kfoster
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Long post, I apologize.
My fish Ludwig has seemed fine up until this weekend/today. He always is interested in food, and I don’t think I have been overfeeding. 6 pellets a day (max) and he is a very active fish swimming around a lot and has lots of energy. He does not eat on the weekend because he is at my place of work.
Another thing I noticed is he has stopped making his bubble nests (about a week ago), he tends to be pretty proud of them. I wasn't reading too much into it though. But He overall has seemed a little bored.
Series of recent events:
Thursday: Upgraded his heater to the aqueon pro, and it has been holding a steady temperature of 78F (He had a heater before but it was only maintaining temperature of 76F)
Friday: He didn’t seem to want to eat this day. This isn’t the most uncommon thing, sometimes by the end of the week he sticks his nose up at his food like he is bored with it (I was going out this weekend to get him some variety), he did eat 2 pellets (all day).
Did a water change with a full gravel vacuum (part of my weekly water change routine, I usually do it Monday but the ammonia was only at 0.25 so I waited until the end of the week). I did notice fish waste during siphoning and turkey-basting (seemed to be the normal amount).
I know he pooped on Friday because I saw him do it near the end of the day.
During this water change I also changed his decorations in his tank (because I thought he was bored and needed a change of scenery). I recently bought fluval plants and I rinsed them in hot water and soaked them for 20 minutes before putting them in. He seemed a little unsure about his new surroundings but he seems to like to hide in the plants.
Saturday: I went to the office to check on him to make sure the water was still a good temperature (I’m a little paranoid when I put new equipment in the tank), and if he was getting used to his new jungle. I didn’t feed him because he is usually fasted on the weekend. He was swimming around and came to visit but he seemed a little less happy than other days (you know how you can just tell). I assumed it was from him still getting used to his new environment.
He was not bloated on Saturday because I was taking pictures of him that day, I will put a picture of him up for the Saturday too.
Sunday: I went to the office again briefly, he didn’t come out to see me but I found him hanging out in the leaves. Again I didn’t attempt to feed him, I wasn’t there very long as I was just picking up something. I went out and bought NLS pellets and Omega one pellets because I have heard they are better for him, so I was planning on introducing them to him Monday
Monday (today): Ludwig didn’t come out actively to see me in the morning. He wasn’t hiding or on the bottom or anything, he again just didn’t seem interested to eat or to see me. I got his new pellets ready and soaked them in water. The NLS pellets sank immediately so I tried to put one not as soaked in the tank. He seemed uninterested in eating. I got an omega one pellet and he spit it out a few times but did end up eating that. I also put in a hikari one as I was thinking he maybe just didn’t like his food. He ate that one. So in total this morning he ate one omega one pellet and one hikari pellet. He spit everything else out or it sank.
I didn’t even think to look at him closely until after, and he seems very bloated. ---Which I don’t see how that could be after two days of not eating!? And also because I saw him poop on Friday?!
I’ll put a picture below. Is it bloating? Is it something else? Could he be this big after only eating two pellets?! I didn't think it would happen that fast.
Housing
What size is your tank? 10 Gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78 F
Does your tank have a filter? Yes – Aquaclear 20 baffled
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hikari Bio Gold but trying to switch him to NLS and Omega one (attempted today before I realized he was bloated)
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day; 3 pellets each time (6 total pellets a day of the Hikari)
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50% (Still trying to determine if cycle is complete – fish in cycle)
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime water conditioner
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 2-5ppm
pH: 8
Hardness: 80
Alkalinity: 180
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Bloated belly
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? not swimming as much, not excited or interested in me or food. Doesn’t seem to have a problem swimming.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Today was the first time I saw him bloated
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? Got him a month ago, so probably around 7 months or so.
Sorry for the super long post but I figured the more information the better. Thanks guys.
First pic: him Saturday - does not seem bloated
Second pic: this morning (after the two pellets he ate)
Any suggestions or experience is greatly appreciated!
I've heard of the pea-treatment but I've also heard people that say to never feed peas!
Epsom salt? Is that an option? Do I treat the entire ten gallons or do I get him in a bowl?
Do I just leave him for a few days?
I hope it's nothing serious but it makes me mostly worried because it happened over the weekend while he was fasting....
Thanks again.
