Betta not eating

[M. Tse]

Hello everyone!

I would like to greet but first I am very worried about my betta. He has stopped feeding 4 days ago and now stays at bottom of tank.

What happened 4 days ago? 2 things unusual -

1. Summer has come and water temp rose from 25C to 28C. My tank was by the window and got plenty of sun. Today I moved it inside of the house.

2. I bought a bottle of "Betta Relax" fluid additive manufactured by CSL-fish company and tried it in my tank. Dosage as instructed. Supposed to make betta stronger.

Now my betta is a little ~ very dull and has not eaten for a few days. What went wrong? Was it the weather or the additive?

How long can betta last without feeding? He used to like dried flakes a lot but not granules and I don't feed him live worms.

Please advice ASAP. Any way to save my betta.

[cocoa_pleco]

could be the temperature change.

Ive had a betta like that. Freeze-dried bloodworms got his attention again. He will eventually get hungry and eat.

[Chrona]

Do a 50% water change and try to flush out that "Betta additive." Sounds like snake oil to me. The best thing you can do for your betta to make it healthy (other than clean water) is to feed it a high quality food like New Life Spectrum or Hikari Betta food.

What are your water parameters btw? Ammonia, nitrites, nitrate. And how often do you do water changes? (And how much each time?)

[cocoa_pleco]

Chemicals can do more bad than good. The best thing for fish is the 30% weekly water changes. As in a betta cup's case, 100% weekly water changes are needed. No chemicals besides water conditioner should be used.

[M. Tse]

Ya! I flushed out that suspicious additive 2 days ago. Condition is still not improving. My tank is a small one litre glass bowl with just one fish. No plants or sands. Weather was still chilly a few days ago so I had a small heater themostated to 25C. Betta was happy then. Used to see me in the morning and started swimming up and down in bowl fins flapping eager for food. I just want the little one lively and hungry again.

Got Betta 2 months ago. Don't know what shop been feeding him (Probably live worms) and it took him a few days to adapt to the NUTRAFIN flakes which he has been living on ever since. I deliberately overfed him a little (but I always remove the debris after 15 mins) so that he is becoming one pampered betta of plenty. Digestion seemed OK too.

Now what is he thinking?

Had started to include some dried blood worms with the flakes 2 days ago. He just ignored both, sniffed and turned away.

[Chrona]

Well there's your problem. Betta's can't live in a 1 liter bowl. It needs filtration, and at least a 2-3 gallon tank. Plus, with no substrate and no decorations, it gets rather dull.

[M. Tse]

Even though tank is small , I had complete water change with dechlorinated filtered drinkable water (Philip filter) every few days or whenever cloudy. Betta never showed sign of unwell till now. Appetite even got better than time when I first bought him and he has grown bigger.

[cocoa_pleco]

Bettas CAN survive in tiny tanks, but it isnt good for them. They like 5g or higher tanks. Its like sticking a person in a single room all their life. Sure they could survive, but its stressful, and its such a small space you cant explore or anything.

[Chrona]

Even though tank is small , I had complete water change with dechlorinated filtered drinkable water (Philip filter) every few days or whenever cloudy. Betta never showed sign of unwell till now. Appetite even got better than time when I first bought him and he has grown bigger.

Is the bowl filtered? I would suggest downloading the free ebook (left menu bar) and reading about the nitrogen cycle. The cloudy water every few days indicate a toxic level of ammonia. It sounds like your fish put up with it for a while, but it's finally starting to break down his immune system.

[M. Tse]

Tank is cloudy because of sunlight and hence algae. But giving the fish more space and play seem very reasonable. I'll start thinking in that direction.

After moving the betta for one night to a slightly larger tank (he doesn't like it because this tank mirrors and he kept swimming into the walls thinking there is something else on the other side), I put him back temporily into his old cell in the original location (hopefully today is not too hot and I drew the curtain). His condition seems to have improved a little : starting to eating a little (reluntantly? after coaxing him for hours) and hang on to the surface instead of sinking to the bottom.

May be it's a combination of factors triggering the crisis. Rise in temp, unaccustomed water quality due to additives or even trauma. I remember accidently dropping him while cleaning the tank into shallow water not deep enough to break the fall. His landed with a bump. Could have been post-trauma symptoms?

I'll monitor him closely for the next few days. Meanwhile I'll try to get back my sleep first.

Thanks a lot for all the advice. Will inform if any progress.

[cocoa_pleco]

A 5g with a good hang-on filter, a few rocks, and a few pieces of java fern and java moss would be great. a 5g would also allow a small heater for him to make him more comfortable

[M. Tse]

After the crises 2 days ago I suspected a infection so I soaked him in one of those blue panacea. 24 hours later he seemed to "wake up" all of a sudden and started feeding. He liked dried worms after all.

