Slow Siamese Fighter

[AJ Tudor]

Hey, I've just noticed my fighter is really lathargic, he usually likes to sit on the bottom but today he's really droopy, any idea what could be wrong?

 

[Netty]

Could you give us some more information to go on

How long have you had him
What size tank is he in
What is the water temperature
Does he have a filter & heater
What are you feeding and how often
Do you know your water stats......ammonia, nitrates & nitrites
How often do you do water changes and by how much
Is he bloated at all.

Will be able to help you more if we know these things

 

[Joshy]

All valid questions from Netty there!

 

[AJ Tudor]

I figured you'd need more info, ,just wasn't sure exactly what was needed Okay here goes

Had him for around 3 months
He's in a 12 gallon (UK) community
There's a filter and a heater and the temp's constantly at 27 C
Feeding tropical flake every day
There's no ammonia according to my last test but I'm out of kits
Water changes are 25% and weekly
There's absolutely no show of illness or anything wrong except the sitting on the bottom

Hope this helps a bit

 

[Joshy]

I figured you'd need more info, ,just wasn't sure exactly what was needed Okay here goes

Had him for around 3 months
He's in a 12 gallon (UK) community
There's a filter and a heater and the temp's constantly at 27 C
Feeding tropical flake every day
There's no ammonia according to my last test but I'm out of kits
Water changes are 25% and weekly
There's absolutely no show of illness or anything wrong except the sitting on the bottom

Hope this helps a bit

Well (to me) it sounds like your doing everything right.
Although i cant see how bad he is, it could possibly be just sulking.
I have had my betta's sulk when they decided out of the blue that they did not like being in a big community tank anymore.
It sounds silly i know.

I had to put my boys in smaller tank, and work the tank mates around them in the end.
What is involved in the community? Is he getting a hard time from anyone perhaps?
Is your filter current quite strong?
Just some questions im throwing out there...

 

[Netty]

Cheers for that

What is your filter like. Most Bettas don't like much flow so it could be that that's bothering him. There are ways of slowing it down eg get some tights and put a piece over the filter outlet to slow it down.

Also what tankmates does he have. It maybe that he's being harrassed by them.

Tropical flake isn't too good for Bettas either. You'd be better off with getting some Hikari Betta Gold pellets for him.

Temps are fine and you're doing regular water changes so I would try to get a testing kit as soon as you can and test the water or take some to your lfs for them to test and rule anything else out.

beat me to it Joshy

 

[AJ Tudor]

I just added some guppies recently, so it could be sulking I guess. I might try dropping some aloe into the tank to happy people up a bit. He hasn't received any bother from any one, he keeps himself to himself. The current is strong enough to bend leaves, that's about the best description I can give!

 

[Netty]

That certainly sounds like the problem to me. Current to high for him and guppies....not a good tank mate for Bettas. They will go for his fins. Is there any way you can house him separately?

 

[AJ Tudor]

Okay he is so much better this morning! He was mooching around the top of the tank as he usually likes to. I have been thinking of re housing him for a while now so I may have to push that forward. To be honest I've not witnessed the guppies nipping him or even going near him they keep their distance. I guess when they're a bit more settled they may bully him more though. Okay then, a nice small planted tank on my work desk should be good I reckon, not sure what my girlfriend will say when she comes home to find an extra tank.......

BTW 12"x12"X12" cube okay for Bettas?

 

[tibby25731]

yay! a bachelor pad for him! He will love it! That cube will be fine for him. make sure to show us pictures when you get it up and running!

 

[Netty]

That's great news and I'm sure you'll notice how much happier and active he will be in his new home

 

[AJ Tudor]

Thanks for the advice and well wishes guys but unfortunately I lost him this afternoon He was fine this morning but before I went to work I noticed he was sluggish again. I came back from work and he was lying on the bottom I'm pretty sure it was dropsy, he doesn't really look swollen but his scales are raised. Is dropsy contagious in any way? I'm worried about the rest of the tank now

 

[smegforbrains]

Poor little guy.


RIP bud.

 

[tibby25731]

Oh no! I'm so sorry. I am not sure if dropsy is contagious but as a precaution i would do a large water change on the tank today, and another tomorrow.

 

[Netty]

Awwww......I'm so sorry to hear that AJ, such a shame.

little guy

Dropsy can be due to bacterial infection so it would be best to do a big water change and treat you tank with Interpet Anti Internal Bacteria meds.