My fish Ludwig has seemed fine up until this weekend/today. He always is interested in food, and I don’t think I have been overfeeding. 6 pellets a day (max) and he is a very active fish swimming around a lot and has lots of energy. He does not eat on the weekend because he is at my place of work.
Another thing I noticed is he has stopped making his bubble nests (about a week ago), he tends to be pretty proud of them. I wasn't reading too much into it though. But He overall has seemed a little bored.
Series of recent events:
Thursday: Upgraded his heater to the aqueon pro, and it has been holding a steady temperature of 78F (He had a heater before but it was only maintaining temperature of 76F)
Friday: He didn’t seem to want to eat this day. This isn’t the most uncommon thing, sometimes by the end of the week he sticks his nose up at his food like he is bored with it (I was going out this weekend to get him some variety), he did eat 2 pellets (all day).
Did a water change with a full gravel vacuum (part of my weekly water change routine, I usually do it Monday but the ammonia was only at 0.25 so I waited until the end of the week). I did notice fish waste during siphoning and turkey-basting (seemed to be the normal amount).
I know he pooped on Friday because I saw him do it near the end of the day.
During this water change I also changed his decorations in his tank (because I thought he was bored and needed a change of scenery). I recently bought fluval plants and I rinsed them in hot water and soaked them for 20 minutes before putting them in. He seemed a little unsure about his new surroundings but he seems to like to hide in the plants.
Saturday: I went to the office to check on him to make sure the water was still a good temperature (I’m a little paranoid when I put new equipment in the tank), and if he was getting used to his new jungle. I didn’t feed him because he is usually fasted on the weekend. He was swimming around and came to visit but he seemed a little less happy than other days (you know how you can just tell). I assumed it was from him still getting used to his new environment.
He was not bloated on Saturday because I was taking pictures of him that day, I will put a picture of him up for the Saturday too.
Sunday: I went to the office again briefly, he didn’t come out to see me but I found him hanging out in the leaves. Again I didn’t attempt to feed him, I wasn’t there very long as I was just picking up something. I went out and bought NLS pellets and Omega one pellets because I have heard they are better for him, so I was planning on introducing them to him Monday
Monday (today): Ludwig didn’t come out actively to see me in the morning. He wasn’t hiding or on the bottom or anything, he again just didn’t seem interested to eat or to see me. I got his new pellets ready and soaked them in water. The NLS pellets sank immediately so I tried to put one not as soaked in the tank. He seemed uninterested in eating. I got an omega one pellet and he spit it out a few times but did end up eating that. I also put in a hikari one as I was thinking he maybe just didn’t like his food. He ate that one. So in total this morning he ate one omega one pellet and one hikari pellet. He spit everything else out or it sank.
I didn’t even think to look at him closely until after, and he seems very bloated. ---Which I don’t see how that could be after two days of not eating!? And also because I saw him poop on Friday?!
I’ll put a picture below. Is it bloating? Is it something else? Could he be this big after only eating two pellets?! I didn't think it would happen that fast.
Housing
What size is your tank? 10 Gallons
What temperature is your tank? 78 F
Does your tank have a filter? Yes – Aquaclear 20 baffled
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Hikari Bio Gold but trying to switch him to NLS and Omega one (attempted today before I realized he was bloated)
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day; 3 pellets each time (6 total pellets a day of the Hikari)
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50% (Still trying to determine if cycle is complete – fish in cycle)
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime water conditioner
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 2-5ppm
pH: 8
Hardness: 80
Alkalinity: 180
Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Bloated belly
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? not swimming as much, not excited or interested in me or food. Doesn’t seem to have a problem swimming.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Today was the first time I saw him bloated
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? Got him a month ago, so probably around 7 months or so.
Sorry for the super long post but I figured the more information the better. Thanks guys.
First pic: him Saturday - does not seem bloated
Second pic: this morning (after the two pellets he ate)
Any suggestions or experience is greatly appreciated!
I've heard of the pea-treatment but I've also heard people that say to never feed peas!
Epsom salt? Is that an option? Do I treat the entire ten gallons or do I get him in a bowl?
Do I just leave him for a few days?
I hope it's nothing serious but it makes me mostly worried because it happened over the weekend while he was fasting....
Thanks again.