I scared my betta fish.. need help asap

[meclem3]

Unfortunately, as I was just starting to really gain the trust of my fish I had only had for 3 days, he is now petrified of me with good reason. Throughout the day he started acting erratically and was darting and then had spells of being unresponsive to any motion. Not too much later I noticed that his belly was protruding so I was already worried he was going downhill.
So tonight, as I had turned some of the lights off in my room as well as his tank light (so it wouldn't go from complete light to dark) he began to settle down in one of his plants.
As I walked by his tank 20 minutes ago he was in a very weird position in a location of the tank he usually does not relax in. As I looked closer his gills were barely showing any movement and I moved my finger near the glass and he didn't react. I sat there for 10 minutes watching and he never moved and his fins didn't move either.
So STUPID me immediately got worried and decided I needed to check if he was alive. So I lifted the lid of the tank off, which he didn't move to, and then proceeded to touch the back of his fin and BAM he darted away so frightened and confused. Obviously I feel HORRIBLE as I was just extremely concerned but I made matters much worse. He is now scanning the bottom of the tank constantly flared and moves to hiding very slowly when he sees me.
What should I do to regain his trust? Is there any way to salvage a good relationship after something like this? I need advice!

 

[V227]

The best advice I can give you is "relax". Get a regular feeding and tank matenence routine started. Once the betta gets adjusted, he will be okay. Remember, Bettas don't need too much food to prosper. Be sure to do 35% - 50% WC's once a week. Everybody in this hobby has made the same mistakes you have. No big deal.

 

[Mebbid]

The best advice I can give you is "relax". Get a regular feeding and tank matenence routine started. Once the betta gets adjusted, he will be okay. Remember, Bettas don't need too much food to prosper. Be sure to do 35% - 50% WC's once a week. Everybody in this hobby has made the same mistakes you have. No big deal.

+1 I couldn't agree more.. You just need to relax.

Lets take my Oscar for example.. For the first 2 weeks all it did was play dead when I entered the room, now all she does is beg for food whenever she sees me. Fish take time to adapt to change, give it some time and it will associate you with food.

The best thing you can do for your fish is to make sure it has clean water, 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrate, and less than 60ppm of nitrate. If you test the water regularly and do water changes accordingly; this hobby will reward you with healthy tanks.