Think He Might Not Be Well :(

[ellena]

There's very little to go on, but I'm not hapy about Levi at the mo. He's swimming about very erratically and sharply. He's not flicking against things, there are no stress lines, spots, velvet or anything. His fins (the ones that hang below his chin) do look a little scruffy and curly. When I bought him, he had a little bit of his tail missing, so I've been treating him with melafix at half dose.
I got him last sunday and since then he's been in a fish in cycle, levels tested twice a day and have never been over 0.25ppm. He's in a 5 gall hex with sand substrate, a moss ball, amazon sword, a crypt, a java fern, a coconut cave and an indian almond leaf.
Quite a few snails have appeared recently. The water has been quite brown which I was expecting from the IAL. Today I cleaned him out and there was some brown algae on the glass. There was also some clear gunky stuff on the thermometer too

And before I cleaned him out, I thought I saw a white worm in the water. About twice as long as a bloodworm, but thinner. There's a chance it could have been a cat hair, but I'm fairly sure I saw it moving as worms do when they swim. I haven't actually seen him poo, but there are brown bits on the bottom, but they could be algae.
On sat, I fed him a pea (although he only ate a tiny bit) and then nothing sun. He's been eating fine since then (hikari pellets)
I tried to mention everything I can think of. Am I worrying over nothing?

 

[bagu]

hmmm brown algae is diatoms, they are common in new aquariums

that little worm might be a cause of ammonia spike or over feeding, do a water change i think =] also, it can get in the gills and irritate the fish, but don't panic!

just hold out and get the ammonia to 0 and nitrite to 0 =]

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Forestpisces]

I agree with bagu

Keep your tank as clean as possible and concentrate on keeping your ammonia and nitrite at 0

This is also one of the best ways to get rid of unwanted bacteria and parasites. Chemicals should be a last resort.

To keep ich at bay keep the water temperature at 80f. It cant survive that hot and you are far less likely to get it in your tank.

Keep an eye on him and as long as he is eating and acting ok then he should be fine. Most bettas are a little torn up when you get them hope from the shop but they quickly heal.

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[loraxchick]

i read thru your post and here's my advice
stop doing the melafix. some bettas dont tolerate it well, even at half dose. do a 50% water change and and other tomorrow. and let his fins heal in just clean water. they dont necessarily need melafix the heal so he might be racting to the meds. everything else sounds normal in your tank. those levels are ok for fish in cycling. it is relatively small amount and wouldnt cause irratic swimming.
brown algae is usual in all new tanks. they are diatoms that feed off the silicone in new tanks. they are easy to wip off before a water change and will go away in a few months.
as for the wormy hting, you moust have new plants if you have had snail hitchhikers. it was probaly just a root that wasnt planted properly and broke off and was floating around. see if you see any roots on the plants that are up above the substrate. do they look like what you saw?
and for the snails. lots of people think they are pests, but i like them. they eat leftovers, keep your plants and glass clean, and are fairly sensitive to water conditions so can be a GREAT indication that things might not be right in your tank. they are REALLY interesting little guys too. also gives something for your betta to interact with. as long as its not stressing him out (but a reasonable amount of flaring can be expected sometimes...i recently put a few mytery snails in all my tanks (THANKS Sailornight!)...and one of my boys spends about an hour a day flaring at only one particular snail...but he gets tied of it and leaves and does something else. so consider keeping your snails
its ok to have a lot of questions when you get your first betta, you're doing a great job (esp with the water testing and being on top of that...you are not only interested in the fish, but his wellbeing!)
so like i mentioned first...id stop the melafix and just focus on keeping his water clean. see if that eliminates his weird swimming thing. he's still eating like a pig and everything else in your tanks sounds GREAT
cheers

 

[ellena]

Thanks for the replies
This morning he seems to have calmed down a bit and has built a bubble nest overnight. Still some flicking and darting about though.
My 2 bettas tanks are next to each other but they barely seem to notice. Just in case though, I put something between them.
I'm confused about the water changes though I was trying to keep the stats to 0, then read this thread and reread the sticky and for fish in, you try and keep them below 0.25, but there has to be some there for the bacteria to build up. Last night and this morning, I've had ammonia-0 nitrites-trace, so I think this is working. Would that be 'clean' enough water to heal?
I hope it will only be days before they're both at 0.

 

[tibby25731]

Anything above 0 is toxic so i would aim to keep the stats there. Your fish will still be secreting ammonia so there will be plenty to feed your bacteria Always aim for 0, it is what is best for your fish.

 

[loraxchick]

the levels youve been posting are actually great for fish in cycle. ive seen posts with much worse, so youre obviously keeping up with the wate rchanges...i honestly would stop to melafix! some bettas (and other fish for that matter) do not tolerate the med well. could be causing him irritaion on to of the small amount of nitites you are seeing. .25 is not a lot of ammonia or nitrite, that's why it is suggested you waterchange THEN so it doesnt get out of control. it is very doubtful that the small amounts you have been posting are casuing his behavior...i suspect melafix and new surroundings (settling in)...see if the removal of the melafix fixes his behavior. his fins will heal fine without it (rather said, it is not absolutely necessary for fin regrowth).
all the best

 

[ellena]

I dosed MF this morning, but will make that the last one and see what happens. He's still doing the erratic, repetitive swimming. Here's a video. It's constant, 30 mins at a time sometimes.

 

[betta fish]

Your fish looks fine from the video, my fish do that occasionally, he is just swimming up and down the glass, perhaps he is bored or he can see a reflection and wants to get through the glass, but I wouldn't worry in any case, it's not a sign of an illness

 

[bagu]

very pretty betta though =]

 

[loraxchick]

i watched you vid and it seems like he's just seeing his reflection...either tape some paper/backing to it and it might make things better...he also will get bored of chasing his reflection ...hell realize he cant get the "the other fish" and give up...he looks in gorgeous condition...i wouldnt worry...his behavior and swimming is normal...mine flares are different thigs in his tank for about 4 hours total a day!!! could be the snail on minute, and the bubbles from his sponge filter the nest...then the plant....then the snail again...its just a presonality trait...as long as eating and otherwise acting healthy (which he truely looks...gorgeous), i would not worry...he's just uptight
cheers

 

[aimsley_87]

Fishies are so funny.

 

[ellena]

I have seen him several times, flicking and scraping himself on things. No sign of anything physical yet though.

 

[tibby25731]

Hmmm. Fish will occasionally give themselves a scratch, as will humans, but if he is doing it often then there is a likely physical cause. Looking at the colour of him, I think it could be difficult to see ich on him - I find it easiest to see when there is a tank light on, if you look up at the fish and check out their fins and tail. Try and get a good look at him. Another cause could be a parasite, bt you won't know about that till a little worm pops out of his body and I don't think it is this cos he would not likely be as active as he is. Also, keep an eye out for velvet - similar to ich but a golden colour, looks like he has been dusted with it.

 

[ellena]

Thanks tibby I am checking him over every day for any sign of anything physical, but there's nothing to see. I'll try and get another video of him-it's really as if he's itching. Twitching and flicking about in irritation. In the video I posted, he was swimming in the flow of the filter output-I wonder if this relieves him a bit?