betta doesn't seem very happy

[rubysoho]

so some people will think I'm crazy for thinking I know my fishes "feelings" but whatever. Ok, I've had my male better for about 2 or 3 weeks now, and last week he seemed real happy. He was swimming around, building bubble nests (I was excited because I had heard they did this when they were happy and healthy), and even played in the current of my filter. Anyway, I did my weekly water change like usual, and since then, my betta has been a little "mopey" (sp??), doesn't build any nests, and now his tail is looking a little ragged, but there is no white fuzz or anything like that. The tank temperature is 82 degrees and the water quality is good, although my ph is 6.5 (it is weird, in my apartment over the summer, I couldn't get the ph down from 7.5-8 no matter what I did, and now in my new apartment I can't get it up from 6.2-6.5!!! Both tested 7.0 from the tap and nothing has changed in the tanks... go figure). Currently my male betta is being housed in a 5 gal tank with good filtration and has two african dwarf frogs who he occasionally likes to flare at, but doesn't nip or anything. Any ideas on what might be bothering him? All the rest of my fish seem as happy as can be in my other tank. I was thinking of getting him a divider and sticking him in the 10 gal with my betta females on the other side so he could maybe have some "nice scenary". What do you guys think?

 

[rubysoho]

oh, he also kinda sticks more toward the bottom, occasionally just resting on a flat peice of slate i have slightly angled for the froggies to hide under.

 

[Menagerie]

Putting him in the other tank might work, have you checked the other water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)?

 

[rubysoho]

both tanks read the same even though they have different bio loads. I do a little more changes with the 10 gal since I have a couple more fish in there. The only delimma is that my 5 danios would need to be transferred over to the 5 gal because I am assuming they'd pick on my betta. Actually, a bigger tank would be the perfect solution because then my danios could be transferred there (I know they'd love more swimming room), but I haven't found one in my price range yet. So here are the options I've come up with.


1. divide 10 gal giving my male betta half, and my female bettas (2 at the moment) the other half. Move 5 danios to 5 gallon, which has really good filtration and a current they like to play in (they were temporarily housed there this summer during my moves) but not as much swimming space, which I know they appreciate. Move the ADFs over to the 10 gal as well.

2. Put the Male betta with danios in the 10 gal tank which has less current and more plant cover for him than his 5 gal tank, and move my female bettas into the 5 gal tank with the frogs.

3. Rob a bank and buy the 45 gal breeder tank that I want so badly!!! Hehe

4. Move more plants into my 5 gal with my male betta, and try the floating plants again now that they are bigger. Or try to rig it so that they don't get caught in the stream of water coming into the tank (where they end up being pushed under water, circle back up, and do it again. ) Btw, my betta doesn't seem to mind the current, occasionally he'll play in it, but just mainly avoids the aread where the water comes in.


yeh... so that is all I've come up with. The reason there is more cover in the 10 gal tank is because the surface is less "wavey" and I have some floating plants hanging out there which just kept getting moved around in the 5 gal and would get caught in the current of the water coming into the tank. Plus that is also where the majority of my ludwigia is, with a few plants in the 5 gal. What do you guys think?

 

[rubysoho]

Did another water change tonight, hopefully my betta will perk up a little by tomorrow.

 

[Menagerie]

Sorry to leave you talking to yourself like this. Did you move any of the fish around? Have you been looking at the adds in paper for cheap tanks?

 

[rubysoho]

nobody is moved yet, I wanted to hear other opinions before I did anything since I am still a bit of a newb. Also, I wanted my Betta to perk up a little more because I figured he wouldn't need any more stress. No luck on tanks... seems like there is nobody selling anything around here and for my price range (i.e. broke college student). Hopefully something will come along eventually. Any idea on what I should do for my Betta with the two tanks I have now?


oh, I also stuck some more hiding places in te 5 gal tank in case my betta wasn't feeling safe

 

[QTOFFER]

My bettas never built a bubblenest. They eat well, seem happy, swim around alot, flare at each other, flare at me, flare at my mice...but no bubblenest. :? One of my bettas likes to sleep on the gravel - on his side. Every morning I look in there and think he's dead.

Anyway, are you sure you have an African dwarf frog? I remember reading a post here about clawed frogs attacking their tankmates Sorry, I really don't know much about frogs. Also, are there any decorations in the tank that might have caused the ragged fins? Even certain live plants can tear fins. I would keep doing the frequent water changes and keep an eye on the water parameters. Don't worry about the pH unless you have wild day-to-day fluctuations.

As far as your moving ideas, I don't think the danios would be happy in the 5 gal having been in the 10 gal. They really like room to swim. I don't think they would harm the male betta, but their constant curiosity might annoy him. What if you just replaced the 5 gal with a 10 gal? Keep the same filtration and heater - they should work fine in the bigger tank. That upgrade would cost less than $10. Unless, of course, you don't have the space for another 10 gal.

 

[QTOFFER]

Great betta hiding places - my bettas love the small clump of Java moss that I suction-cupped to the wall. They hide behind it and sometimes rest on it. I got the idea from An t-iasg's thread
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=26215&highlight=java+moss

 

[rubysoho]

well, the filter I have specifically fits the 5 gal tank. It was one of those "kits" which I bought from a friend and I was surprised at the really nice filtration. I could maybe figure out a way to fit it to a 10 gal, but I think instead of getting another 10, I am going to save up for the 40 gal breeder (or something similar) which I've been eyeing since beginning of summer. As for the danios, they stick to themselves in the other 10 gal tank and don't even look towards my female bettas so maybe they wouldn't even pay attention if the male betta was in there and the two females were switched to the 5 gal. I checked on my betta a little while ago, he seemed a little better already.

As for the ADFs, I've caught my betta going under their rock a few times when they are under there. He never seemed to be stressed about it and continues to go under the rock, so I wouldn't think the frogs would be going after him especially if he keeps placing himself in their home. I added some more hiding places though, just in case. I've also checked all my plants for sharp edges, and there is nothing that I think would catch his fines.

btw, thanks for the suggestion on java moss, I'll see if my LFS has some. I've also got some floating plants which, I think, have grown enough in my 10 gal to be able to stay in place in the 5 gal, so I'm gonna move those tomorrow.

 

[rubysoho]

just wanted to let everyone know that after a coupl of water changes, and adding a few more plants/decoration, my betta seems to be much more active no and has been flaring again. Hopefully his tail will begin growing back. Oh, I also raised the water level some to cut down on the overall current. Still not exactly sure what happened, but Merlin seems happy now. I see a hint of bubbles in the top of the water. Hopefully this past week was just a fluke and I don't have a fish with mood swings