# She is totally spazzing out!!! HELP!!



## BellasMomma (Oct 8, 2011)

So i have had my female Betta for just over a month now and 2 weeks ago i moved her from a 1 gallon bowl - no filter or heater to a 10 gallon tank with all the goods. She had stress stripes the last 2 weeks in the 10 gallon but was totally chill. Always swimming around, coming up to me when i spoke to her, ate for every feeding. But in the last 2 days things have changed. Ive done 2 20% water changes in the 2 weeks shes been in there. The last 2 days she has been pacing in the back of the bottom of the tank non-stop, COMPLETELY ignoring me when i come up to the tank and she doesnt have much interest in my finger (like i have food) as before - although she still is eating good. She had always been so relaxing to watch swim but now its like shes darting back and forth and its stressful to watch her. It seemed to start after the second water change which i did exactly the same as the first. It worries me because she had been fine in it for a week and a half and then all of a sudden.... anyone know what could possibly be going on...? Right now i have her back in her 1 gallon bowl, shes still pacing and darting around. I put her in there to try and relax her. I dont know if it was the best move cuz shes still acting crazy.


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## BellasMomma (Oct 8, 2011)

Here are her stats...

Housing 
What size is your tank? 10 gallons.
What temperature is your tank? 78 degrees.
Does your tank have a filter? Yes, Bio-wheel 100 Baffled.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No.
Is your tank heated? Yes.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Top Fin Color Enhancing Betta Bits.
How often do you feed your betta fish? 5 pellets in the morning and 5 in the evening.

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 20%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Top Fin Betta Water Conditioner.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? No.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Just stress stripes.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Sleeping habbits when upgraded from a 1 gallon to a 10 gallon. Doesnt sleep like she used to.
Also what i mentioned in the above post.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Her first night in her 10 gallon tank- for the stripes. 1 1/2 weeks after the move for everything else.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I bought more plants and caves for her to hide in, I thought maybe she felt too exposed, still no change - for the stripes.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not that I know of.
How old is your fish (approximately)? At least 2 months. I've had her for 1.


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## MistersMom (Aug 9, 2011)

that is so strange! im sorry!


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## ksage505 (Sep 19, 2011)

Hmm, very odd. The only thing I can really think of is adding in API stress coat and some aquarium salt into her water. Both are stress relievers. For me, this combination has always worked great if I have a fish who is acting odd but has no visible illness. With a partial water change and stress coat/aquarium salt they always seem to perk back up. I would be surprised, but its possible she is intimidated by the space in the ten gallon. I know I've seen some members here say that their fish freak out when given a larger aquarium and calm down and go back to normal when placed in a smaller aquarium.


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## BellasMomma (Oct 8, 2011)

So now after a few hours back in her 1 gallon shes totally chill. Her stress stripes have faded alot too. I have also heard that some Bettas like smaller homes ksage... she really liked her 1 gallon bowl when i first got it for her and then i did research and wanted to give her a house instead of a studio.... but i guess shes just used to small places. After doing alot of searching for 2.5 gallon tanks with filters i think ive finally come to a dicision... Im pretty sure im gonna divide the 10 gallon. I will either do it 5g and 5g and get another Betta or possibly 3g and 7g and try a sorority... or try Violet with the new girls. I have tons of questions on the sorority. So if anybody has successfully started a sorority please let me know just so i can have a direct person to message instead of doing threads... still gonna do research on that. still gotta talk to the hubby but this seems to be the best way to go and the cheapest...


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## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

did you cycle the tank before putting her in? if not there may have been an ammonia spike due to the cycling process. also 10 pellets a day is a lot (unless they're mini pellets which I know those kind are not). about 4-5 a day total for normal sized pellets is generally all they need


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

it's possible the larger tank spooked her, sometimes when upgrading a fish from a bowl to a tank, you need to do it in steps, so it's not such a shock (I know, sounds stupid). It could also have been a spoke in ammonia

Edit: ah, just saw about the extra plants and hidey holes, all I can suggest is doing more water changes and see if she can un spazz.

Try taking a sample of the tank water in to a pet store, most of them offer to do free water testing. It would at least give you a firmer basis on if the water chemistry is off.


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## BellasMomma (Oct 8, 2011)

Tisia - I cycled it for 3 days before i put her in it and then changed the water weekly - 20%. Yes i learned that im feeding her too much, it was at about 15 a day so ive been gradually lowering it by a pellet every 2 days cuz someone told me to do it slowly so she wont bite her tail.... 

Silverfang - i honestly am not sure if it was the tank upgrade, the weird thing was she was great in it for 1 1/2 weeks... just had stress lines but totally acting herself... i am gonna try to take a sample into petsmart before i put her back in with the divider... does anyone know if either petsmart or petco does the water testing...??


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## tf1265 (Jul 26, 2011)

Whoops - I commented on another post of yours with a lot of info you don't need, based on this post. Sorry! There were many details you didn't mention so I commented on a lot of them - most of them you can ignore.

