# Please help



## Hikari (Jul 12, 2011)

I'm new here but sorry I can't properly introduce myself right now since I have an emergency. My betta fish that I had for a year and 2 months is suddenly darting back and forth. I have him in a 2 gallon bowl, and feed him hikari bio-gold pellets twice a day 2 at a time. I change his water twice a week, one full and one half. His bowl is heated but not filtered. 

I thought at first it might be from amonia, but I don't have those testing strips, and my small town doesn't sell them so I can't get them right now. I did about a 40% water change just now, and I used Prime water conditioner. He's still darting around. He seems to only do this when I come close and look at him. Otherwise he sits at the top of the water in his favorite corner like usual. He usually flares and swims slowly around with his fins poofed up when he sees me, but he usually doesn't dart around and seem like spasming like he is now. He seems extremely aggressive, his fins are all poofed out and he flares. Could someone tell me what could be wrong? Thanks.


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

can you fill out the sticky at the top of the disease site that will help members better diagnose your boy


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

do you see any white specks on him or anything at all? When my girls had ich they would dart around other wise known as flash as a way to knock the parasites off.


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Hi Hikari 
Can you fill these questions out so we can hopefully diagnose him? 

Housing 
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?


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## Hikari (Jul 12, 2011)

I don't see any white specks on him. He's darting around really fast so I can't get a good look at him. He looks normal from what I can tell.

I answered as many as these questions as I could.

What size is your tank? 2 gallons

What temperature is your tank? 24 to 25 celcius not sure what that is in fahrenheit

Does your tank have a filter? No

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? He's by himself

What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hikari bio-gold baby pellets, 4 a day, and a meal is replaced twice a week with freeze dried bloodworms (I can't get the frozen ones where I live)

How often do you feed your betta fish? twice a day

How often do you perform a water change? 2 times a week

What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Full change on Monday, half on Thursday

What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Just Prime conditioner

How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Right now nothing that I've noticed

How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He just suddenly starting darting around his tank whenever he seems movement outside. He used to flare and swim around slowly, but not darting like that.

When did you start noticing the symptoms? Late this afternoon. He was normal until then

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No

Does your fish have any history of being ill? No


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Hmmm... darting usually means internal parasites. :/ But DarkMoon would have better knowledge on that. 

For the food though, instead of using the bloodworms as a meal, you really should only use them as a snack like...once or twice a week. The pellets have more protein and nutrients in them.  PM (private message) Darkmoon about the flashing though. S/he will know more


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## Hikari (Jul 12, 2011)

I do use the bloodworms as a snack. Twice a week I replace a meal with bloodworms.

Is there any cure for internal parasites?


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

No no no no, I mean as a *snack*. Don't replace them with a meal. Just feed 2-3 once or twice a week.  

Yes there is a cure. Lots of cures actually, but the issue right now is that we don't know if that's what your fish has or not- so don't start treating yet- it could harm him.


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

the freeze dried blood worms expand in the fish's stomach when they re-hydrate which can cause bloating and constipation sometimes leading to swim bladder disease, that is why they shouldn't be a meal just a treat. here is a passage from dark moons disease treatment guide, for internal parasites, 

Internal Parasites
•Symptoms: Betta is losing weight but eating normally and acting lethargic. 
He/she might dart or rub against decor.
"•Treatment: These can be hard to fight and can get confused with the fatal disease Tuberculosis. Perform daily 100% water changes (if possible, for larger aquariums change 3/4). Make sure you carefully clean the gravel to remove eggs/larva. Aq.Salt does not seem to be affective against internal parasites. I find combining ES with an anti-parasite med is best. Treat with 1-2tsp/gal Epsom Salt combined with either Jungle’s Anti-Parasite Pellets, Jungle’s Parasite Clear Fizz tabs or API General Cure. PP is also effective against internal parasites."
Hopefully this could help you as well until you can contact darkmoon


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## Hikari (Jul 12, 2011)

What I meant is twice a week I feed him bloodworms INSTEAD of pellets. I feed him about 3 at a time, and he does only get them twice a week. The rest of the time he gets pellets.

I'm scared to treat him because I have no idea what he's got. He only starts darting around if he is disturbed, like someone looks into his tank or walks past him loudly. Otherwise he sits still in his corner like he always does. 

I fed him and he did eat both of his pellets this evening. He doesn't look like he's losing weight. The only thing that is abnormal really is the darting. I will give him a 100% water change tomorrow morning and hopefully it'll help.


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

keep an eye on him, also on the top of the disease and emergency page there are two sticky's on diseases and treatments, look through them and see if he fits one of them better, that is really the only other advice i can think of besides what youlovegnats said on sending darkmoon a message


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## Hikari (Jul 12, 2011)

I made the room dark and looked at him with a flashlight to see if I could spot anything that didn't look normal. I thought maybe velvet because that would be hard to spot on him since he's an orange color, but his color looks normal. There is seriously nothing external. He's just freaking out and darting when he's disturbed, that's all. Could it be psychological, like he was spooked really bad? If so, how long does it take for them to calm down?


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

If you think he's just stressed you can try adding tea into his tank. Tea relieves stress becomes of the tannins. Adding tea is okay in any occasions, it can help speed up healing, etc.

But different Bettas react differently to tea than others do, some have good reactions, they're more relaxed. Some have more negative reactions to tea. . 

