Betta Somewhat Lethargic

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BettaGal

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
1,177
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Toledo, OH - Originally Dayton, OH
I just finished treating Buddy (my betta) for velvet. I did the whole treatment and left it for another day before putting the filter cartridge back in. I had left the filter going empty because it's one of his "toys". Now that the medication is being filtered out mostly and all the fun is done, he's a little on the lethargic side. He just now started patrolling his kingdom again, but he doesn't have the spunkiness he did before I saw the velvet. I don't know how he got it, I take good care of my tank, I do everything I researched to do, but he got it and I caught it and treated it. The snail, Energizer, is perfectly fine. Buddy is slowly coming back, but he's still not as active, doesn't wanna eat as much, and is hiding almost all the time when he's not eating. He inspects the snail frequently but is very afraid of the feelers. He avoids those. Is this normal, or is it an internal thing I haven't heard of before, or did I screw up massively?
 
Have you tried removing the snail to see if he returns to normal activity?

Or maybe he is still in the recovery stage, I'm not sure how long it takes them to bounce back or how strong the medication is to know if it is something to do with that.
 
I would give him some time. Maybe fast him for a couple of days & see if that brings back his appetite. Do you feed more than once a day? You could cut back to once a day. As for the lethargy, he's had a stressful week & the meds are not cleared all the way out yet. As for the snail, he'll get used to him it can take some time, plus the snail was introduced when Buddy wasn't at his best. My Bettas nipped at the feelers on the snails & the poor snails had nubbs for a while. Keep an eye on him & relax a little, I know I sometimes get a little hypervigilent when somethings been wrong. :eek:)
 
I had been feeding twice a day before treatment. He's a very young betta, and my research said that the young ones you get from Petco need to be fed more than once a day. Honestly, I've been feeding less than my research said to. Since his treatment, he's only eaten once a day, and it's a few hours later than normal. I was feeding him once at around 8 or 9 and again around 3 or 4. Now he isn't doing his hungry dance when I turn the light on and waits until close to noon before he will even respond to the presence of the food container, which isn't him. I'll give it a few more days and see if that helps. He's really oddly lazy right now. He was the most social betta in the world, but didn't like new people all that much. He's a little shy when there's a lot of people around, but I guess I'm the pack leader for him. He loves me and taught himself to wave at me. I'll keep waiting a few more days and see if he starts waving and eating again.
 
Sorry I'm a little paranoid. I've never had a fish get external parasites. I've had nasty internal bugs kill a few, which only showed up after someone else started either joining in the care or watching them while I was gone, but never external. And all the internal killer bugs were never able to be identified. The first two were nasty little buggers. I've had a lethargic betta, but only after my ex-boyfriend literally almost poisoned him while I was at home for Christmas break. That one sadly died despite treatment. Nobody is taking care of my fish other than me for a really long time.
 
I completely understand your concern. If he isn't eating like he used I would wait 24 hrs before offering any food. I've had young Bettas before, I actually have 4 females right now so I know skipping a day of food does not harm them, at least it never has with any of mine.
 
He seems to be in the recovery stage at this moment, I would give him more time maybe a week or so and monitor his movement and activity
 
I'll be sure to give it about another week or so and see if he comes back. He's slowly coming back out to play, but he's not his usual playful self just yet. I've never had a fish get parasites (as far as I know the guppies had some other nasty issue) so I had no idea this would happen. I'll keep limiting his food for a while. If he doesn't snap out of his drugged-up stupor, I'll definitely be back. :thanks:
 
I just finished treating Buddy (my betta) for velvet. I did the whole treatment and left it for another day before putting the filter cartridge back in. I had left the filter going empty because it's one of his "toys". Now that the medication is being filtered out mostly and all the fun is done, he's a little on the lethargic side. He just now started patrolling his kingdom again, but he doesn't have the spunkiness he did before I saw the velvet. I don't know how he got it, I take good care of my tank, I do everything I researched to do, but he got it and I caught it and treated it. The snail, Energizer, is perfectly fine. Buddy is slowly coming back, but he's still not as active, doesn't wanna eat as much, and is hiding almost all the time when he's not eating. He inspects the snail frequently but is very afraid of the feelers. He avoids those. Is this normal, or is it an internal thing I haven't heard of before, or did I screw up massively?

How's the temperature of Buddy's tank?
I've found that my guy is much happier when his tank is over 75 F.
Just a thought!
My tank temp varies between 70 and 80.
Occasionally, when it's below 75, I've found him laying on his side at the bottom(scary), but he's fine when the water warms up. Has anyone else experienced this with your Betta?
I bumped the heater up a bit and he is more active. (y)
 
I'll be sure to give it about another week or so and see if he comes back. He's slowly coming back out to play, but he's not his usual playful self just yet. I've never had a fish get parasites (as far as I know the guppies had some other nasty issue) so I had no idea this would happen. I'll keep limiting his food for a while. If he doesn't snap out of his drugged-up stupor, I'll definitely be back. :thanks:

Hey glad to hear he's gotten through his velvet. After all that talking between us trying to figure it out it's nice to hear about a happy ending. As others here have said he just needs time to fully recover. And eating once a day is fine, the important thing is that he is eating! I would be worried if you said he wasn't. I think your over the worst part.
 