Here is what my advice came down to that might be helpful:

API liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. 

Give her time- bettas can be fickle about their space, give her another week or so before deciding the 10 gallon is just too large. You are right, sometimes bettas just like smaller spaces, but I believe there is usually more to it than that - something about the large space that isn't meeting their needs. 

And as far as this post: tanks simply don't cycle in 3 days. And without testing the water, you really just have no way of knowing if it's cycled or not. You may be confused about what cycling means and how to do it, there are several very useful threads on cycling in this forum. You don't NEED a cycled tank for a single betta in a 10 gallon (and it will be virtually impossible in a 1 gallon), but I would venture to guess that your tank isn't cycled. 

I would advise dividing the 10 gallon and putting another female on the other side. You won't need new equipment other than the divider, and they both will have ample swimming space, plus it might calm Violet down a bit with a smaller space. Make sure you line the divider (if it's clear mesh) with plants so they aren't in constant view of each other. 

A sorority is always extremely risky, and I would get some more betta experience under your belt before trying that idea.


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## Kytkattin (May 15, 2011)

^+1 for what tf1265 said!


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## BellasMomma (Oct 8, 2011)

tf1265 - thats funnie, i just commented on the other post and put all that info, if only i would have come to this one first!!! i think i am confused on cycling, i was trying to do the cycle with the fish and thats why i was doing 20% water changes weekly, i dont know im confused. Yea i am either gonna get her a smaller tank that has room for a filter and heater - right now im just maintaining the temp in the bowl and doing water changes everyday... or divided it. im not gonna be able to have sorority this one female is stressing me out and i cant handle 4+ i wanted to give her a better life and it just seems every move i make is wrong. i dont know wat to do anymore.


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## tf1265 (Jul 26, 2011)

I know, I did the same thing when I got my first bettas. I thought I was doing them these awesome favors, and it turns out I was making wrong moves at every turn. I like to think I made them stronger and hardier because of it, because they are currently doing extraordinarily well 

You'll want to get an API liquid test kit. Stay away from the strips, they aren't terribly accurate and often don't test for all the necessary chemicals. 

Here is what I suggest you do:

1) Rearrange her 10 gallon tank. Move stuff around so she doesn't immediately recognize it as the place you took her out of. 

2) Get some live plants if you haven't already. They will really help keep your parameters in check, and they aren't that much more work. Java fern and java moss are good ones. Amazon swords are very common, but they require a lot of light. 

3) Fill the tank up with live plants, or a mix of live and fake. Make it look like a jungle. Give her a cave or two, but females generally don't use the caves as often as males do - mine much prefer swimming through thick leaves to hide. 

4) Figure out a way to float her 1 gallon bowl inside the 10 gallon tank for a day or two so she can see her new home but won't be stressed about the space. It will also ensure there is no temp difference. 


5) Slowly change out the water in her bowl for water in the tank to acclimate her. 

6) Put her in her new home! Give her at least a week to get used to it before deciding that she hates it. 

Some things to look for: color. She'll probably be pale at first, but maybe she won't be. Darker color= happy betta. Eating - she might not eat for a few days. If she won't eat, don't leave food floating in the tank. Scoop it out, and skip the next day. Try feeding every other day until she eats. Try different foods - they can be picky. Sometimes more "meaty" foods will be more successful at the beginning than flakes or pellets. 

When you get your test kit, you'll want to test for the following: pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Ideally, you want the pH to be around 7, ammonia at 0, nitrite at 0, and nitrate between 10-30 (this one is flexible, you'll get varying numbers based on personal opinion - sometimes higher, sometimes lower). This is when your tank is cycled. 

To get it cycled, you are going to want to let the ammonia rise a bit - .25ppm or a BIT higher. When it hits that mark, you'll want to do a 25% water change to get it back down. Repeat this process - it could take a few weeks. You will know when your tank is getting close because you will see a spike in nitrites - ~.2ppm. This means the "good" bacteria colonies are starting to form. Continue with the 25% water changes when the ammonia is up. Eventually, the nitrites will go back down, and you will have a reading for nitrates (un until this point it will have been 0 consistently). This means your tank is cycled! The bacteria colonies will turn harmful nitrites into neutral nitrates. 

At this point, you will still have to do some water changes, but far less frequently. I have a well-stocked 10 gallon and I do a 20% water change weekly. With just 1 female, you could get away with even less than that if you wanted. 

At the beginning, this is SO much more work than people think. After a few months, it will be a matter of small weekly water changes with occasional larger maintenance. 1 fish in a 10 gallon will be easy - and female bettas are amazingly friendly and active and great. 

Don't stress yourself out. Bettas are hardy, and as long as you are keeping the temperature and ammonia levels in the safe range, she will come through it


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## BellasMomma (Oct 8, 2011)

wow tf1265 thank u soooo much!!! this helps a bunch!!


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## MistersMom (Aug 9, 2011)

ive heard tht certain leaves help, oak or sumn?


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