He seems to frequent the top right front corner of his 10 gallon tank. There is no filter , because the one i had is too strong for bettas. He eats normally, flares, and has made some sort of mini bubble nest in the top left front corner of his tank. However, since yesterday, he seems to be breathing hard. I fear he may have swallowed a pebble and it is lodged in his throat. Also, he seems to swim only in the front of the tank. His behavior changes a lot at night, he swims near the bottom and stands still for several seconds. I got this fish from this place called Pisces Reef in las vegas. Is there anything wrong with him?
Something wrong with my betta?
- Thread starter kirby9612
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trennamw
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sounds really normal. Way to go, putting him in a 10 and changing the water often.
What do you mean breathing hard?
I've lost several bettas, and distress usually is accompanied by lying on their sides at the bottom of the tank all day.
Are there lots of decorations and a hiding place? They're more active with a place to hide.
Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.
What do you mean breathing hard?
I've lost several bettas, and distress usually is accompanied by lying on their sides at the bottom of the tank all day.
Are there lots of decorations and a hiding place? They're more active with a place to hide.
Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.
Toad
Aquarium Advice Addict
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Can you run us through your water change routine?
ImACoolguy
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'd suggest a heater and a test kit.
Liquid test kit: comes in handy for things like this. You could have something not good in the water and without a test kit you just don't know what it is.
Heater: bettas prefer temperatures around 78-80 degrees unlike the bowl theory.
You can also do a DIY filter mor to restrict the flow and still have filtration.
Caleb
Liquid test kit: comes in handy for things like this. You could have something not good in the water and without a test kit you just don't know what it is.
Heater: bettas prefer temperatures around 78-80 degrees unlike the bowl theory.
You can also do a DIY filter mor to restrict the flow and still have filtration.
Caleb
ImACoolguy
Aquarium Advice Addict
ImACoolguy
Aquarium Advice Addict
He means how much do you change and how often lol.
Fish can be skittish at first. Mine "jump" even if you close the lid too fast.
Caleb
i notice he is less active then he was 3 weeks ago. 3 weeks ago, on monday morning, he would greet me by swimming back and forth along the front of the tank, but today, he just stayed in the right corner of the tank and looked at me. He still seems to be rapidly opening and closing his gills.
Cause for concern?
Cause for concern?
I had a rescue betta with similar behavior - he would lie on the bottom or hand around in the top. If you can get a weaker filter that would help - but a water test kit would be good - you need to know the ammonia, nitrite and nitrates in the tank.
How much water do you change weekly?
For my betta he had fin rot as he had been in a bowl with no filter - he was also gasping a lot - likely the ammonia had affected his breathing or if he isn't surfacing enough then he will find it hard to breathe.
Find out what the water parameters are and try and get a softer filter or baffle your filter (put a sponge in front of the output you can secure it with zip ties just make sure he can't get caught up in it) - he has a nice sized tank which is awesome. Bettas can be jumpy when a bit unwell.
Also if you turn the light on the tank make sure there is other light in the room first. He can't close his eyes so the sudden brightness can be stressful.
How much water do you change weekly?
For my betta he had fin rot as he had been in a bowl with no filter - he was also gasping a lot - likely the ammonia had affected his breathing or if he isn't surfacing enough then he will find it hard to breathe.
Find out what the water parameters are and try and get a softer filter or baffle your filter (put a sponge in front of the output you can secure it with zip ties just make sure he can't get caught up in it) - he has a nice sized tank which is awesome. Bettas can be jumpy when a bit unwell.
Also if you turn the light on the tank make sure there is other light in the room first. He can't close his eyes so the sudden brightness can be stressful.
He is still alive - I have only had him a couple of weeks but he is swimming around again much better where he was just lying on the gravel breathing heavy or hanging in the top corner looking miserable.
He basically needed the following: good water with a filter (baffle filter or get softer one if you can), partial water changes with similar temp conditioned water put back (sounds like you are doing), consistent temperature (between 78-82), food that suits them (he ignored betta pellets and preferred flake which isn't usually recommended - think it is what he had been fed) - remove any leftover food and dead bits of plants, and good hiding places - live or fake plants, enough to hide among/behind.
If he is eating and swimming at the front (patrolling his area perhaps?) then he may be in better condition than you think. Are you putting anything else in the water? Beware of things like Bettafix they contain an oil that can sometimes make it harder for bettas to breath.
Does he have any other symptoms? Is he eating?
He basically needed the following: good water with a filter (baffle filter or get softer one if you can), partial water changes with similar temp conditioned water put back (sounds like you are doing), consistent temperature (between 78-82), food that suits them (he ignored betta pellets and preferred flake which isn't usually recommended - think it is what he had been fed) - remove any leftover food and dead bits of plants, and good hiding places - live or fake plants, enough to hide among/behind.
If he is eating and swimming at the front (patrolling his area perhaps?) then he may be in better condition than you think. Are you putting anything else in the water? Beware of things like Bettafix they contain an oil that can sometimes make it harder for bettas to breath.
Does he have any other symptoms? Is he eating?
I added aquarium salt last night but he's still breathing heavily. This morning he ate, and flared once at me. He swam at the front right. I notice since Monday, he has mostly been searching the bottom of his tank for food.
Toad
Aquarium Advice Addict
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I may have missed it but what kind of food are you giving him?
Does he have a betta hammock or something that allows him to rest near the surface? Place it about 3/4 inch below the surface and away from any flow - ideally close to the place he is resting now. It will help him to breathe from the surface without having to get up there all the time.
