PLEASE HELP - What is wrong with my betta?!?! - videos included

[SCC93]

So I picked up my betta almost a week ago and he has been expressing this kind of behavior since we got him. At times he is normal, other times he is spazzing out or attacking the glass (he is better when the lights are off though). I'm unsure if he has a disease, is stressed, or is seeing his reflection in the mirror. I check the water almost everyday and everything has always looked good.

I thought he was doing better the other day but today he hasn't been great... Any ideas on how to fix this? He has a very good appetite and loves his pellets and actively swims around but I'm just nervous that he either has parasites or is way overstressed so he is more susceptible to catching a disease if he doesn't already have one.

Here are some videos that may be useful (the third one has me most concerned):

Normal(ish?):

Seeing his reflection? :

Spazzing (esp. the second half of the clip):

 

[michellev512]

Maybe he needs to build his muscle back. Sometimes when they are in the tiny cups they lose their strength???


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[michellev512]

If he's eating well I wouldn't worry ?


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[Trainer_Ruby_]

It looks like his fins have some taring. Maybe he's not used to swimming with damaged fins?


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[SCC93]

Maybe. They weren't that torn when I got him but he did have a few run-ins with the filter intake early on so when he was getting sucked in could that have caused the fins to tear. Or could he perhaps have fin rot?

 

[Trainer_Ruby_]

Is your filter a hang on? If so take the intake tube off and try putting a sponge from a sponge filter on. My betta had that problem until I changed it and now he seems really happy picking everything off the sponge and sleeping on it


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[Gillie]

If his fins are getting torn up by the filter you may want to add a coarse sponge prefilter. All of the behavior looks pretty normal, I've seen mine do really odd things. If anything changes or anything diagnostic of illness pops up then treat it, but for now I would just keep up with a quality diet and regular maintenance.

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[Chrissa]

He looks like he has fin rot.. His twitching also looks like he is trying to itch himself..I suspect he has a parasite of some sort maybe beginning of ich or velvet. I would raise your temp and treat him immediately


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[SCC93]

He looks like he has fin rot.. His twitching also looks like he is trying to itch himself..I suspect he has a parasite of some sort maybe beginning of ich or velvet. I would raise your temp and treat him immediately


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How would you suggest treating him? I will be going to the Petsmart tomorrow so I can pick up any useful medications that may come in handy in the future (just haven't got around to researching the products). I've read salt baths can be useful I'm just not sure how what the correct process of taking him out and putting him back is.

I'm afraid the water temps. won't be the same and it'll be stressful on him. I haven't noticed any white spots and I've tried the flaslight trick to spot any velvet and haven't seen anything (yet). He is really only spazzing when the light is on/during the day.

Before I go to bed I'll check on him with my flashlight and he is usually just near the surface or attempting to rest on plants (he's pretty big so I'm going to look into something that can hold him when he wants to rest). Are there any precautionary actions I can take in case he does have some kind of infection/irritation?

 

[SCC93]

If his fins are getting torn up by the filter you may want to add a coarse sponge prefilter. All of the behavior looks pretty normal, I've seen mine do really odd things. If anything changes or anything diagnostic of illness pops up then treat it, but for now I would just keep up with a quality diet and regular maintenance.

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Are there any brands for prefilters that are better than others? I just have the filter that came with my Top Fin tank so I'm not sure what to get.

 

[RackinRocky]

At first I didn't see any spastic behavior--just normal bored betta checking things out and finding things to do. On the third video though, I can see that something seems to be irritating him. I'd keep his temp at 80-82, and watch him closely. I wouldn't treat unless I felt I knew for sure what was wrong, as treating for the wrong thing can stress him out even more, not to mention exposing him to medications that he may not need.I agree with Gillie--just keep an eye on him for now. Male bettas are not the most "normal" acting fish, lol.

I just use the Fluval Prefilters. They can be used with almost any intake (stretched for bigger ones), but they fit all my smaller intakes. I love them, they last a long time, and are super cheap. Just be SURE to rinse them and squeeze them out in tank water every few days, as they can get build-up that can impede the water into your filter.

 

[SCC93]

At first I didn't see any spastic behavior--just normal bored betta checking things out and finding things to do. On the third video though, I can see that something seems to be irritating him. I'd keep his temp at 80-82, and watch him closely. I wouldn't treat unless I felt I knew for sure what was wrong, as treating for the wrong thing can stress him out even more, not to mention exposing him to medications that he may not need.I agree with Gillie--just keep an eye on him for now. Male bettas are not the most "normal" acting fish, lol.

I just use the Fluval Prefilters. They can be used with almost any intake (stretched for bigger ones), but they fit all my smaller intakes. I love them, they last a long time, and are super cheap. Just be SURE to rinse them and squeeze them out in tank water every few days, as they can get build-up that can impede the water into your filter.

Thanks for the reply! I've had the lights off for most of the night and just checked him for a minute or two and he is just "patrolling" the front of the glass and swims back and forth until he hits the side and then up and down the front pane. The only time he freaked out was when a java fern leaf spooked him and he darted across the tank.

He really seems to calm down at night which gives me hope it isn't a disease and maybe there was something in the water irritating him (not sure what though). I did a 25% PWC after taking the videos so maybe that helped.

I'll pick up some prefilters tomorrow but are there any good medications I should pick up that may come in handy in the future? I don't plan on using anything right now because I can't pinpoint what's wrong with him, but I've never had a betta before so I'm still in the learning process!

 

[Trainer_Ruby_]

Swimming across the glass is normal for most bettas actually mine is always glass surfing on the back wall but as long as he's stopped spazzing then he's a normal betta


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[Chrissa]

Instead of a salt bath I would just add salt directly in to his tank during a water change (dissolve the salt with new water in a cup first ) then add during the fresh water.. Much less stressful then a salt bath.. As for precautionary medication I personally always have Kanaplex on hand and salt.. I always keep a general parasite med and general fungus/bacterial med on hand just in case.. I have had good experiences with the ones by Tetra I have used them in my community tanks.. If he seems to only be acting like that during the day when lights on maybe try a few floating plants to dim the light.. I also have Betta hammocks in my tanks which they seem to enjoy lets them hang out near the surface and be lazy .. Good luck


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