# Laying at bottom of tank help



## Littlebittyfish

Housing 
What size is your tank?2.5 gallon minibow
What temperature is your tank?77
Does your tank have a filter?yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?none. I have an amazon sword in his tank and a little wisteria. 

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?pellets and occasional bloodworm
How often do you feed your betta fish? daily

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? twice a week
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?Prime water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:0
Nitrite:not sure
Nitrate:not sure
pH:not sure
Hardness:not sure
Alkalinity: not sure

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?Laying at bottom in the corner of tank.
When did you start noticing the symptoms?This morning..I changed his substrate yesterday afternoon.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?I am not sure what exactly to do..I did a 50% water change hoping that would help...
Does your fish have any history of being ill?no
How old is your fish (approximately)? i got him last month.

Yesterday afternoon during waterchange I changed out my substrate in my fish tank..I went from sand to gravel...I also redecorated...Moved the heater around and replaced his plant...This morning he was acting pretty odd...this evening he is still laying at the bottom of his tank in the one corner after doing a 50% waterchnge...

He swims up when he sees me get close..but he mostly is laying at the bottom...What should I do? :-(


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## baylee767

Hmm, can you get a picture? It sounds like some sort of shock though, which is really bad... Maybe the Ph went down when you put in gravel, and he was shocked. I don't know much about treating this except you should try to cover his tank and make it as stress free as possible. Don't run the filter, just put the media in a container of water and turn the filter off. I'm sorry there's not much I can do /=


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## Harley

I've got the same problem and I don't know what to do either. Harleys in a 1g QT bowl (fin rot) and has had 100% daily changes for 10+ days so he should be used to it. He just sits on the bottom for several minutes at a time. Occasionally he comes to the top but not always for air. Hopefully someone can help both of us.


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## Littlebittyfish

He is still laying at the bottom this morning...I feel awful..:-(.. I'm not sure what I should do. I have medications...IAL...aquarium salts..epsom salts...but I honestly see nothing wrong with him that would make him lay at the bottom so I have no idea what to do...or what to treat..:-? I think I really must have put him into shock and i feel awful...I didnt take out anymore water than my usual water change though...:-(


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## phoenix91

I think the same type of thing happened to me and my betta last weekend. i changed the heater, but had to move the tank and shelf and such which was very stressful for my fish. he ended up laying on the bottom, this also set off a bout of what i think is columnaris. 

I turned off my tanks light, put my fish in the cup he came in and floated it in the aquarium (to make sure he could get to the surface); i also started to treat him with aq salt and maracyn (but the maracyn is for the columnaris). I suggest you qt your fish and add some aq salt to the water and see if that perks him up. i added 1 teaspoon for every 1 gallon of prepared water and then used how ever much i needed in his cup from this. 

i've also been changing 50% of his water in the morning and 50% at night to keep the ammonia levels down. i left his light off for 2 days and only fed him when he'd eat.

i hope this helps and i hope your fish pulls through.


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## Littlebittyfish

Here he was a few hours after water change and redecorating...


This morning:










I have put some IAL in his tank...shut off the filter for now and I am keeping the light off to help him relax...


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## Canuck Fins

What a beautiful fish and so sad looking all clamped up there on the bottom. Does he have a hiding spot or just the plant? Maybe put a coffee mug on its side in there and see if it helps him to have a dark, hiding spot to go in? I think keeping the light off is good. 

I wish I had something solid to suggest.


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## Oldfishlady

Poor fella.....I would get him in a QT container that can be floated in the heated tank to maintain a water temp in the 76F range and start 100% daily water changes with aquarium salt 1tsp/gal for the next 7-10 days

Pre-mix your treatment water in a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water-add the salt and IAL to steep...the longer it steeps the more tannins will be released the darker the water the more the Betta will like it....by pre-mixing the treatment water....will help give correct dosage and make water changes easier.....make sure the pre-mixed treatment water is about the same temp at the water in the QT so not to cause temp related shock......

Since he was fine before the substrate change-it may be something in the new substrate....I would start making 50% daily water changes on that tank while you have the Betta in treatment


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## Littlebittyfish

Oldfishlady said:


> Poor fella.....I would get him in a QT container that can be floated in the heated tank to maintain a water temp in the 76F range and start 100% daily water changes with aquarium salt 1tsp/gal for the next 7-10 days
> 
> Pre-mix your treatment water in a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water-add the salt and IAL to steep...the longer it steeps the more tannins will be released the darker the water the more the Betta will like it....by pre-mixing the treatment water....will help give correct dosage and make water changes easier.....make sure the pre-mixed treatment water is about the same temp at the water in the QT so not to cause temp related shock......
> 
> Since he was fine before the substrate change-it may be something in the new substrate....I would start making 50% daily water changes on that tank while you have the Betta in treatment


Thankyou..This may sound like a stupid question..._but_..How would I do a 100% change on a QT. the size of the cup he came in? Would it be possible to treat him in his 2 gallon tank if I lower the water halfway and do a 100% water change daily?

