
Not to add the cost with the needed water changes in a 1gal or even a 5gal tank.....


Also a note....if you want to add other fish species you will need at least a 10gal tank....2.5gal-5gal you can safely add shrimp or snails-but no other fish beside one Betta.....live plants are always nice-regardless of tank size.....


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## bevely

I noticed she didn't use her gills in the well water (at least, I didn't see anything moving) and she would just float up top and bob out of the water for breath. So I thought maybe the well water was bothering her. I can see her using her gills in the bottled water though, and she's able to get to the bottom of the cup I put her in to test it. Is it possible my well water has something in it that's bothering her? I used a conditioner too. It's just a hunch though, that the water is bothering her..


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## Oldfishlady

If you are seeing rapid gill movement in the bottled water I would say that is not a good sign-be careful switching her from one water type to another-to avoid any sudden pH/hardness swings from water to water

Do you have any Epsom salt (Not aquarium salt) if so, mix up a 1 gal jug with your well water and bottled water 50/50 mix and the dechlorinator- add 1tsp of Epsom salt and dissolve and start making 100% daily water changes with this

What kind of dechlorinator are you using-does it cover chlorine, chloramines and heavy metals?


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## bevely

I do have some epsom salt, I'll mix that together and do the daily changes. Do you recommend feeding her a bit of a pea? Or fasting?

The dechlorinator is by Top Fin, it's made for bettas apparently. It says on the back it reduces the chlorine, chloramines and heavy metals.

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.


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## Oldfishlady

That is what you want especially with some well water that can have heavy metal-but usually with heavy metals the fish will try and get out of the water or flash on objects in the tank because it feels itching to them-not all well water has high levels of heavy metals-I have and use well water for over 40 years with my aquarium without problems-but not all water is created equal.....

The Epsom salt also will work as a laxative, but feeding a pea will not hurt at this point, however, I would fast for a day or so too so her digestive system can rest.


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## bevely

She does constantly try to "bite" the air. She's been doing that since I got her. She'll swim quickly up and bob her head out of the water rapidly. It looks like shes gasping or trying to "bite" the air, is the best way I can describe it. Is she actually trying to get out of the water?


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## Oldfishlady

Sounds more like she is just getting a breath of air and she has to ram herself up because of the buoyancy issue.


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## bevely

That makes sense. Thanks.


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## bettafish15

I agree with danifacetastic, water condtitioner should always be used  theres more nutrients, or so i hear, in tap water, so just use tap water with conditoner, as bottled water can get expensive, when either way your using water conditioner


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