My male betta is acting strangely.

[fjolliff]

I have a very beautiful red veiltail betta male, but last night I noticed he wasn't being as active as usual, then today I found that he had crawled up and had his head out of the water for a while until I moved him with the net. He splashed and swam to the bottom of the tank and has been "sleeping" ever since. The only thing that keeps me from disturbing him again is that his gills are still moving normally. He has been very "lazy?" today.

I read somewhere that this behavior could be a sign of something, but today the weather was pretty warm outside so his heater didn't turn on at all. I wonder if the water is too warm? It says that it's only between 76 and 80 degrees and it has never bothered him before.

Should I be concerned? Does anyone know what is going on with him? He hardly ate last night too. That caught my attention. He also doesn't display at me when I put my hand near his tank like he used to.

[genocidex]

is he bloated? might be a sign of intestinal issues

[fjolliff]

Not bloated, be looks like he's gotten thinner maybe, just a tiny bit. But he doesn't fluff out his fins anymore either so its hard to tell how much thinner he's gotten.

[genocidex]

water parameters? ammonia nitrites nitrates ph kh/gh ? tank size filter?

[fjolliff]

nitrate is 40 (safe according to test)
nitrite is 1.0 (says to cause some stress)
hardness is very hard
chlorine is 0
alkalinity is 120 (also considered safe)
pH is 7.9

Can i just use the water conditioner to fix it, or a major water change?

filter is for a 5 gal or less, tank is 3 gal.

Also, he has started moving around more since i posted the first time tonight, I'd still appreciate tips to fix the water.

[genocidex]

because of your nitrites im sure you have lost your cycle. you will need to do a major water change to reduce those nitrites to as low as possible and start doing daily water changes of at least 1 gallon each day, 2 better untill they stop showing up. im also guessing that since theres nitrites theres some ammonia. do the water change asap and keep an eye on those nitrites. those are quite toxic to fish, especially at those temps and hardness.

give your betta some good water quality and some time, and he should survive. i will keep my fingers crossed for you. also make sure you use dechlorinator and not just age your water. aging is not a reliable way to dechlorinate your water....

[fjolliff]

Okay! Thank you very much!

[bethyMT]

If it is truly water quality issues, your betta will tell you when things are getting better. He will perk up, even in small ways at first. Of course, you still need to test every day and change water every day until you're cycled again, but he will tell you if what you are doing is sufficient.

Yes, please get some good dechlorinator for your water...Prime by Seachem is good. Also, make sure the water you add is the same temp as the water in the tank. Also, don't feed much if it's clear that he isn't going to eat it, as it will start to rot on the bottom of the tank and cause more ammonia. Clean, dechlorinated water really is the best thing you can give your fish.

[genocidex]

any change today? hows the nitrites?

[Tiari]

View a 3 gallon tank, like a large fish bowl. Though filtered, and cycled, nitrates will build up VERY quickly in so low a volume of water. I have a six gallon myself for my Betta Tiberius, and his tank requires more frequent water changes than the ten or twenty gallons. Food residue, waste from the fish, and minerals in the water deplete quickly.

Make a habit to change at least half the water immediately, and then the following day, do the same. Continue this until the nitrates are at 10ppm or lower. Once the cycle is restored, you should probably change water in that tank, around half, every three days to keep it clean and a happy home for your little buddy.