Lethargic Betta

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

TjTucker

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Mar 22, 2011
Messages
4
Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice. My betta, Liberace, has been kind of lethargic the last two days. He's spending most of his time hiding out in his castle at the bottom of the tank. He hasn't even wanted to come to the surface to get something to eat. I've managed to get 1 of his pellets in him in the last 18 hours or so. Even tried tempting him with freeze dried mosquito larvae. I'm thinking he might be dying of old age. He's at least 1.5 years old. Who knows how old he was at the pet store. Does anyone have any experience with bettas dying of old age?

Tank parameters:
5 gallon hex, filtered & heated
Just did a water change Friday
Just did a water test today
Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrites - 0 ppm
NitrAtes - 5.0 ppm
Conditioned tap water @ 81-82 degrees (normally right @ 80, but the hot weather here has caused the temp inside the building to rise)
No new introductions of plants/decorations to the tank in at least 3 months

Thanks!

Tonya
 
Haha, we named ours Elvis :).

Yes, you're right at the mark for a betas life span. If nothing has changed dramatically that might cause an illness, then it might be time.

Sent from my Epic 4G using Aquarium
 
It isn't unheard of for them to live up to five years in the right conditions but since he is getting older it may be his filter since he is older he might not be able to swim againt the current as well try turning it off for a day or two see if he gets better amid he does just get a smaller filter hope that helps!
 
I actually do have a Whisper bio-filter that is adjustable so there's just a little trickle of water splashing back into the tank. I'm thinking it's probably not the filter.

I do hate to see him go. He's my first betta and what a personality he is. Thank you both for your input. I really appreciate it. :)

Tonya
 
Awwww well whatever happens keep us updated I care about your fish because I have some and I know its hard when they die
 
TjTucker said:
Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice. My betta, Liberace, has been kind of lethargic the last two days. He's spending most of his time hiding out in his castle at the bottom of the tank. He hasn't even wanted to come to the surface to get something to eat. I've managed to get 1 of his pellets in him in the last 18 hours or so. Even tried tempting him with freeze dried mosquito larvae. I'm thinking he might be dying of old age. He's at least 1.5 years old. Who knows how old he was at the pet store. Does anyone have any experience with bettas dying of old age?

Tank parameters:
5 gallon hex, filtered & heated
Just did a water change Friday
Just did a water test today
Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrites - 0 ppm
NitrAtes - 5.0 ppm
Conditioned tap water @ 81-82 degrees (normally right @ 80, but the hot weather here has caused the temp inside the building to rise)
No new introductions of plants/decorations to the tank in at least 3 months

Thanks!

Tonya

He's not that old. Many last years. Get a flash light and shine it on him. If you see fine flecks he has velvet. Another one that get bettas is hex.. internal parasites. Fish go off food and die. A sign of hex is long stringy poo. Metronidazole is good for hex.. I periodically add it to a frozen food, let it sit overnight in fridge then feed.. several days in a row. It works better when fed. The medicated food is too big for most bettas to eat and they flat out don't tend to like it. Better to get med and add to a frozen they like. If the betta is not eating he may be too far gone. Advanced velvet will get them off food as well. Acriflavin is good for velvet. Both cases completely sterilize tank before getting anoth fish.
 
Hi all,

Thank you all so much for the advice. I'm so glad that I found this forum!

Update on Libby - He's completely turned around. This morning when I came in to work, he was at the top of the tank begging for food again and flaring at my finger like he used to. Do bettas suffer from bouts of depression? :confused:

Sherolyn - I took your advice and shined a light directly on him. No flecks thankfully. I would have never thought to use a flashlight. No long, stringy poo either. He's very clean that way.

Thanks so much everyone!
 
They can actually get deppresed and stop eating so its very possible he was depressed
 
Back
Top Bottom