Strange Behaviour From My Betta

[knoweman]

Hello,

I have have tropical fish for many years now and never seen this from a fish before. i have had a betta for about 4 months now and untill 3 days ago everything was fine. now he has started lying on the bottom of the tank on his belly or side. hiding for most of the day and only coming out when fed. he still eats but thats the only time he moves. he will chase away other fish if they get too close but thats it. what is wrong with him?

water temp fine (78f) plenty of cover for him and he is housed with neons and danios.

any help would be great

Thanks

 

[Chad]

How old is the betta? They do lay about and will often sleep on leaves and things. Does he have a betta hammock of sorts?

 

[knoweman]

the betta looks fully grown. ive had him 4 months and he was ne in the shop when i got him. no betta hammock. never heard of one before.

 

[Flute]

Just wondering how big the tank is? Danios are fast little things, and in a smaller tank there could be a chance that they're stressing the betta out. If you could tell us a bit more about your set up, such as how big it is, how long it's been running, what temperature is it at, is it cycled and filtered, etc. then we might have a better chance of figuring out why he's behaving like this

Is he curved over when he's on the bottom, or just normal? What's his colour like? Any damage to his fins or obvious signs of diseases?

As Chad said, they do like to hang out on things and be lazy, but it's better to check things out and be safe

 

[knoweman]

the tank is 90 liters. temp 26 degrees C, been running for 5 years. filtered. his colour is fine and he eats well. he lived with his tank mates for about 4 months before this happened

 

[Chad]

How is the betta at competing for food? Is he getting all he needs to eat? How is the flow in the tank? Betta get tired of swimming if there is much flow. Generally I don't recommend danios with them as the environment the two fish like are so different from one another as to make it hard to meet the needs of both types of fish.

This is a betta hammock.

 

[knoweman]

Maybe too much water flow. Don't know what to do now. He gets plenty to eat

 

[Chad]

Try lowering the flow for a week or two and see if that changes the betta's behavior. The other fish should be fine for that period of time as there will still be flow just less.

 

[betta fish]

It does sound like a flow issue yes, what filter are you running in the 90l? he is getting older so is getting more tired, keep an eye he is not being picked on, also as bettas get older they are more prone to constipation when fed too much, one of the bigger issues for me keeping a betta in a community tank was the excess flow and the fact there is more food around to grab as they are little piggies! I find it betta to house them alone in a nice planted 5 gallon with a small filter set on low.