My New Vt Boy And His Problem

[CathyGo]

I have been looking at this vt male at work for about a week promising myself that I wouldn't him but then he was bought and returned because of a swimming issue. So I bought him. He seems to have trouble swimming for long periods of time. His ventral fins on one side are stumpy and his fins don't seem to move as fluidly as others. Right now he is in a floating breeder so he doesn't have to swim very far to get to the surface or food but I don't have to mess with a small container. I gave away 2 of my other bettas due to gender issues(bought as females turned out to be PKs) so he has one male/female betta in the tank to interact with but he can't fight with him/her. He seems to be active he just has trouble getting around. Neither floating or sinking like swim bladder issues would cause him to do. He has really big fins and his good ventral is pretty long so I suspect he is a bit older too.

Well here's some pics of him. I love his coloring.

And the set-up

That blue container in the front of the tank has mini-mealworms in it. The fish love them as treats.

 

[Monty2451]

I can't be certain as I don't really have enough experience, but it might be something you already pointed out, that he's just old. If he's having swimming issues, but it's not a swim bladder problem and the rest of his fins are fine, it might simply be that he's getting on in years. The fins they use to swim are primarily the tail fin and the fins adjacent to the gills (I'm not sure of their proper name), so I don't think the damaged (or possibly stunted) ventral fin would have any bearing on his ability to swim, unless of course the damaged ventral fin is a symptom of something I'm not aware of.

 

[liz2]

I have a ct boy who cant swim properly. He swims with his tail pulling him back down. He rests on top of a bridge all the time like an old boy and sometimes I think he is dead as he lays on his side. He does eat but he just acts like an old betta. Perhaps that is what is wrong with yours he is handsome though.

 

[CathyGo]

Happy boy is busy building a bubble nest. I would think he would feel a bit cramped but he isn't acting stressed and eating like a pig(Hikari Micro-Wafers) so I'm assuming he's comfortable. Still flaring a lot at the other betta but that should calm down over the next week.