Betta Lying At Bottom Of Tank, Is This Normal?

[wilchil64]

I've had my betta (crowntail) about 9 months now, not sure how old he was when I got him, tbh. Recently I had a bit of an algae problem in his tank and the guy in the local store recommended putting some otos in with him as they would eat some algae - which they did. The tank cleared up in under a week. However, I'm wondering if they have contributed to the problem or if the fish is ill or just old.

He now just lies on the bottom in the corner. He recently had pop eye (just one day out of the blue suddenly), the eye then turned cloudy and he now appears to only see on one side. However at that point he still seemed ok.

He can swim but seems to find it hard work. He hasnt' been eating his Hikari pellets this week, but eats blood worm if I put them above him. There is no sign of disease on him that I can see, can't tell what his poo is like as he is just at the bottom. He doesn't appear to be breathing in a distressed way.

I have taken the Otos out in case they were upsetting him, but no change.

Any ideas? How long would you expect him to live normally?

By the way he is in a 28 litre tank, with fine gravel, a bit of slate, some vallis. And I've been feeding him Hikari betta pellets with the odd bit of bloodworm (maybe once a week max.).

Thanks for any help.

By the way, I perform weekly 50% water changes in the tank, the water is fine, the tank has a filter, with dampened filter flow so as not to upset him. The temperature is 27 or 28 degrees - will check. He has live plants to swim and hide in and plenty of room. he did have a coconut cave but was no longer interested in hiding in it, so I have taken it out for now.

Could this just be old age?

 

[loraxchick]

it could be old age. or maybe he is displaying other symptoms due to his popeye. popeye is a symptom of something else, not a disease in its own right. if there is no way that he could have injured his eye on something in the tank which caused the popeye, id be looking for other clues as to what is really going on...
is he bloated? having trouble maintaining balance in the water? are his scales sticking out like a pinecone? how is his poo? white stringy poo is bad-internal infection or parasites. was he eating since he got popeye (other than the bloodworms you dangle in front of him)?
if you are unsure dont medicate with anything until you are certain what you are treating for. up the waterchanges to 2 or 3x a week to keep his water crystal clean! in the meantime (while deciding which meds if any to use) soak his bloodworms or pellets(whatever he will eat) in some garlic juice. will stimulate appetite and help with immunity. epsom salts might be handy to have too as you can draw out fluid if dropsy presents itself.
good luck with him! answering some of the above questions might help to get a better understanding of whats going on.
all the best!

 

[wilchil64]

it could be old age. or maybe he is displaying other symptoms due to his popeye. popeye is a symptom of something else, not a disease in its own right. if there is no way that he could have injured his eye on something in the tank which caused the popeye, id be looking for other clues as to what is really going on...
is he bloated? having trouble maintaining balance in the water? are his scales sticking out like a pinecone? how is his poo? white stringy poo is bad-internal infection or parasites. was he eating since he got popeye (other than the bloodworms you dangle in front of him)?
if you are unsure dont medicate with anything until you are certain what you are treating for. up the waterchanges to 2 or 3x a week to keep his water crystal clean! in the meantime (while deciding which meds if any to use) soak his bloodworms or pellets(whatever he will eat) in some garlic juice. will stimulate appetite and help with immunity. epsom salts might be handy to have too as you can draw out fluid if dropsy presents itself.
good luck with him! answering some of the above questions might help to get a better understanding of whats going on.
all the best!

Hi Lorax,

thanks for your reply.

I can't see anything in the tank he could have injured his eye on, the coconut shell was smooth as I sanded it down ages ago before putting in the tank. The slate isn't sharp either and there is nothing else, unless the otos would have attacked him, but I've never seen them behave like that.

yes, he's been eating since he got popeye, it's only this week he hasn't been coming up much for food, but obviously enjoying the bloodworm when they come down to him and swimming up for more of them, just not eating his pellets. I've put a pea in in case of constipation but he's not eating that.

he isn't bloated, can't see any poo, I'm not sure he's struggling to maintain balance, but he is lying slightly on his side at the bottom.

No, his scales aren't sticking out at all, smooth as ever. But he's not flaring.

I'll get some garlic and try soakign his bloodworm as he's eating that. I also have some frozen brine shrimp with garlic, so will see if he'll eat that too.

 

[loraxchick]

well thats all good news. he might feel under the weather and be a bit confused by loss of vision from one side. keep really clean water for a week or so and see if it helps his eye. in the meantime start researching for meds you could potentially use to help treat popeye, in case water quality alone doesnt help...but give him a few days and see since he still is eating and such.
best of luck

 

[wilchil64]

well thats all good news. he might feel under the weather and be a bit confused by loss of vision from one side. keep really clean water for a week or so and see if it helps his eye. in the meantime start researching for meds you could potentially use to help treat popeye, in case water quality alone doesnt help...but give him a few days and see since he still is eating and such.
best of luck

Not sure the popeye is the problem as that happened probably over a month ago? The eye was swollen, then cloudy, now dull and looks like he lost his eye or at least the vision in that eye.

I have put less water in his tank after water change yesterday, to enable him to reach surface easier, as I am worried he may drown - read about that on another forum?

He is the same today, but did come up for food yesterday, first he grabbed a pellet and later I gave him a few brine shrimp in garlic, of which he ate at least one.

I'll keep changing his water daily. I also put a drop or two of Stresscoat in, doubt if it will harm but hope it may help in some way.

He just looks so drab and tired.

Is there anything else I can do? Is it likely to be swim bladder problem, as he is at the bottom of tank and also listing to one side, he seems to struggle to swim upwards as if it's huge effort?

Thanks again.

 

[loraxchick]

if you suspect swimbladder, feed him a cooked desheeled chopped up pea. then starve him for a day or two and see if that helps.
id be suspicious tho that there is something else going on. popeye can be casued by a buildup of fluid behind the eye. and swimbladder disorders can also be caused by retaining fluid in the tissues. do you have any epsom salts? if the pea trick doesnt work, id try to get my hands on some (epsom salt is cheap! and you can make a mixture of 1Tbsp/gal and give him "baths" in this mix for up to 30 mins once a day. will help to draw out fluid if the pea feeding and fast days dont correct his balance).
keep us posted.
all the best