Poorly Betta

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CrazyDiamond88

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Jul 6, 2013
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Hi guys, I've had my betta almost a year now. He's pretty much always been a happy, energetic guy.
 
A couple of months back he was in a tank with some pygmy cory I had. They kept dying off, I think because I didn't do a gravel vac often enough and they got a bacterial infection. I have since given them away and he is the only one left in the tank. After they went I treated the tank with salt and some broad spectrum anti-fungal & bac meds.
 
Since that time he hasn't seemed himself. It looks like he has a white stripe down his body a lot of the time, which I believe is stress? He also seems less active and lounges on the floor a lot. I just thought that was because he didn't really have any big leaves near the surface to sit on, but he kind of does...
 
The past few days he's been a lot more inactive, though he still races to the top if I'm there, and he still eats with enthusiasm. Although he seems to be a bit worse at finding food when I put it in the tank, like his senses are dulled. I've also noticed a small hole in his dorsal fins and perhaps his fins look a bit scraggly.
 
Last night the temperature in my tank dropped from about 25 celsius to 22. That is really odd and has never happened before, it's generally always steady at 25. I thought maybe it was the cold weather (hardly cold, but it was about 14 celsius last night which is colder than we've had for a while). I checked the heater and it's still working. I always have it set to 29 celsius. So I turned it up to about 32 and this morning the tank is back to about 25.
 
Anyway some advice would be fab. I checked my params last night, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, nitrate about 10, pH was above the normal colour range (so in the high area) but I didn't check it exactly as I'm quite busy (in the middle of moving house). I change his water about 25% once a week.
 
What specific brand of medication was it??? I'm not very good with meds but I know some are bad for bettas and maybe someone else can chime in and advice where I am lacking.
 
I feed him about 5 betta bio gold pellets every day but sometimes I don't feed him for 2 days in a row.

The med was Wardley Promethyasul and it shouldn't be harmful to him from what I understand.
 
That temperature is a bit too low even at 25°C - they need 26° minimum - ideal range 26-30°C
May not be the cause but certainly won't be helping - sounds like you maybe need a new heater if it's set at 32 but running at 25 or it may not be adequate for the tank size. What sizes heater and tank have you got?
Can't help with the meds as I have no experience with them.
EDIT: Also what type of thermometer are you using? By type I mean - stick-on , digital probe etc. Some are more accurate than others
 
Hi Ros, I thought my heater was more than enough for my tank size. I'll have to double check when I get back home.
I have an analog stick on calculator and it's a bit hard to read.
 
Yeah, those stick-on thermometers aren't the greatest, I got rid of all of mine and bought some floating thermometers, they also come with a suction cup so you can secure them to where they are more convenient for you to read. 
 
At those low temperatures (even 25 C as Mamashack already mentioned) the Betta's Immune-System and overall bodily functions slow down. Getting his tank's temperature to a more comfortable level for him and some good clean water may all he needs to get back on his "fins". :) Have you since removed the meds from his tank? If the pH of your tank is not very different from the pH of your tap water you could up the volume of the water changes too, it will help with the healing of his fin problems. You want to heal those up as quick as possible to prevent/fix any fungal or bacterial infections.
 
Regarding the feeding, it is actually a good thing to let him fast for a day, 2 won't hurt him either I'm sure, but are you spreading his feedings over the course of the day or in one go? Are you soaking his food? Do you sometimes give him bloodworms? Don't give him the freeze dried ones, they can give him constipation, frozen or fresh are the better choice.
 
One last thought, could it be that your Betta is bored, maybe he is missing the company he had in the corys? Maybe you can try a pretty little Nerite Snail with him? Do you flare him sometimes? It is good for him and his digestive tract to have this exercise now and then. And it may make him feel like he accomplished something having scared away this "other Betta".
 
hi Crazy - the heater you've got may well be ok for your tank - those stick-ons aren't accurate at all. I used to use them until I got a probe digital one and it was actually 3°C lower than I thought it was. Luckily my betta hadn't suffered too much as a result and is still as active as ever. However in the long run it may have caused his immune system to become sluggish as Meerrestille said.
 
It's winter, that's probably the issue with the heater
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When articles recommend a watt per litre for heating tanks, you need to keep in mind that this guideline is good for about a 10 degree difference between the ambient temperature of the room, and the temperature of the tank. So where you want to water to be 27 C, your room wouldn't want to ever go below around 17 C. In winter if your room gets below that, chances are the heater won't be able to create enough heat to offset the large difference in heat between the room and the tank, and the temperature in the tank will drop accordingly.
 
The only way to get around this is to get a larger heater. Because of how cold it gets here in the hills (last night it was 3 C outside, and inside this morning was about 14 C) I go up a heater size. Monitoring the temperature morning and night lets you know if the heater is big enough to keep the tank stable in your room. If it's going up and down, you need a bigger heater.
 
I have a 55W in my 30l tank, and a 100W in the 50l tank, and they *just* keep the temperature stable when it gets cold.
I have a 25W in my 20l tank and it's inadequate now it's colder, and I will replace it with a 55W shortly.
 
The cold water is probably making him sluggish and unwell so popping a stronger heater in will help.
Heaters tend to be 'out' by a degree or two either way so you will need a thermometer. Get one of the cheap glass ones that go inside the tank as these are the best ones for directly measuring the temperature of the water. The ones that go outside the tank tend to be unreliable. I keep all my bettas at 27 C.
 
Good luck
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