Lazy Betta? Looks healthy, but...

[mayoshow]

This is my boy Blue, a Christmas present for my daughter in 2011, so he's been in the family for little over 2.5 years. He lays on the bottom all the time.
View attachment 247916View attachment 247917

I bought him at Walmart and kept him in a 1 gal tank with no heater and no filter, just doing weekly 100% water changes, until about a week ago. I'd noticed that he didn't really swim around the tank anymore like he used to, instead opting to rest on top of a plastic plant that kept him up at the surface, where he would stay all the time. This didn't seem right, so I started researching his behavior and found out that his situation may have made him "depressed", and that he actually belonged in a larger space with filtration and heat. He always looked good and ate, so I never thought anything was wrong with what I was doing.

After learning that he needed different environment, I set him up with a new 5 Gal Marineland that has a HOB filter with carbon cartridge and a bio-sponge. I bought him a heater but the water is at 78 deg without it since I have to keep a pretty warm house here in the south to avoid huge power bills. I will use the heater when the weather is cooler. I dialed the filter flow down to the minimum. I added a 5 inch bubble bar and adjusted its output way down too so there's no harassing current.

I planted his new abode and let it run for 2 days, then started learning about cycling. I bought an API Master test kit and got these results:

pH- 7.4
Ammo- .25ppm
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 0

I tested his bowl he WAS in and got predictably worse results of:

pH- 7.2
Ammo- .5ppm
Nitrite- .25ppm
Nitrate- 0ppm

So I slowly acclimated him adding a tablespoon of new aquarium water at a time to a small container I transferred him to, and over about an hour I kept doing that until I finally put him in.

My hope was that he would start exploring all over and swimming about. He did explore a little, but he only seemed to be looking for a place to lay down comfortably. He now seems more comfortable in there, but he lays in different places on the bottom all the time, occasionally laying in that Kyoto plant in the front center. Dating back to his last couple of weeks in the bowl, I don't think he eats much. I saw him eat one pellet I dropped right on top of him on his last feeding in the bowl.

Maybe I'm missing some sign, but to me, he looks healthy. He's shiny, never dull. He has huge tail finnage, his overall length is probably about 4 inches, maybe more!

I know the low level ammonia in there is not ideal, but I am expecting this to correct over time as the tank cycles and I'm monitoring it. I'm wondering if he is just lazy? Or have his fins grown so long that it makes it too hard for him to swim?

Can anyone tell me what is going on with him?

 

[Delapool]

Hi, sorry for your fish. He doesn't sound well. The ammonia is fine at that ph. I'd leave the filter alone and let your tank cycle. Just a note that the nitrifying bacteria will colonise everything in your filter, including the carbon. If/when you replace the carbon, some bacteria will be lost. If you replace a lot of carbon then worth picking up some more bio-media if you can fit it into your filter.

Is there any bloating, large belly or pine-coning scales? The finage looked a bit tattered but hard to tell. Does he have any splits in fins or colour change on fin tip?

For the moment I can't suggest much more than regular, smaller water changes. Say 30% every few days or if ammonia gets to 0.5. Also only light feeding (check feed is still in date). It's good that he has a larger tank with a filter and that there is only low flow.

 

[fishliker]

I'm not at all sure what is going on with your betta, possibly just getting older... But I wanted to say good job for what you are doing for him. The set-up is pretty and he should enjoy it more. A word of caution about cycling his new home, it might take a few weeks to get it cycled and I would test the water daily and do a partial water change every time the ammonia got to .5. Good luck!


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

 

[mayoshow]

Thank you for the replies.
I don't see any damage to his fins. His bottom fin is in two main parts, I think, just below the end of his body, but I think that's how it has always been. Definitely no color change on them. I was hoping to get a rise out of him with a mirror to get a better photo, but he didn't react much to it. His belly isn't bloated and I don't notice any pine cloning scales. Here he is laying so you can see his body better.View attachment 247948

Thanks for the advice on the filter and water changes. I plan to seed a new filter before changing this one. It also has "biofoam" that it says I don't ever change out below the carbon cartridge.

 

[mayoshow]

Here he is laying really sideways:


A little while later he was up on the Kyoto plant but I missed the photo and found him laying more upright on the gravel when I came back again. His fins seem to be in good shape.

 

[fishliker]

He is beautiful.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

 

[Delapool]

His fins look good to me. If still no improvement after another day, I'd try a teaspoon of salt (NaCl) in 5gal mixed in during a pwc. That dose level is more of a tonic and plants would hopefully be ok but there is some risk as plants don't like salt.

 

[MonkeyMonk86]

Make a baffle for the HOB. They don't like water with currents in it.

Do a test. Turn the filter off for an hour or 2 and if he acts normal, you'll know it's the water current.

http://youtu.be/1W4OTWswHCE


(Friend of Bill W., One day at a time)

 

[mayoshow]

Just an update, as I appreciate everyone who responded with advice!

My boy Blue seems to be doing a lot better now. I see him eating regularly again! He still lays around a lot, but his appetite coming back has made me feel like we've turned a corner.

 

[Delapool]

Excellent news what perked him up?

 

[mayoshow]

Delapool, I don't really know. Only thing I did different was to start using Prime for water changes instead of Jungle Start Right. I've been doing 50% about every 4-5 days.

I have still never seen my numbers change really. Got one ammonia test at .50 PPM, but the rest have all been .25 PPM. Never seen any nitrites or nitrates.

He's been in this new tank a few days shy of a month now. Do I just need to be more patient for the cycling to occur and take out the ammonia?

 

[Delapool]

That's odd, ammonia should be gone by now. Maybe the ammonia level was a bit high for him. Did the old water conditioner detoxify ammonia at all?

Have you cleaned the filter at all? I'd add some ceramic biomedia noodles in the filter if you can and leave them permanently in there.