Marg said:
How's the temperature of Buddy's tank?
I've found that my guy is much happier when his tank is over 75 F.
Just a thought!
My tank temp varies between 70 and 80.
Occasionally, when it's below 75, I've found him laying on his side at the bottom(scary), but he's fine when the water warms up. Has anyone else experienced this with your Betta?
I bumped the heater up a bit and he is more active. (y)

They like warmer temps. If you don't have a heater I'd get one so the temp stays more constant. Lower temps will cause lethargy. Mine stay 78-80 & they're VERY active.
 
His temperature is at 80 degrees constantly. It has only dropped once, only to 78, and that was because I had my window open all night trying to cool my room down. I live in a dorm, and they shut the air conditioner down early, leaving me in a room at 86 degrees. I don't have a heater, and so far, I haven't needed one. There is one at home that I might bring up here in about two or three weeks when I go home for the weekend just because it's almost winter, but at the moment, his water's fine. I'll let it go a little for a bit. He's strategically hiding now, so he'll never be found till he wants to be. I've tried. No idea where he goes, but he goes good. Guess some of his rottenness is still there.
 
So I found his secret hiding spot. The James Bond of bettas let his cover go for me. The problem is I have yet to see him come out all day long. I have been out of my dorm for a grand total of about two hours. What is his problem? He hasn't eaten today, hasn't come out, hasn't played, nothing. What do I gotta do to get him outta there? It's in his skull cave that he loved so much before he got moved to a significantly larger tank.
 
BettaGal said:
So I found his secret hiding spot. The James Bond of bettas let his cover go for me. The problem is I have yet to see him come out all day long. I have been out of my dorm for a grand total of about two hours. What is his problem? He hasn't eaten today, hasn't come out, hasn't played, nothing. What do I gotta do to get him outta there? It's in his skull cave that he loved so much before he got moved to a significantly larger tank.

Have some patience, i know it's tough because you want him back to perfectly normal right now. Plus if he was moved to a new tank he may need some time to adjust. Remember they can go several days without eating so don't get too worried just yet. I have one male that's in almost constant motion & another that just kind of hangs out in different spots of the tank. Does the tank have a light? You might try leaving it off for a day & see what that does. Sometimes it helps if they've been sick.
 
It has a color-changing LED light in the airstone. If that stays off all day long, he hibernates. He just sleeps the whole time. He was snapping out of it and then all of a sudden is worse off than before. I didn't move him when I treated him mostly because I can't catch him. He's been in this tank for almost a month now, and when I first put him in it, he had a minor panic attack. I swear when I got him, he hadn't seen anything other than the container I bought him in. The new moving water freaked him out, but I turned the filter and the airstone down to pretty low and he soon got used to it. He came out, took a breath, and went right back into hiding. I don't know. Something doesn't feel right. Know what I mean?
 
BettaGal said:
It has a color-changing LED light in the airstone. If that stays off all day long, he hibernates. He just sleeps the whole time. He was snapping out of it and then all of a sudden is worse off than before. I didn't move him when I treated him mostly because I can't catch him. He's been in this tank for almost a month now, and when I first put him in it, he had a minor panic attack. I swear when I got him, he hadn't seen anything other than the container I bought him in. The new moving water freaked him out, but I turned the filter and the airstone down to pretty low and he soon got used to it. He came out, took a breath, and went right back into hiding. I don't know. Something doesn't feel right. Know what I mean?

Yes I do know. Hmmm, wish I had some good advice for you. I know you recently did a water change but you might try one again to get all the meds out faster, they could be lingering causing an issue.
 
I knew something wasn't right! I woke up and saw him at the bottom looking quite dead. He didn't move when I tapped the tank right next to him, but after a couple minutes, he darted up for air. Then he just sank back down and smacked into the gravel. Not a gentle float down like usual. A good, Titanic-smash into the gravel. Now he's floating around the top, frequently getting air, not swimming around, and won't let me see him. It looks almost like there's a white fuzzy spot on top of his head, but I can't tell for sure. He's avoiding the airstone and the light on it, which he usually loves. What is wrong with my fish?
 
Buddy passed away around 6 this evening. He had just started floating around on his side, but would straighten up to get a breath. Then he crashed into the gravel again and was no more. He can now frolic in betta heaven, where the airstones and filter currents are unending fun.
 
BettaGal said:
Buddy passed away around 6 this evening. He had just started floating around on his side, but would straighten up to get a breath. Then he crashed into the gravel again and was no more. He can now frolic in betta heaven, where the airstones and filter currents are unending fun.

Oh I'm so sorry & I'm sorry I couldn't help more.
 
It's nobody's fault he didn't make it through treatment. The good thing is the velvet was successfully treated. No more gold dust on him. Now I'm trying to find out what new to put in tomorrow. My friend is going fish shopping with me and I plan on putting in some sand once I find out how. I'm asking on another thread for any ideas for what to replace him with, but not having much luck. I'm replacing the water as best I can tonight. Multiple butter bowls full of nasty tank water. I clean this thing and it still gets nasty in the gravel.
 
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