Very Poorly Male Betta

[Liz1993]

I said yesterday that he was sleeping at the bottom and just thaught he was resting but he didnt move all day yesterday or today hes just laying at the bottom or in his plant, really confused? Hes in a 36 litre all on his lonesome plenty of things to do. Heater and filter too. can someone help me please?

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Hi there, the forum members will need a little more info in order to give you some advice.

How long has your tank been up and running?
What temperature is your tank?
Have you added anything to the tank recently?
Do you have a water test kit and are you able to provide us with ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings? I you don't have a test kit your LFS will probably test your water for you (and you should probably get a test kit while you're there!)

That will probably be enough to get the experts (i.e. not me!) started on working out what the problem is.

 

[lilfishie]

he could just be VERY lazy if you can get the info above though that will help find out for sure if there is a problem.


Few more questions

Is he eating?
Has his colour changed? *paler for instance*

 

[Liz1993]

Ive had my tank up and running for 7 weeks now ive not added anything new to it recently apart from the betta and my temprature is 26 degrees celcius. The last time i got my water tested they said it was fine so i will pop in and ask them if they will test it again for me. Thanks everyone for your time

also hes not changed colour at all and hes been eating his flakes that i give him, is there something else he should be having?

 

[lilfishie]

do a 50% water change just to be safe, 7 weeks sounds very short for a cycle, did you add anything to the tank before the betta?

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

How long have you had the betta in the tank for?

 

[Liz1993]

5 white cloud minnows before the Betta and Ive had him in there now 3 days. ive done a water change and instantly he has been a bit more lively

 

[lilfishie]

am guessing the tank is filtered?

sounds like the ammonia levels may have been raised, you need to invest in a liquid kit to keep and eye on the levels, any trace of ammonia is lethal to fish

 

[Liz1993]

Yeah its filtered , I will invest in a kit. is there anything i can do to lower them for now if thats the case?

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Just do frequent water changes to keep the water fresh. Once you have a test kit, you'll be able to check the ammonia levels daily and do a water change if it's above 0. Eventually (if this is the problem, we won't know until you can get a test done) your ammonia and nitrite will stay at 0 and you can do normal weekly changes. We are getting a bit ahead of ourselves though because we don't know for sure that that is the problem

I'm glad he's perked up a bit and that does indicate that it may be ammonia and nitrite making him sickly. Let us know how you get on with your water testing when you've done it - I'm not sure if we can go any further on a "diagnosis" until that question is answered!

 

[jenjen_82]

Yeah its filtered , I will invest in a kit. is there anything i can do to lower them for now if thats the case?

50% water change and dechlorinate ur water before adding

Sounds similar to what I went to and i kept going back to my lfs saying same as u and was told he was fine and normal. He died after having him 3 days keep up with regular water changes too

 

[Liz1993]

Ive been to pets at home and they have tested my water, she said the ammonia was high and shes said the same as you guys, Ive also got some stuff that turns it into bacteria or something!!! hehe as you can probably see im not very techincal and think I need to start taking more care and read about things more before i go ahead and get it. Ive also invested in a test kit woohoo!!


I put the stuff in about an hour ago now and he looks like hes just come back to life! going hyperactive round the tank, so fingers crossed!!

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

The products that neutralise ammonia are only temporary so you may have to do more water changes yet. Just keep checking your ammonia and nitrite every day and if they are not both 0 then do a large water change. Keep this up until you have tested the water a couple of days in a row and you keep getting 0. Maybe you are going through a mini cycle, it happens. Was there a gap between when you had the minnows and when you got the betta?
Hopfully this was the problem and you now have all of fhe tools you neec to fix it