How Can I Cheer Up My Betta?

[minikarter]

Ok so his name is Arashi (Japanese for Storm), he's a male Marble CT and is about 20 months old. In the last few weeks though he's seemed very lethargic and slow. He's got an armano shrimp tankmate within his 35 litre tank with bogwood, black gravel and one live plant.

I've noticed a bit of a lump on his back which I'm going to treat, but that i've only noticed today and he's been acting weird for much longer.

What can I do to cheer him up?? He's not exactly the young fry he used to be!

 

[BethK]

more live plants, 1 isn't enough. bettas like to hide, rest and swim in the plants. put a few more in and he may well perk up x

 

[minikarter]

Ok, I was thinking of getting some silk plants anyway, I'm in the UK, any particular place that's reliable for them over internet and what to look out for? I was told by someone in maidenhead aquatics that silk plants dissolve in water?? which i'm pretty sure isn't true..

Oh and forgot to add, he's also got a large (tasteful and VERY clean) beer bottle and jar in there. He spends a lot of time hiding in the jar actually.. it's like his cave

 

[BethK]

I would personally add real plants, for long finned bettas, real plants are a lot easier on their fins/tails and real plants are better for the tank environment.

Cabomba is a good plant for bettas;

very easier to look after, too

 

[minikarter]

I may give it a go then, but I thought silk plants were preferred for Bettas actually for the reason they're ok with the long fins? As opposed to plastic plants that have quite harsh edges..

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Silk are preferred over plastic but live plants are better.

I have java fern in with my male betta (it requires little care). In my girls tank I have dwarf anubias and elodea (both of which require litte care).

 

[BethK]

i, personally wouldn't use silk or plastic, they don't look as good as live plants. plus silk is still rough on a betta's fins.

 

[loraxchick]

id be more concerned about the lump the OP mentioned than how many plants and which type he has. silk plants are fine assuming there are no sharp edges. camboba and elodea are good choices for live tho if you want to get some-minimal care required.
as for the lump-could you give more detail? is it red? swollen? white center or margin? is it fuzzy/fluffy? is it round or have irregular edging? is the fish bloated or skinny?
id be concerned it may be causing his lethargy. although as they age, they get downright lazy!!! even just rearranging the decor in the tank might perk him up a bit.
cheers

 

[minikarter]

I'll give it a go with the live plants, although I'm going to try a homemade CO2 setup, as even with easy to care for plants i've not had much luck in the past!

As for the lump, there's not much to it. Nothing particularly distinctive, it's at the front of his dorsal fin to one side but it's not particularly pronounced. Tbh he has his moments, I think he's just a lazy fish! When I give him attention he's quite happy to have a look around etc.

While i'm here, I may make another topic altogether, but he's always had very tatty fins. When I first got him his fins were beautiful as CT should be, but there was a point where I unfortunately had to let someone else look after him for a couple of weeks and the water conditions got pretty bad. Since then his fins have been much shorter and ragged.. I'm guessing the stress from the water conditions must have caused it somehow.

No signs of it growing back after a couple of months, is there anything I can do to help him or is fin damage usually permanent? I know it's not due to disease as I thought that originally and used some external medication and sorted the water and tank out etc and he's been fine since..

 

[zophie]

Hmmm....
Try getting live plants like the others said, I like Cambomba and Hornwort. He might be feeling scared. Try and get a small cave, rock, or peice of wood. Also, try feeding him something live or frozen, nothing like a few good bloodworms! If you already feed him live/frozen food, try feeding him a different brand. He might really like the different food.
Also, you can move around his tank decor, or put his tank in a new spot. He might be feeling bored. And finally, you could go crazy and umgrade him. You could buy him a bigger tank, with more gravel for planting, and just plant up the whole tank with a nice cave thing. If you're willing to do it, I bet he'll love it!

Well, best of luck!
Zophie

P.S. I love his name!

 

[minikarter]

Thanks for the advice! unfortunately.. a biiger tank is a bit out of the question.. I'm on a budget as it is saving for a masters! Anyway, update over the weekend, I bought 2 new plants... hurrah! One is cabomba, the other i'm not sure, but is a very common grass-like plant with very long narrow leaves. That and the decor change doesn't seem to have changed much though

Also other bad news, I heard shrimp are quite fragile with water etc, maybe it was from adding the plants, or too much stress I don't know.. but my Amano died today He was possibly the best cleanup crew I've ever had, kept the tank relatively spotless compared to before!

Next step.. lets try Arashi with some new grub

 

[loraxchick]

the plants were probably treated with copper. shrimp are extremely sensitive to it. could be the cause of death.
cheers

 

[Deek]

Coconut cave is always good even better covered in moss my betta either hides in it or sits on top when he is having a lazy day lol

 

[psychofreak]

hi new here

i used to breed betta's years ago i only ever keep live plants in my tanks

with betta i used to train my breeding male id treat him with little bit live food for 2-3 days leave him a day or 2 without and put a small hand held mirrior by side tank for 1-2 min's just to get his blood going

it seemed to work well for me in keeping my breeding male fit

psycho

p.s would love to know if any trop fish shows still happen in the UK