You can use Indian Almond Leaves, but those are rare and hardly anyone on these forums can find them. So an easy substitute would be Roobios tea or Green tea, remember the tea must be decaf and contain no additives! The ingredients list should be just the tea and nothing else.

You can try some dried oak leaves, or bark, if you have those around you, remember to wash them and dry them naturally (basically putting them out in the sun to dry up). 

Hope that helps. :>


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

api stress coat also could be used. I love it! it conditions water and it promotes healing


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## Hikari (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks for those suggestions. I'm hoping by tomorrow he'll be normal, but if not, I'll try them out. Can betta really get so stressed that they would dart around like that for a long time if they are disturbed? He's been stressed before, but only for a few minutes at a time.


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Plus Tea sometimes leaves nastiness in the water ><; blech! 

Hikari- Instead of feeding him the bloodworms as a meal (which is what your doing right?), feed them as a snack. Don't replace them with the pellets for a meal. Just use them in-between meals. Keep feeding him pellets everyday for meals. Do you understand? I know I am hard to understand sometimes, and I confuse people a lot. lol. >

EDIT:: I don't think he should be darting for long periods of time. :/ That sounds weird.... But just keep an eye on him. Do you notice anything in or around his gills??


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## Hikari (Jul 12, 2011)

No, nothing unusual. It's like he's gone super aggressive. He only acts this way if someone is by his tank, otherwise he sits pretty still. If he was itchy from a sickness like Velvet or something, wouldn't he be darting around constantly, not just when someone's by his tank? What is going on? It's driving me crazy! :-(


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Yeah that's true. If he had parasites, he'd be darting all the time... ><' hmmm. 
Perhaps he just needs something to do? Try holding a mirror to the side of his tank. Maybe he just has a bunch of pent-up energy??


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## Hikari (Jul 12, 2011)

Maybe. I was gone all day so he was probably very bored! It's just so werid because it's like he's angry and aggressive, and he's not scratching up against anything really. He flares and poofs out his fins while he's darting about. Both my mom and I were wondering why is he like this only when someone comes near his tank? If we stand further away, or if he can't see me watching him, then he's all calm and still like normal.


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

sometimes when my lighting is odd they can see themselves really well and they will chase their reflection but i suppose that your lighting wouldnt change


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Hmmm....noooo idea!!! ><;


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

I had Tango for about a year in a 16 gallon tank with tank mates (corydoras catfish). All of a sudden he changed and went from mellow to maniac. It's possible your boy is just maturing and becoming more territorial. Tango had to be removed and put in a tank on his own. Now he spends all day doing what you're describing. I call it "patrolling" because that's what it looks like to me. Keep an eye out for anything else that may change though and go through with the water change, just in case. Good luck!


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

I agree with Vaygirl on this one. It sounds like a behavioral change, not an illness. He may have matured and therefore become increasingly territorial OR something might have startled him into becoming more territorial. Maybe something is closer to his tank than it used to be or it is more noisy in his area. It also sounds like he has some extra pent up energy. You can try exercising him a few minutes daily by either getting him a mirror or chasing him around *gently* with his net. You can also make him work for his food (use a pipette or tweezer to wiggle his freeze-dried worms around in circles to make him chase it down). He needs to be kept active so he doesn't develop any self-mutalating habits like "Fin Biting"... 

Good luck with him! Let us know if anything changes


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## Hikari (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks for all the replies. I think it's a behavior thing too. It's just odd that it happened so fast and out of the blue. His environment seriously hasn't changed at all. Sometimes he'll see his reflection when the lighting is a certain way, but he usually goes nuts for only a few seconds. There is no more noise than usual, no changes at all.

I really hate how it looks like he's convulsing sometimes when he starts the darting. It freaks me out. And it's so weird how he only starts this flashing when I'm around. My dad approached his tank this evening and he remained calm and didn't move at all. But as soon as I peer into his tank, or even come close, he'll start that crazy swimming. I don't understand it! I have never done anything to hurt him, and he is very much loved. Do bettas act more aggressive towards their primary care taker during mating season or something? I'm scared to go near him now because I don't want him to be stressed and get sick.

I can't sleep because I'm so worried, so I walked past his tank and looked in. When he noticed, he poofed up his fins and flared, and started doing his normal slow swim and hover. At least he wasn't flashing this time, but I had quickly stepped away so he couldn't see me anymore. Then he was all calm and normal again. What is up with that?! My first betta never acted this way, but this one is far more aggressive than he was.

I will do the full water change tomorrow to be on the safe side, and I hope that he'll calm down by then.


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Maybe it's his way of begging for food?? Since he knows you feed him he might be correlating you = food. xD 
My girls have dance fits when I come near their tank. :3


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## Hikari (Jul 12, 2011)

Good news. My little guy has become his normal self again, no more darting or even swimming too fast. I still don't know exactly what his problem was, I'm thinking he got scared of something and it took him a while to get over it. I'm just so relieved that he wasn't sick and that he's finally calmed down. Thank you everyone for all your help. :-D


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Yay! I'm glad he's back to normal! ^^


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

You really should get this:
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Phar...G8RO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314581953&sr=8-1

The water tests should tell us whats going on. Some fish are sensitive to stuff like nitrate and such. 23.00 isn't a bad price, i paid 40 at my LFS.




EDIT: I just realized there were 3 pages. I'm stupid...XD

Glad he's back to normal.


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## Hikari (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks. :-D All is still well with him, and hopefully it stays that way! (^_^)


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