I have a sick betta and I'm not sure what to do. His fins were looking bad and he was lying at the bottom of the tank on his side. I've had him for 1.5 years now and he has always been very active, blowing bubble nests, and comes to my voice, etc. I've noticed in the last few weeks he has been very lethargic and laying at the bottom of the tank. His fins look tattered. His tank never cycled so I've been changing his water (50%) about every 3-4 days. The highest the ammonia has been is .25. His normal tank parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates, and his ph sits around 7.6. The tank is at 80 degrees. It is a filtered 5 gallon tank with a small heater. Not sure what kind of filter (came with the tank). What is perplexing is that we figured it may be ammonia poisoning so we did a full on cleaning of the tank and filter. The filter impeller had a ton of slime gunk in it and seemed to be blocking the water. I know we probably shouldn't have done that, but my husband insisted so we essentially cleaned it to the point it is like a new tank. In the meantime, I put him in the cup he came home in. He immediately perked up and was his old self. Then I reacclimated him to the tank and he did well for one day then he was back to laying on the bottom of the tank on his side. He did not eat anything for 4 days. I put him back in the cup so he could get oxygen easier and eat easier and now he is thriving. (I'm floating the cup in the tank for heat.) The ammonia in the cup gets way high very fast but it does not seem to bother him. I'm changing that water 4-5 times a day to keep the ammonia down. However, in the cup he's eating and breathing just fine and not laying on his side at all. He comes to my voice and is his happy self. 1. What do you think is his problem? 2. Should I just get a new tank for him or what? 3. Should I turn off the filter and just stay with my 50% water changes every 3 days? I'm just so confused as to what is wrong with him and why he is doing well in his cup and not the tank. I'm afraid to release him back to the tank if he's just going to get worse again. He's lived in that tank for 1.5 years with no issues at all so I really am just perplexed. I am grateful for any responses.
Perplexing issue with betta. Suddenly doing better in cup than tank of 1.5 years
- Thread starter jleigh726
- Start date
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Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
The fact that when the fish is not in the tank and in new/clean water and he's doing better means the problem is with the tank and not the fish. You need to dissect everything that you have done to that tank that may have contributed to it not being "fish safe". A cycled aquarium is nice to have but Bettas don't need it as much as they need clean water. You don't want to have the fish in the tank while it's cycling with a high ammonia count but you can keep that down with frequent water changes and use of live plants that help use ammonia and nitrites so the fish can be in there.
Slime gunk in the filter is not a good thing and even if the tank was cycled, it needs to be removed. That is usually a sign of overfeeding. I suggest you cut back on the food amount per feeding so that the fish consumes all that's fed within a couple of minutes.
Lastly, did you take a nitrate test before overhauling the tank? A very high nitrate level can cause stress on the Betta. High nitrates are a typical situation in an older tank.
Hope this helps
Slime gunk in the filter is not a good thing and even if the tank was cycled, it needs to be removed. That is usually a sign of overfeeding. I suggest you cut back on the food amount per feeding so that the fish consumes all that's fed within a couple of minutes.
Lastly, did you take a nitrate test before overhauling the tank? A very high nitrate level can cause stress on the Betta. High nitrates are a typical situation in an older tank.
Hope this helps
Is there substrate in the tank? I've found even a single fish can produce a fair bit of waste into the substrate unless gravel vac'd. I've switched to a bare bottom tank and find that is easier for cleaning.
Thanks for your replies. I feed him 2-4 pellets a day (depending on size) to the equivalent of his eye) and make sure he eats them. The nitrates were zero before the overhaul. When doing water change I vacuum the substrate. When we did the overhaul, we did find some black worms (very few). But there was a lot of slime in the filter hose. Should I get a different setup? Either a smaller tank or more shallow tank with no substrate? Clearly I don't mind the water changes and I'm afraid there is something wrong with the current tank. I just want to make sure I can heat the water if I go smaller. Or could he keep the current tank and just not run the filter? I just want to do what's best for him. He's a super cool fish with lots of personality. (His name is Clem). Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
I guess to answer the filter question we need to know what kind of filter it actually is. If it "gunk"s up easily, you may want to get a better filter. A no filter tank does require more maintenance or some kind of bottom cleaner. Both can be done just not the same way.
