2 Year Old Betta Resting Body On Bottom

[disappearing_dan]

Hi,

I have a two year old betta fish that I keep in a 10 gal tank with a mystery snail. I feed him dried blood worms and betta pellets.

Today I noticed him resting his body on the bottom of the tank. What he does is he sort of flops over to his left side and lets the back 2/3 of his body rest against the tank, keeping his head elevated at about 45 degree angle.

I removed him from the tank and put him into a small shallow watered cup to keep an eye on him.

Any ideas on what might be going on, and what I can do to help him?

Thank you very much.

 

[Shelly_Otterkin]

How is his color and fins? Sadly he might just be getting old.
Where did you get him from?
Was he full size when you got him?
Is the tank heated/or is your house cold today?

 

[disappearing_dan]

How is his color and fins? Sadly he might just be getting old.
Where did you get him from?
Was he full size when you got him?
Is the tank heated/or is your house cold today?

His color of his fins looks like it always has. No greying or anything like that. I got him at Walmart's pet store and he was probably full grown when I got him.

My tank isnt heated, but looking at the thermometer on the tank , the water temp is about 70'f (21'c).

 

[jakey boi]

hi,
sorry to say that usually when fish tend not to swim or they rest on the bottom alot it is not good news . It might be okay if you can raise your tank a couple of degrees to see if that does the trick.

jakey boi

 

[carrot1]

I have a platy exhibiting what could be similar behaviour and forum members suggested that it might be a swim bladder disorder, although treatment to date hasn't worked. Just an idea worth looking into.

 

[disappearing_dan]

So i put him in clean water in a tiny little container, and the water temperature is up a bit. Looking at him I see his face might be a bit more grey then it used to be.

Im going to go to the pet store right away and see if they have any thing I might be able to try. I guess it wouldnt hurt giving him a shot of some sorts of antibiotics.

 

[happyannie]

My old guy does that too. (edit--cuz he can't swim too good anymore) It's good to treat him for constipation maybe....using a shelled green pea-feed him little bitty pieces of it--or give him a bath in epsom salts which you can get at any drugstore. Google around to see what the ratio of water to salts is--can't remember right offhand. Other than that....just enjoy him. If he needs his water leve lowered a bit to accomodate him. do so. I've had an old guy who's been limping along but still enjoying life for 5 months now. Sometimes I think I'm feeding him his last meal but he keeps going and going like the energizer bunny. Some of these guys are real tough. Maybe cut his feed back a bit and I'd get his temps up a bit. He'll be much more active if you do....Stealth makes a nice heater with a thermostat you can control ...25w or 50w should heat that tank you've got. Take it to 79 and see what he does. He might just be cold...maybe nothing more. Hope so!

another edit: those heaters aren't too bad in price either like $25 -$30 or thereabouts. If you get the cheapies without temp controls and a thermom. you can't tell what the temp is in the tank. Thermom's are only about $3 at most.

 

[lisie]

Google around to see what the ratio of water to salts is--can't remember right offhand.

1 tablespoon of Epsom salt per gallon. For 15-20 minutes once or twice a day until constipation is gone.

 

[disappearing_dan]

I got a little bottle of Betta Fix Remedy, which looks more for fungal infections or physical sores, but I added a few drops into the container he is now in.

As for the epsom salt, do you just disolve it in the water, let him swim around in it for that time frame, then put him into clean fresh water? Is that what the process of bathing involves?

Otherwise there isnt much more I can do tonite. I will pick up some epsom, peas and a heater tomorrow.

Thank you all for your advice so far. Keep the suggestions coming and I will keep you all up to date on Fink's progress.

 

[happyannie]

Put him in a seperate dish of some kind. I've used tupperware containers from Family Dollar Store. Whatever you use just proportion down the water:epsom salt ratio to your container AND make sure that bowl or whatever doesn't have any traces of soap or anything else in it. Rinse! Rinse! and double Rinse! is the operative word if you wash it.
He might just be a different boy when you get him into warmer water. You're sweet for worrying about him. Keep us posted. K?
EDIT: Bettafix doesn't do all that much but even so any kind of medicine is stressful for fish. I'd try warming the water and giving an epsom salt bath then wait a few days to see if he improves. Then take it from there...

 

[mstinawu]

How is his color and fins? Sadly he might just be getting old.
Where did you get him from?
Was he full size when you got him?
Is the tank heated/or is your house cold today?

His color of his fins looks like it always has. No greying or anything like that. I got him at Walmart's pet store and he was probably full grown when I got him.