But is the crises over? I resort to not overfeeding him anymore (less food, mature slower, live longer), complete water change every other day and maybe include some tiny plants for oxygen and play. I really don't have space for another larger tank. My other 2 tanks (20 litre & 8 litre) are goldfishes and I don't think betta and goldfish coexist well together.

My the way, is there a goldfish forum? 2 of my goldfishes are bullies and nip others' fins. Is there a way to stop this?

[cocoa_pleco]

theres a coldwater section.

For your betta, try my 2g tank i have for mine. Its the "waterhome 2", by hagen i think. Its really good. I havent done a water change in 6 months, and my betta is really healthy and eats like crazy.

[Chrona]

After the crises 2 days ago I suspected a infection so I soaked him in one of those blue panacea. 24 hours later he seemed to "wake up" all of a sudden and started feeding. He liked dried worms after all.

But is the crises over? I resort to not overfeeding him anymore (less food, mature slower, live longer), complete water change every other day and maybe include some tiny plants for oxygen and play. I really don't have space for another larger tank. My other 2 tanks (20 litre & 8 litre) are goldfishes and I don't think betta and goldfish coexist well together.

My the way, is there a goldfish forum? 2 of my goldfishes are bullies and nip others' fins. Is there a way to stop this?

How many goldfish/what size/what kind in each tank? It sounds like an overcrowding issue to me. Goldfish should really be in 20g tanks for one, and +10g for each one after that.

[M. Tse]

These goldfish are small fellows - 2 to 2 & half inch including short tail/fantail, so body is just half that size. But they are growing! 2 months ago they were half that big. I thought goldfish are peaceful creatures. Some are! After separating the 2 bullies the others have a peaceful life. But I don't want another two! separate tanks for the 2 bullies. Is there a way to put everyone together and live happily ever after?

[Chrona]

These goldfish are small fellows - 2 to 2 & half inch including short tail/fantail, so body is just half that size. But they are growing! 2 months ago they were half that big. I thought goldfish are peaceful creatures. Some are! After separating the 2 bullies the others have a peaceful life. But I don't want another two! separate tanks for the 2 bullies. Is there a way to put everyone together and live happily ever after?

When you see uncharacteristic aggression from a normally peaceful fish, it usually means it is too cramped or is under stress. Of course, it can also just be the fish's particular temperament, but I've never had a goldfish aggression issue when I had them in a 55g. If you have a larger tank to house them all with lots of decorations, I can pretty much guarentee they will not fight. 20 and 8L tanks are simply not big enough for goldfish, as they are very dirty fish. Are any of your tanks filtered btw? A water change every other day is the best thing you can do in the unfiltered betta bowl, but you should really consider what cocoa suggested, as ammonia will and does build up even over the course of a day in such a small confines.

[M. Tse]

My betta is now doing his little dance asking for food - I think he is on his way to full recovery!:19:


Today is cool temperaturewise. Still don't know how he will respond to room temp 30C in the long summer.

As for goldfish, I have 8 of them in one 20 litre filtered (mechanical & biological) glass tank. Ammonia & nitrate test readings seem to be OK. The 2 bullies will have to go to the 8 Litre tank which is actually a white porcelain basin. This will be decorated so that the 2 fish will have to do their merry-go-round thing about the hard root and plants. I will give them one last chance to be united in the family tank. If they start nipping again they will be banned forever.

[Chrona]

My betta is now doing his little dance asking for food - I think he is on his way to full recovery!:19:


Today is cool temperaturewise. Still don't know how he will respond to room temp 30C in the long summer.

As for goldfish, I have 8 of them in one 20 litre filtered (mechanical & biological) glass tank. Ammonia & nitrate test readings seem to be OK. The 2 bullies will have to go to the 8 Litre tank which is actually a white porcelain basin. This will be decorated so that the 2 fish will have to do their merry-go-round thing about the hard root and plants. I will give them one last chance to be united in the family tank. If they start nipping again they will be banned forever.

Wow, 8 in a 5g tank? You really need to start considering a much larger tank. The goldfish won't stay small forever :)

[ren]

i mean for a little tank! i thought goldfish needed 1g of water per inch of fish each. i think, i cant remember it has been sooo long since i had more than 3 fantails at a time. good luck though!thumbs2:

[Chrona]

i mean for a little tank! i thought goldfish needed 1g of water per inch of fish each. i think, i cant remember it has been sooo long since i had more than 3 fantails at a time. good luck though!thumbs2:

1 inch per gallon is a very general rule, for small fish. It doesn't apply for fat-bodied, dirty fish like cichlids or goldfish.