Help Needed Please!

[fluffycabbage]

Ok mr betta has been a bit weird - i usually give him a small amount of food morning, afternoon, and at night before bed. This afternoon he wasnt bothered about coming out for food, odd i thought. i was tapping on the glass and he still didnt come out.I started panicking looking for him, thinking he'd died. About 30 secs later he appeared and ate as usual (from my fingers). He's been swimming around ok, pretty much as normal, but now n again he kind of flicks/jumps about near the top (which has me worried coz hes in an open top tank!). Then he goes really quiet, and kinda just floats a bit,looking dead, then comes back to life! Reeeeally weird. Hes prob only done it about 4 or 5 times today, but its odd behaviour for him.

So i did tests on the water:
Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0.5 (?), PH8, oxygen 12ppm (much higher than normal 8ppm). (Im wondering if the tests are out of date going by the nitrate level)

Any ideas on either? Are they related? Worried

 

[fluffycabbage]

anyone?

 

[loraxchick]

could you post a pic of him? how does his color look (is he faded at all)?. good hes eating. 3 times a day is too much food. id cut back on the feeding to once a day for a week or so.
did you have anything on your hands when they were in the tank (ie lotion, etc?). could be irritating his skin (hence the flicking). did you see him flick off objects in the tank or just while eating near the surface?
keep us posted.
cheers

 

[fluffycabbage]

its only when hes near the surface, never on objects. Doesnt seem to have done it today though, not that ive seen anyway. Seems to be 'takin it easy' at the top a bit more than normal, and also he's taken to staying in the corner behind the heater . Could that be objecting to the current, getting tired n resting? Ive got a fluval 2 plus on the lowest output setting.
Colour absolutely fine, appetite fine (obviously!) Will cut feeds to one now then.
He seemed a bit off after the fry were removed from the tank,i think he likes company - i got him 7 neons to share with earlier, and he perked up in his mood

 

[loraxchick]

resting on the heater is one of their favorite spots. maybe hes just over zealous at feeding time. one of my plakats launches himself at the food and shakes his head while he eats (like a dog playing with a ropetoy). theyre all very different in behavior, could just be what he does.
i wouldn't worry too much about it, but keep a close eye on him for any signs of illness.
cheers

 

[Athena]

Hi - Did the jumping about start before or after you added the neons? Just checking that it's not the neons that are causing his odd behaviour, if they have begun nipping his fins or maybe he feels they've intruded into his territory and he's having a sulk. Does he flare at them at all? If so, could he be trying to escape them? Or was he doing the jumping and hiding behind heater before you added them?

You mentioned having taken fry out of the tank (betta fry?)... is the female betta situated anywhere near the male betta's tank?

Not sure an open tank is ideal for a Betta, to be honest - they are known to be jumpers (although not all of them try it) and if he's showing signs of doing it then it might be an idea to cover his tank to prevent him ending up on the floor.

Another thought is that he might be doing it out of excitement to see you at feeding time.

I had a female betta who used to get so excited when I walked in the room that she would woosh over to the front of the tank and her little fins would spin like crazy. One day I opened the feeder section of the tank lid to put food in and she flew out of the water like a rocket being launched! Frightened the life out of me at the time and I worried that she'd hurt herself as she landed with a thud on the tank lid.

So a betta in an open tank is a bit of a gamble, I think.

Another thing to add to the check-list is that point about the filter flow. This is another thing that can upset a Betta to the point they will try to escape it or find a quiet corner to rest. They are happier in quiet, calm tanks. So check your filter flow isn't causing any noisy turbulance and if you have an airstone, again, set the bubble output to minimum (as fierce bubble output can be noisy).

Such fusspots aren't they LOL

Anyway, you have a few things to ponder over and, in the meantime, I'd just continue monitoring his behaviour over the weekend. If he shows any signs of getting worse, or any other symptoms showing up, let us know on here.

Regards, Athena

 

[fluffycabbage]

Hi - Did the jumping about start before or after you added the neons? Just checking that it's not the neons that are causing his odd behaviour, if they have begun nipping his fins or maybe he feels they've intruded into his territory and he's having a sulk. Does he flare at them at all? If so, could he be trying to escape them? Or was he doing the jumping and hiding behind heater before you added them?

You mentioned having taken fry out of the tank (betta fry?)... is the female betta situated anywhere near the male betta's tank?

Not sure an open tank is ideal for a Betta, to be honest - they are known to be jumpers (although not all of them try it) and if he's showing signs of doing it then it might be an idea to cover his tank to prevent him ending up on the floor.

Another thought is that he might be doing it out of excitement to see you at feeding time.

I had a female betta who used to get so excited when I walked in the room that she would woosh over to the front of the tank and her little fins would spin like crazy. One day I opened the feeder section of the tank lid to put food in and she flew out of the water like a rocket being launched! Frightened the life out of me at the time and I worried that she'd hurt herself as she landed with a thud on the tank lid.

So a betta in an open tank is a bit of a gamble, I think.

Another thing to add to the check-list is that point about the filter flow. This is another thing that can upset a Betta to the point they will try to escape it or find a quiet corner to rest. They are happier in quiet, calm tanks. So check your filter flow isn't causing any noisy turbulance and if you have an airstone, again, set the bubble output to minimum (as fierce bubble output can be noisy).

Such fusspots aren't they LOL

Anyway, you have a few things to ponder over and, in the meantime, I'd just continue monitoring his behaviour over the weekend. If he shows any signs of getting worse, or any other symptoms showing up, let us know on here.

Regards, Athena

The jumping started a couple of days after the fry were removed (they were molly and platy fry). Hes not flared at the neons at all, he seems to enjoy their company, but they dont go too near eachother lol. In fact he doesnt flare at anything, and is very inquisitive

I was watching him yesterday and that is definitely his bed. Maybe he's just found 'his spot' eh? I should get one of those betta beds

The airstone he loves, ive got it at about half its output, so i'll lower it more. He dives in and out of the bubbles lol

Hes not done that crazy jumpy flicking thing today, so maybe he was just irritated by something which has gone now

 

[Athena]

Ah, so that's good news. Maybe it was just a one-off thing eh? Sounds like he'll be fine then.

Regards - Athena

 

[fluffycabbage]

Ah, so that's good news. Maybe it was just a one-off thing eh? Sounds like he'll be fine then.

Regards - Athena

Hope so - my male molly does that now n again too, theres nothing wrong with him either

Could it be water hardness? Coz it is hard here.