Help! Betta Resting On Bottom Of Tank

[MegaZerino]

I have a 65l tank with 6 bettas (1 male 5 female) and 1 red dwarf gourami in. For the past couple of weeks one of the females has been spending almost al of her time resting on the bottom of the tank hardly moving, even when i or another betta goes up to her she doesnt really move. I dont know if shes sick or just lazy, please help me. (the rest of the fish are doing fine)

 

[Rummynose]

So sorry about your sick female Betta. How long have you had her? If it is a fairly new set up then quite possibly you may be seeing signs of stress. I know there are people who keep Bettas in miniature tanks, but this stocking sounds crowded to me. I'm also surprised the Bettas get along with the gourami since they all are labyrinth fish!

I assume your tank is cycled, but have you checked your ammonia and nitrite levels? How often and how big are your water changes?

 

[MegaZerino]

So sorry about your sick female Betta. How long have you had her? If it is a fairly new set up then quite possibly you may be seeing signs of stress. I know there are people who keep Bettas in miniature tanks, but this stocking sounds crowded to me. I'm also surprised the Bettas get along with the gourami since they all are labyrinth fish!

I assume your tank is cycled, but have you checked your ammonia and nitrite levels? How often and how big are your water changes?

ive had her nearly a month, she was fine to start off with, she generally hides under this one plant and keeps herself t oherself. I do a 20% water change every week and a filter maintainance every 2 weeks. I knew it was a risk putting them together but they seem to get on just fine so its ok, i cleaned the filter earlier so im going to wait till later to test the water.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Is she being bullied by the other bettas or the gourami. It sounds like she is stressed and with the stocking it sounds like she is being bullied and is hiding

 

[MegaZerino]

Is she being bullied by the other bettas or the gourami. It sounds like she is stressed and with the stocking it sounds like she is being bullied and is hiding

no, quite the opposite, the others seem to go up to her to see if shes ok if she hasnt moved in a while

 

[KittyKat]

I suspect that the problem is caused by a stressful environment (male Betta, male gourami) combined with bullying (normal pecking order squabbles between females). Other fish coming to "check" on the female are more likely to be "checking that she's staying in hiding" than "checking that she's ok". Aggressive behaviour in fish is not always physically aggressive that you can see, it can also be as subtle as the dominant fish showing itself to the sub-dominant fish. This is normal behaviour, but it is not normal to have as high a concentration of potential stress factors as you have in your tank which can be harming the fish. Also, are you always within sight of the tank? It is not uncommon for fish to engage in active bullying only when there are no people in the room.

 

[MegaZerino]

I suspect that the problem is caused by a stressful environment (male Betta, male gourami) combined with bullying (normal pecking order squabbles between females). Other fish coming to "check" on the female are more likely to be "checking that she's staying in hiding" than "checking that she's ok". Aggressive behaviour in fish is not always physically aggressive that you can see, it can also be as subtle as the dominant fish showing itself to the sub-dominant fish. This is normal behaviour, but it is not normal to have as high a concentration of potential stress factors as you have in your tank which can be harming the fish. Also, are you always within sight of the tank? It is not uncommon for fish to engage in active bullying only when there are no people in the room.

its in my room so im basically always around and only about 4ft away, they are all fairly easy going fish and dont bully eachother as much as i was told they would (the male betta tends to spend most of the time at the top back of the tank and the gourami just floats around like the other betta). I took the female betta sitting on the bottom out of the tank and i have her in a 2 litre pot on my desk, ive put a small amount of food in and ive covered it in a black t shirt to see if it calms her down

 

[KittyKat]

its in my room so im basically always around and only about 4ft away, they are all fairly easy going fish and dont bully eachother as much as i was told they would (the male betta tends to spend most of the time at the top back of the tank and the gourami just floats around like the other betta). I took the female betta sitting on the bottom out of the tank and i have her in a 2 litre pot on my desk, ive put a small amount of food in and ive covered it in a black t shirt to see if it calms her down

That will give her ammonia poisoning quicker than will calm her down, and will chill her if your room is not at tropical temperatures right now.

Post full water parameters please.

