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Lethargic betta! Is he dying?

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HarpyFishLover

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Hello again.

I recently acquired a new tank and a Betta. The tank is a Baby BiOrb, 4 gallons, with ceramic media and large gravel, as well as several plants and a heater. All levels are good.

So here's the problem. The betta, Fintello, or Finn for short, has been acting very lethargic lately. He hovers just above a leaf or the gravel, and will very occasionally flinch and begin moving. He goes up and gets air periodically, and then wistfully floats back down to his spot. There are no visible markings on his body.

I had read somewhere that this could be a swim bladder problem, and that the solution would be to make him flare and fast him 3 days. Sadly, I tried this, and he doesn't even feel like flaring. I've fasted him today and yesterday... If anything, he's worse.

Please be gracious about this messy tank.

View attachment 83385
He actually posed for this one!
View attachment 83386
 
pH 7.5,
Ammonia 0,
Nitrite 0,
Nitrate ~5,
No idea on the alkalinity.

He's twitching now. I fear that if I do not help him soon, he will die.
He'll be swimming peacefully, then suddenly he violently twitches once, then goes back to swimming. This happens about once per 4 seconds while he's swimming. He actually swims about once every 10 minutes, for about a minute.

Water changes are once every two weeks, at about 50% each. BEFORE YOU START ON ME about the infrequent water changes, I KNOW I should be doing them more often. I would not like to cause any unnecessary stress, and as the water chemistry is fine, there is no need for a weekly water change. Plus, I'm lazy.

Please, this is painful for me to watch... please help me to help Finn, before whatever this is kills him.

...I should probably post this in Tropical Fish Emergencies, since it really is getting urgent.
 
I just noticed a few red streaks around his head... past his gills, though not far past.

Please tell me there is a cure for this!
 
Water changes are once every two weeks, at about 50% each. BEFORE YOU START ON ME about the infrequent water changes, I KNOW I should be doing them more often. I would not like to cause any unnecessary stress, and as the water chemistry is fine, there is no need for a weekly water change. Plus, I'm lazy.
.

This, right here, is a problem in itself. Do not come onto a forum and tell someone "not to start on you" when you knowingly neglect to provide the basic care for a creature you chose to take responsibility for. We are here to help, so even if it gets your undies in a twist, you need to listen. Ammonia, Nitrates, and Nitrites should be ZERO. Do a water change and make sure the water is conditioned before you place it in the tank and that you use water conditioner. Try to place the water in slowly as to not cause a strong current and force your betta to fight against it. Also make sure the water is as close to the tank temperature as possible.

4 Gallons is too small, 5 gallons is the minimum for a single betta fish. You need to be performing either 50% water changes once every week or to be performing 30% to 40% twice every week.

Laziness is not an acceptable reason, and their is NO REASON short of severe illness/death of a loved one to neglect your pet. Having a pet is to put their well-being over your own interests. Even the small life of a fish is a responsibility. I'm not trying to attack you, but you need to understand the severity of this issue.

Now please answer a few more questions. What do you feed your betta fish and HOW much do you feed him and how often? Do you vacuum your gravel with every water change to remove excess food/poo? Have you added anything to the tank recently like a chemical of some sort or new ornament? Change in food?

You said he has stress stripes? Is his belly or any other part of his bodypale? Have you noticed any raised scales? Is he breathing heavily?
 
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I feed him Tetra tropical flakes, twice a day, except for Wednesday and Saturday. Usually I feed him 4 of the large flakes, but I crunch them up for him.

I do vacuum my gravel each time.

No chemicals, no new ornaments... The only thing I could think of is that my dad painted his room last week... His room is all the way down the hallway, so I can't see how that us an issue. He did carry paint trays down the hallway, however, the fumes did not get that far into my room.

His belly has always been a bit pale, so maybe he's constantly stressed?

His belly is not bloated and scales are not raised.

He is barely breathing at all.

His red "streaks" are actually more like spots, which is why I never noticed them before. They're just behind his eyes, about where his gills would go into his head.
1490884814768-713306125.jpg
Sorry for the poor quality. But you can still see the red thing I'm talking about. It actually looks natural, but somehow I think it is related.

He's doing a bit better today... rather than hovering over the gravel he is hovering above the leaf, and not twitching as much...

I had to watch my guppies Sammy and Gordon die kind of like this too... so I'm pretty upset.
 
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Fed him for the first time in two days. His appetite is back and he seems energized. He is still twitching, as though in pain. But he is swimming around now.

Still unsure as to what is wrong. Maybe it really is a digestive issue.
 
Fed him for the first time in two days. His appetite is back and he seems energized. He is still twitching, as though in pain. But he is swimming around now.

Still unsure as to what is wrong. Maybe it really is a digestive issue.
Did you perform the water change as I instructed? If you did and he's showing improvement, we can then link his condition to lack of proper tank maintenance. I also recommend you get rid of those tetra flakes as they are not nutritionally suitable for betta, IMO. If you must go for betta food look for something that doesn't have Wheat Meal or the like as one of the first 3 ingredients, as this means the majority of the food has filler in it and is not good for your betta in the long run. Depending on the amount you feed him twice a day, this may also be too much. Betta have a stomach about the same size of one of their eyes and they are prone to easy constipation. Another good food source is daphnia, you can also buy it freeze dried if not live just make sure you soak it in tank water before feeding it. As freeze dried foods when fed without re-hydrating them also cause blockage. I only feed my betta once every two days because he is a bit older and is guaranteed to get blockage if I feed him too often, but that is just my betta. I've read of several others who feed their bettas once a day of strict amounts of proper food with no problems. I know the user NickAu is floating around here somewhere, he's pretty much the betta boss on this forum so if you have questions on food he's the fella to ask.

Please remember to perform your weekly water changes of 50% once a week or 30% to 40% twice a week. Clean water and a maintained aquarium are vital to a fish's health.
 
I'm sorry I didn't update. I did do his water change. He had no improvement, though... he died on Saturday. I should have updated when there was no change in his behavior; we could have figured it out. ...now I'm wondering what I did to him. I suspect he may have been old, since the store owner said he wasn't one of her newer fish. I'll miss him...
 

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