Also..I plan on switching my other tank to a gravel eventually...How can I avoid this happening again in the future? I made sure to rinse my gravel...soak it...and then rinse it again in warm tap water...The water in his tank doesnt appear to be cloudy or anything...but..if it is shock from the change of substrate how can I avoid this in the future?


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## Harley

Sorry your fish still isn't doing well. I was lucky that Harley snapped out of it, after 2 days and is now back to his old swimming self. Depending on what you use for a QT container will determine how you do the 100% changes. If possible, get a second QT container and also place it in your tank to warm it up. Then you can scoop out your fish and alternate between QT A and QT B so the water (w/ aquarium salt and IAL "tea") is always fresh and prepared ahead of time. That's just how I would do it but there may be an easier/better way. BTW your bettas silver color is awesome!


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## Littlebittyfish

I don't want to jinx myself._.haha_...But my fish looks to be feeling slightly better this morning..He still is hanging out at the bottom quite a bit...but he is swimming around a little more than he was yesterday...Now he swims around for a little bit then rests back on the bottom...swims a little then rests again...I lowered his tank half way...gave him some aquarium salt and IAL...I had some IAL pre-steeped pretty dark already...I have it for my one fish who is a compulsive tailbiter...So I gave him some..It seems to be working pretty well for this guy too though.Hopefully he makes a 100% recovery!


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## Canuck Fins

Glad you've got some positive news! I hope he continues to get better!


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## Littlebittyfish

OH CRUD! I am starting to feel like an awful fish keeper....:-(

I noticed after my last post on this thread that he actually had a little bit of white fuzz on his fin...So I started a 10 day aquarium salt treatment with daily water changes...water kept at around 77.....He perked up alot! he was acting great...then this morning...I noticed he was hanging out at the top of his tank...so I watched him for a little bit to see if maybe he was just hanging out under his bubble nest...._no_....He actually cant swim to the bottom of the tank now....He struggles to get down there to wedge himself under a leaf....then as soon as he tries to swim anywhere he floats back to the top....Swim bladder problems now? His belly looks a little big. I only fed him 2 pellets this morning....:-?.....


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## Canuck Fins

Things happen. Something I'd recommend going forward is to fast your fish one day per week. This will help. How much are you feeding him now? I give my guy 2 pellets twice a day, substitute 3 bloodworms on Sunday morning and fast on Fridays. Swim Bladder is usually from overfeeding.

Swim Bladder is usually treated with epsom salt (1 tsp per gallon of epsom salt - not aquarium salt- for two days, then increase it to 2 tsp/g for eight days, doing daily 100% water changes throughout treatment), but I don't know what to do if you are already treating for something else. I'm sure someone else will chime in on this.


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## Littlebittyfish

Canuck Fins said:


> Things happen. Something I'd recommend going forward is to fast your fish one day per week. This will help. How much are you feeding him now? I give my guy 2 pellets twice a day, substitute 3 bloodworms on Sunday morning and fast on Fridays. Swim Bladder is usually from overfeeding.
> 
> Swim Bladder is usually treated with epsom salt (1 tsp per gallon of epsom salt - not aquarium salt- for two days, then increase it to 2 tsp/g for eight days, doing daily 100% water changes throughout treatment), but I don't know what to do if you are already treating for something else. I'm sure someone else will chime in on this.


I will definitely start fasting one day a week now...I usually feed one or two pellets in the morning and 2 at night..Occasionally I feed a freeze dried blood worm...but no more than once or twice a week as it is just a treat...
Do you think it is too soon after the aquarium salt treatment to start the epsom salt?


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## Littlebittyfish

I fasted him last night and this morning...I couldn't find my epsom salt? :-( So I gave him a little IAL until I could get to the store today...This morning he can swim right again!?I am so confused...:dunno:
I am going to buy some epsom salt today just in case it happens again...Maybe my pellets are too big/heavy? I believe I will switch to new life spectrum..I hear it is smaller in size...


:thankyou:


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## SillyCone

glad he is better! You can try mini granules as well, that's what I feed mine, since I can't find the pellets :C


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## Littlebittyfish

Thanks. Hopefully he will continue to be better this time!:lol: He seems to really love the IAL in his water...he really gets excited when his water is tanned..:lol: I am going to look for a different type of food in the next couple of days...


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