Betta swimming in tight circles??

[cerulean]

I have a new betta in a 5 gallon tank thats cycled and has a heater, filter on low and some plants. I've done all the tests and it tested 0 on everything. He was hiding for awhile on the bottom and not swimming around much. Now he is swimming around but he is going in tight circles quite a bit, kind of like a dog chasing its tail. He suddenly darts all over the tank too. He's staying right near the top most of the time now. He also seems to be breathing heavy often. His gills are moving a lot. Since he's swimming like that he has tore up his fins a bit. Do you think he's sick or is it because he's not used to the tank yet. I have Melafix would that help. Thanks.

 

[GuppyDude]

hes not sick hes juts easily ammused i rely dont know. did u test ur ph? i know it cant possibly be 0, he'd be dead , perhaps hes just excited. have u tryed feeding him. if he eats hes probably fine

 

[cerulean]

hes not sick hes juts easily ammused i rely dont know. did u test ur ph? i know it cant possibly be 0, he'd be dead , perhaps hes just excited. have u tryed feeding him. if he eats hes probably fine

LOL! yup, looked in pile of testing stuff - ph wasn't in there so it wasn't tested, just did it and its 6.8 which our water usually ranges from 6.8 to 7. he's eating hikari betta pellets if i crush them and don't watch him eat maybe he's just totally neurotic?

just put a mirror up in front of him for the first time - absolutely no reaction, nothing, nothing at all. could he be blind? slow???

 

[flautist]

Mine has been doing that, too. People were telling me that it could be parasites. I know MelaFix doesn't treat parasites, it's more for fungus. I got CopperSafe, and Sakana seems a little better. Of course, I just did his water change 10 minutes ago, too. but, as soon as I put him in, he started blowing bubbles. I see some white things floating in the tank now, too... could those be the parasites? One of them is stuck to the side of the tank.

(Okay, I submitted this and realized I was hijacking your thread... I probably should have put this in my own thread. Sorry. )

 

[fourplayfishy]

i think hes just getting used to his new home the one in my display wouldnt let me look at him eat for the first month i had him