Female Betta Inactive

[Joshua83]

Hey, I'm actually new at this stuff of fishes. I got a male betta fish a few days ago, got him a 2.5-gallon tank it has a filter and heater. I never got any problems with him, for now hes a healthy happy fish. I decided to get a female fish, I brought her home, and put a divider in the fish tank. I know this may affect her so that why in planning to get a bigger one. Anyways the female is not interested in eating at all she barely eats and way to inactive. She has been like that for around three days and I'm starting to get worried.

 

[Mother of fish]

Ok so did you put a divider in the 2.5 and have 2 fish in it? (Bettas need a minimum of a 2.5 gallon aquarium per fish.) If not, what size is her tank, has in been cycled, what are you feeding her, do you have a close up picture of her, and a full tank picture, how often are you feeding her, in what amount are you feeding her, and what is her tank temp?

 

[Joshua83]

Yes, I put a divider in the 2.5-gallon tank, is it wrong? I'm feeding them 2 times a day in the morning and in the night 2 tiny balls of betta food. I actually don't know the temp of the tank. Something I forgot to mention is that the female is always still in some of the corners. If you could give me some recommendations, I would appreciate it a lot.

 

[Mother of fish]

I would definitely get her another 2.5+ tank. 2.5 gallons is the minimum space for just 1 betta, not two. What are you feeding them (brand, amount, and how often)? She is gorgeous, twin tales are rare. Both of the hides in their sides look really rough. Did you run your hand over to make sure everything is super smooth? I will be PM ing you done more advice, so check your box.

 

[Joshua83]

As soon as possible I'm going to get a 10-gallon tank, do you think it will work if I put both of them? The food I'm giving them is Aqueon, 2 balls 2 times a day. And yes, she is definitely gorgeous. About the decoration both of them doesn't seem to care about it, yes, it's Kinda rough. (When I mean that they don't care about it, is that they never get in, is that a bad signal?) The male never gets in, and the female sometimes.

 

[Mother of fish]

I would get a new decoration. Maybe some coconut hides? Your hides look pretty rough. A 10 gallon would be amazing. Make sure it is divided though as male and female bettas can not live together. You can get a good black divider on Amazon. I would recommend live plants as they are soft. Hornwort and moss balls do not need bioactive substrate. I thing with plastic plants and the rough hides is that they can tear the bettas fins.

 

[Enchantress]

For the time being add some catappa leaves/extract to reduce stress. It will stain the water, but bettas love it. A 10 gallon (heated, filtered and planted) could work for 2 bettas, provided there's no way they can jump over the divider or see each other through it. Make sure the tank is cycled before adding the fish, otherwise you risk ammonia poisoning.

Get a liquid test kit and check the water parametres - most importantly ammonia, nitrites, nitrates & pH. Install a heater with a thermostat - the temperature should be between 78-80, colder water can compromise the bettas' immune systems.