Strange Behaviour, And Slightily Worried

[Osian]

My betta has done a couple of strange things in the last couple of days, first he jammed himself between the heater and the tank wall, but more worring is that he seems to go under the filter inlet and lies there on his side like he's dead, but as soon as i open the lid he comes swimming to the surface. I've turned the valve on the filter down just in case he was falling asleep and just drifting up( as he likes to sleep under it) but it didnt stop it happening again. I took reading and everything was fine except the amonia which was 0.25ppm, but i did a water change and all the reading are now fine. Is it just that he likes being held up by the flow or is this a sign of something?

I'll try and get a picture if he does it again, but i hope he doesnt.


this is a picture of him now but havent seen him under the filter yet

 

[stang1]

A couple of my Bettas used to do this and it sounds as though you have nothing to worry about as long as he's healthy and eating ok. Bettas like somewhere to rest, preferably nearer the surface, so they haven't got far to go for air. Turning the filter down will help as they prefer little or no flow.

 

[Osian]

here's the picture of him under the filter

he eats fine and i dont think there's anything wrong, going to do another water test but it should be fine.

it's good to know mine isnt the only one that does it.

 

[stang1]

It looks as though he may be getting caught up on the filter. Sometimes with the long fins, they struggle with the flow and end up battling against the pull from the filter.
Try creating a few more hiding places and see if you can find an ornament/plant to put in front of the filter to help prevent this from happening.

 

[Jaded12]

He definatly looks like hes getting stuck, can you turn down the filter current? or put some sort of plant or ornament underneath the filter to prevent him from going underneath it.

 

[Osian]

He definatly looks like hes getting stuck, can you turn down the filter current? or put some sort of plant or ornament underneath the filter to prevent him from going underneath it.

Well when i put the filter off he just falls to the bottom and then seems to wake up and swims off, If i open the lid then he'll move and come to the top expecting food, so i guess he isnt struggling to much. I have noe moved somthing under the inlet to stop him going under and it seems to work, as he swam around the inlet untill he realised he couldnt get under and he;s not swam to the other half af the tank to sleep. I've got him a new tank and hopefully have that running in 3 weeks and i'll put in a lot more places for him to hide in.

thank everyone.

 

[stang1]

If you haven't many hiding places then you can use a terracotta pot and a couple of bushy or big leaved plants.
Having a couple of hiding places makes them feel a little more secure.

 

[Osian]

I've given him a small cave and enough plants i would hope, i think anyway. He's also changed colour in the last two weeks, from being all red to have those greenish patches on him, but i assumed it was the food i was feeding him, the betta pelets (bio-gold). Perhaps i'm worring about nothing, but I really dont want to kill him because of any stupid mistake.

 

[stang1]

Sounds like you are doing everything right, so try not to worry and enjoy your fish!
Fish do change colour depending on what you feed them. My boys tend to get more red in them as I feed them Tetra Pro and Tetra Betta.

 

[happyannie]

My girls have always liked to sleep in the intake part of their filter in the back of it. I figured it spares them the work of staying upright and then they're close to the surface so they can pop up a few inches to gulp air. They just hang there suspended until the mood strikes them to go elsewhere and then off they go...

 

[hollyp0p]

it might be that like my betta he likes sleeping on the filter intake, luckily for my betta the intakes very close to the surface, so he sucks himself to it on purpose and sleeps there, if he can get off by himself it's not a problem!

 

[Jacob Da Jew]

This post is so funny because I was just about to post about the same issue with Casear!

He likes to jam himself between the heater and tank wall and i started to get nervous...till i saw this post!

Now Im goood.

 

[Osian]

Well i think i've worked out why, he has white spots. I've risen the temp to 28 degC and got some white spot treatment from him, but his fins look a little tatterd now. Is this normal with white spot or could it be caused by the filter? He still sleeps there and i dont know if he can get out or not although i think he can. Should I just switch the filter off for 4 days and do water changes or would this risk killing the bacteria and i'd be better finding something to jam around the intake, like some new sponges(filter media)?