Is This Normal?

[rooftopconcert]

Hi everyone!

This technically isn't my first post, but I can't for the life of me remember what my original username and password are. Haha, ANYWAY!

I'm living in NYC for the summer and my mom called today and told me that my betta fish, Noone, isn't eating. He ate, she thinks, one or two pieces of food this morning, but tonight, he is laying in his plant and didn't come out when she called him or fed him. She pushed him out of the plant and he swam around a little bit, then he went back to his plant. Apparently, he was laying on the edge of one of the leaves, but moved himself up to sit further up inside so he wouldn't fall off.

I've asked her everything I could think of: he's not laying on his side, he's not gasping for breath, and he looks absolutely normal.

He's about 2.5 years old.

Does ANYONE have any help at all for me? Is this just normal betta behavior??

THANKS!

 

[mommyof2bettas]

It might be he's just old... but did you ask her for the tank temps and params? He sounds stressed to me. There are many reasons for stress though- water temp too low, params getting off, boredom, not enough water changes, etc.
How many times does she do water changes each week?
How big is the tank?

 

[rooftopconcert]

It might be he's just old... but did you ask her for the tank temps and params? He sounds stressed to me. There are many reasons for stress though- water temp too low, params getting off, boredom, not enough water changes, etc.
How many times does she do water changes each week?
How big is the tank?

If he's just old, is that bad? Haha, I mean, do "old people" bettas like to lay around? We honestly don't monitor the temp, but I asked her if it was cold today and she said no, maybe a little chilly in the house but nothing really freezing. Do you think a water change would do him some good? He lives in a 1 gallon tank.

 

[mommyof2bettas]

Personally, I have an old betta who is the most active, but some bettas might get tired as they get older and as they get closer to passing away although don't quote me on that
I know bettas tend to get leathargic when the water is a little cold. Try a water change, maybe add some extra dechlorinator to his water (if you don't use any, ask your mom to get some).

 

[SoCalMom]

He's probably just bored in such a small bowl

 

[liz2]

My 2 oldest boys looked the same as yours last week. I cleaned them totally out, re-arranged their ornaments and turned the heater up a notch. Lo and behold one of them made a little bubble nest and the other is more active (split tank by the way!!)

 

[Maxsmom]

It could be a lot of things... age is one... BUT I'm more inclined to think it's water issues... a 1 gallon tank needs to be cleaned 100% every 3-4 days. Is your mom doing that for you? Ammonia burns from dirty water can cause a betta to get real sick - real fast. Also, how much is she feeding him? He could be getting over-fed as many well meaning fish-sitters (and moms) tend to be a bit heavy-handed with their food. Temp is also a concern... b/c like it was said, if the temp is too low (below 72F), they can become more lethargic.

 

[rooftopconcert]

The thing is, he's been fine up to this point with these conditions, so it's strange. I just called her and told her to change his water on Sunday. She said he was moving around more today, but still hasn't eaten. I'm hoping he has a stomach ache or something and is cleaning out his system.

She feeds him 3 pieces of food twice a day.