Something is wrong with my Betta

[Linnis]

Okay, this past June a friend moved and left me her betta fish, a red male named Red. He's got a one gallon bowl, with some glass blobs at the bottom and a treasure chest to hide in.

I clean his bowl twice a week and put in fresh water, I only use hot water to clean the bowl and rinse off the other stuff. I was doing it once a week but it got too scumy. I feed him every other day, because he won't eat it if I do everyday.His water is at room temp which is 75 degrees which is what it's always been.

For the last week or so all he does it lay at the bottom of the bowl. He won't eat and only moves when I tap the bowl to make sure he's alive or when I changed his water. I'm really worried that he's sick or something and I don't know how to help.

Ideas?

Thanks

 

[ApocryphaNow]

It is possible that your fish is diseased. I had some friends last May who let their fish tank become too scumy and all of their fish ended up getting "Ich" (Ichthyophthirius), which is a disease caused by a protozoan parasite. If I remember correctly, they were similarly lethargic. I may be mistaken, but I think you can tell it has it if it gets white spots all over it and you can start to see the blood stain the fins. Perhaps you should look this up on Google.

 

[ceedaisy]

Yeah if Red has ich it will look like he has lice on him. Should be really easy to spot on him with his coloring.

When I changed water for my fish, not just my bettas, I would have a jug of water sitting out for at least 24 hours. This way the water gets to room temperature. In our water supply there are some chemicals that could harm the fish, so I put a few drops of water dechlorinator.

 

[Linnis]

He doesn't have Ich, a friend of mine has a friend who's had fish for longer than I've been alive and says that's not it.

I may have to get some water declorinator for his bowl water and try that.

Could it be old age? He's almost 2 years old. How long to bettas live?

 

[ceedaisy]

You know, I don't really know how long they live. Mine lived to be about two years old also. Good luck with the water drops. And remember to have room temp water. Anything too hot or too cold is a big shock to them. You are being such a good mommy!

 

[Linnis]

Red died about 10 minutes ago. He was swimming upside down, I moved him to bottled water but it did no good.

I didn't think I'd cry so much over Red, but he was a good fish. Now I plan on telling my nephew about fishy heaven but why can't I believe it too?

According to his other owner, he was almost 3 years old, not 2.

 

[ceedaisy]

OH Noooo, poor Red. Three years is pretty good in my book. I'm so sorry. You were really worried about him. Let your nephew know that he is swimming in the most perfect water imaginable with all kind of other fishies. He is perfect and beautiful now!! (((HUGGIES)))

 

[dews]

We've had to tell our kids about our dead fish too. Now whenever we walk past a sewer they say "Bye, Goldie" ( it was a Gold Gourami that had died) because this is where stuff goes when you flush the toilet. This isn't exactly "perfect water" quite opposite actually!!

 

[xLoopyLassx]

A few years ago, all our fish died, but that was only cos my brother, 5 at the time, put in the whole tub of fish food...

 

[QuietTempest]

Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss.


Bettas generally live 5 to 10 years with proper care. Unfortunately, many don't last beyond 2 years because owners aren't aware of the care they require.

Habitat:
They're from Southeast Asia and do best in heated water (80-85 degrees). Although they can live in an unfiltered bowl, it's much better for the fish to be housed in a tank (I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than a 2 gallon tank for one betta). They prefer little water movement, so avoid using turbulent filtration in their tank.

Diet:
A fish's stomach is about the same size as its eye, so take care not to overfeed. One of the things that really irked me when the "betta vase craze" struck several years back was that so many people believed that the fish ate the roots of the plant they were being housed beneath. That's untrue. They're carnivorous fish. If you see a betta picking at the roots of a lily, he's probably starving. Anyway.. Be sure to buy quality food for the betta. When feeding, watch him eat. When the flake or pellet food items become saturated with water, they lose flavor and the fish loses interest. It will simply sink to the bottom and rot in the water. Make sure that any uneaten food is removed from the tank (you can do this by net if need be).

Maintenance:
You should do *partial* water changes every other week in a tank this size. By partial, I mean 1/4 (25%) of the water should be siphoned out and replaced with new, dechlorinated water. If you do complete water changes, you're removing all of the bacteria from the water -- the good stuff along with the bad. The "good stuff" is nitrifying bacteria which helps to neutralize ammonia and nitrites in the water. If they aren't kept in check, your fish will suffer. A first sign of high ammonia content is inflamed gills. Your fish's gills will appear red-purple and somewhat puffy. Signs of nitrite toxicity are listlessness, loss of appetite, loss of color, gasping at the surface, and erratic swimming.


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I hope that helps out with any future betta companions you'd like to keep.

I absolutely love keeping fish. If you have any problems with your fish in the future, there's a great website if you need some info: www.peteducation.com