 

[MegaZerino]

its in my room so im basically always around and only about 4ft away, they are all fairly easy going fish and dont bully eachother as much as i was told they would (the male betta tends to spend most of the time at the top back of the tank and the gourami just floats around like the other betta). I took the female betta sitting on the bottom out of the tank and i have her in a 2 litre pot on my desk, ive put a small amount of food in and ive covered it in a black t shirt to see if it calms her down

That will give her ammonia poisoning quicker than will calm her down, and will chill her if your room is not at tropical temperatures right now.

Post full water parameters please.

ammonia - 0ppm
ph - 7.5
nitrite - 0ppm
nitrate - about 80 ppm

ive taken her out of the small pot (i was only gonna keep her in there for a couple of hours), so now shes back in the tank and back to hiding under her leaf

 

[Fishy friend2]

No offense but it sounds like you are denying what kitty Kat is saying, that she is being bullied by the other fish, your stocking is not good, and what makes it worse is how small that tank is. Just because you can't see her being bullied doesn't mean it isn't happening

 

[MegaZerino]

No offense but it sounds like you are denying what kitty Kat is saying, that she is being bullied by the other fish, your stocking is not good, and what makes it worse is how small that tank is. Just because you can't see her being bullied doesn't mean it isn't happening

well shes always in the front of the tank and im next to it for the entire day. it might be swimbladder that happened to one of my old goldfish. ive put some treatment in so now i just have to see if it works

 

[Fishy friend2]

IME Swim Bladder Disease doesn't last that long, does the fish look bloated at all and does the fish struggle to swim

 

[MegaZerino]

IME Swim Bladder Disease doesn't last that long, does the fish look bloated at all and does the fish struggle to swim

thats why i thought it was swim bladder,compaaring it to my other females, its tummy area looks very bloated and it tends to swim with her head up swimming forward at 45 degree angle, or could it be constipation ( i do feed them flakes). could i try feeding her a pea to see if that helps??

 

[Fishy friend2]

Which one does is sound more like? 1 or 2

•Symptoms: It’s hard to say for sure. But maybe your betta is lethargic, not eating, hiding, staying in a corner or at the bottom of the tank, he might look a bit pale or dart away when you get close to the tank. It could be a mild infection of some sort though too so be careful.
Treatment/Prevention: If your betta is housed with other fish then isolate him and see if he get better. His tank mates might be harassing him. On the other hand, some bettas become depressed when isolated. Other causes could be too much or too little light, too much current, too much activity near the tank, the temperature might be too low. Try changing things up, move the aquarium to a more isolated area and see if he gets better. Or if he’s on a food strike, offer live foods. If he is lonely, place the tank where he can see other fish. Make sure there are places to hide when he is stressed.

•Symptoms: Betta has trouble swimming, maybe he can’t stay upright and can only swim on his side.
•Treatment: This is not a contagious or fatal illness. If it isn’t congenital (aka a condition that he/she has had since birth), then it is caused by over feeding or feeding the wrong foods. Bettas will typically recover after a day or two of Epsom Salt treatments (1-2tsp/gal) and fasting. You can help prevent a reoccurrence by switching to a better pellet food, feeding less and offering a more varied diet. To make it easier for the betta to eat and breath, you can make the water shallower. You can offer him/her frozen daphnia (sold at Petsmart) as daphnia will help him/her pass stool. DO NOT FEED THEM PEAS.

 

[MegaZerino]

This isn't swim bladder but something else..... Does it sound like this
•Symptoms: It’s hard to say for sure. But maybe your betta is lethargic, not eating, hiding, staying in a corner or at the bottom of the tank, he might look a bit pale or dart away when you get close to the tank. It could be a mild infection of some sort though too so be careful.
Treatment/Prevention: If your betta is housed with other fish then isolate him and see if he get better. His tank mates might be harassing him. On the other hand, some bettas become depressed when isolated. Other causes could be too much or too little light, too much current, too much activity near the tank, the temperature might be too low. Try changing things up, move the aquarium to a more isolated area and see if he gets better. Or if he’s on a food strike, offer live foods. If he is lonely, place the tank where he can see other fish. Make sure there are places to hide when he is stressed.

its not depression, i moved some of the foreground plants around the other day, i think she comes up to eat, i will check later, could it be constipation ( i do feed them flakes). could i try feeding her a pea to see if that helps??