My Male Betta is acting really wierd!!

[platy lovers]

Hello all,

I have recently bred my beta's(2 weeks ago) and ever since then my male betta has been acting very strange. He is in a 1 gal fish bowl without a heater and without a filter with a room temp of 74, before I bred them he was doing great in this same set up, swimming around and laying on his betta leaf a lot. Now he does not lay on his leaf he lays on the gravel a lot(almost like he is sound asleep). When you do arouse or awaken him, he darts around like a crazy man but before to long goes back to his sound a sleep look on the gravel. He doesn't eat a lot any more and when he does its like he's attacking it. He also appears to be changing color a little, he was originally dark blue(almost black) but now appears to be getting some brown coloring.

Any thoughts?

Platy lovers

[aquariumlover10]

If you bred them in a heated setup he may be in a shock from temp change, or if the setup had a filter he could also be in shock because there was flow with a filter and he got use to that.

[Compass]

To be honest he needs to be in a bigger tank with a filter and heater. Bettas prefer a higher temperature of 80 to 82. Are their any physical signs of disease? Does he look bloated? Does he have a lump right before his tail? How often do you change his water?

[Drew's_Fish_99]

Could definitely be the living conditions. Especially if he was in a larger tank at all before hand. A 1 gallon really isn't ideal for Betta's, although many, many people do it anyway.

[afro123]

An ideal tank will be a 5 gallon.
also a filter and a heater is necessary

[lightfish]

Well, if he was doing fine before he was bred then something else is probably wrong. There are plenty of bettas that live in 1 gallon tanks that are very happy and healthy.

[Knightia]

Well, if he was doing fine before he was bred then something else is probably wrong. There are plenty of bettas that live in 1 gallon tanks that are very happy and healthy.

I'd question how you can really tell if a fish is "happy" in a 1 gallon bowl with no filter. I imagine the fish is gradually poisoning itself as there is no filter to deal with the waste produced - imagine living in a bath of your own waste. A bare cup of water offers no stimulus of any kind. Betta deserve to be treated better than this.

[jaysee]

. There are plenty of bettas that live in 1 gallon tanks that are very happy and healthy.

There are many many more that aren't healthy. 1 gallon is a container, not a tank.

[Slaphppy7]

This poor fish is living in it's own toilet, no wonder his health is deteriorating fast

[afro123]

How is he now?
Is he still behaving the same?

[neil19roth]

I'd question how you can really tell if a fish is "happy" in a 1 gallon bowl with no filter. I imagine the fish is gradually poisoning itself as there is no filter to deal with the waste produced - imagine living in a bath of your own waste. A bare cup of water offers no stimulus of any kind. Betta deserve to be treated better than this.

I agree with this. A betta in a 1 gallon bowl is the last option for you and most people prefer this when they want to clean their original betta tank and want a temporary set up till their cleaning job is done. Tropical fish without a heater and filter is a big not recommended.