My tank isnt heated, but looking at the thermometer on the tank , the water temp is about 70'f (21'c).

Wow. Walmart has a petstore? God--they're just taking over the world, aren't they?

 

[Shelly_Otterkin]

How is his color and fins? Sadly he might just be getting old.
Where did you get him from?
Was he full size when you got him?
Is the tank heated/or is your house cold today?

His color of his fins looks like it always has. No greying or anything like that. I got him at Walmart's pet store and he was probably full grown when I got him.

My tank isnt heated, but looking at the thermometer on the tank , the water temp is about 70'f (21'c).

Wow. Walmart has a petstore? God--they're just taking over the world, aren't they?

If you have a good WalMart like I do you can pick up some great VTs! I have 2 from walMart and they are more active then the ones I have got from the LFS.

 

[disappearing_dan]

How is his color and fins? Sadly he might just be getting old.
Where did you get him from?
Was he full size when you got him?
Is the tank heated/or is your house cold today?

His color of his fins looks like it always has. No greying or anything like that. I got him at Walmart's pet store and he was probably full grown when I got him.

My tank isnt heated, but looking at the thermometer on the tank , the water temp is about 70'f (21'c).

Wow. Walmart has a petstore? God--they're just taking over the world, aren't they?

If you have a good WalMart like I do you can pick up some great VTs! I have 2 from walMart and they are more active then the ones I have got from the LFS.

Yeah, they dont quite take as good of care as their fish as the real pet stores though. When I got Fink most of their Bettas looked like they had been sitting in that little cup of water for ever. I have even seen many fish in tanks floating on their bellies.

It doesnt give me very good vibes about how they look after their critters. I think that if Fink passes, I am going to get one from the Pet Store . Although I could save one of the poorly treated walmart ones.....

 

[disappearing_dan]

How is his color and fins? Sadly he might just be getting old.
Where did you get him from?
Was he full size when you got him?
Is the tank heated/or is your house cold today?

His color of his fins looks like it always has. No greying or anything like that. I got him at Walmart's pet store and he was probably full grown when I got him.

My tank isnt heated, but looking at the thermometer on the tank , the water temp is about 70'f (21'c).

Wow. Walmart has a petstore? God--they're just taking over the world, aren't they?

If you have a good WalMart like I do you can pick up some great VTs! I have 2 from walMart and they are more active then the ones I have got from the LFS.

Yeah, they dont quite take as good of care as their fish as the real pet stores though. When I got Fink most of their Bettas looked like they had been sitting in that little cup of water for ever. I have even seen many fish in tanks floating on their bellies.

It doesnt give me very good vibes about how they look after their critters. I think that if Fink passes, I am going to get one from the Pet Store . Although I could save one of the poorly treated walmart ones.....

So he is currently in the Epsom bath for the third time in the last day and a half. So far no improvement, he is still swimming very little, and almost dragging his body along. I notice when he does swim his body starts rolling over onto his side. So right now he is in a tupperwear container about with about an inch depth of water.

Any other suggestions?

 

[happyannie]

Dan I have my old guy in about 4" of water, put a fresh hedge plant in there when the other one goes bad. He's so full of tumors and bloating he floats off to his side too. In the last week I've had to turn off the filter as he's not strong enuf to take the current. I've been heating the tank using the overhead light and have his tank up on top of a cabinet where he has the benefit of the heat in the room rising up there. He's enjoyed life for the last 5 months he's been on the disabled list. When I get up in the morning to say hi to him he still wiggles and wants to show me how frisky and macho he is....so I dunno. I've been debating euthanizing him for the last week but will wait until I feel he has no happiness left in him. I'm using this example for you to see.....I'm not sure if yours is still happy or not. It's up to you to say. I plan to use Oil of Clove which you can get in a healthfood store. You put some in his dish, the betta falls asleep and can't go up for air. Some people add vodka into the mix after the betta falls asleep to make sure they're dead. Bettas have short life spans...sometimes 2 years....sometimes more or less. The choice is up to you I'd say...Unless you want to first try giving him Maracyn and Maracyn 2 to see if that helps. I did that with mine so I wouldn't have any regrets that I hadn't tried everything. Those are anitbiotics. They didn't do all that much for mine...but they might for yours. Those two anitbiotics are good to use together and cover a broad range of problems. I'd hate to pronounce a sentence on your betta as I'm not there to see what he looks like.....so can't make any sweeping judgements and/or tell you what choices to make. I don't know if this helps at all.....??