Supermassive Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 My betta is struggling to eat. In general his appetite has decreased and I've seen him spit food out a couple times which he's never done before. I replaced his food with fresh stuff from the fridge but it didn't seem to make much difference. He cant turn around nearly as easily as he used to and when he's resting his body always seem to curl up. It only started within the last week or two. I've had him for about 9 months and the guy at the store said he was probably around a year old when I got him so I'm not sure if this is fairly normal for an old betta or if its a sign of some other problem not related to age. He is also a shortfin betta. He's in a 10G moderately planted tank. I keep the tank at 80 degrees and I do weekly 40% water changes. Nitrates usually 30ppm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitecloud09 Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Is his stomach bloated? @Supermassive, also what was his original diet. And what are you feeding him now, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermassive Posted June 15 Author Share Posted June 15 @Whitecloud09 No he's not bloated. I've been feeding him a mix of 3 different betta pellets for months and I feed frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms. 5-6 pellets twice a day and frozen brine shrimp every other day. I rarely feed bloodworms. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 On 6/15/2024 at 11:44 AM, Supermassive said: I've had him for about 9 months and the guy at the store said he was probably around a year old yeah, that could be the problem. unfortunately. bettas live between 2-5 years. depending on how they were treated before you got him. no one really knows how old he is or what his treatment was like before. I usually keep anywhere from 2-6 bettas in community tanks. usually from one of the box stores. so they can last me anywhere from a couple of months to 2 1/2 yrs. It honestly sounds like it may be getting old. I have one right now that doesn't swim much but rests on the bottom gravel most of the day. your water and temp look right on for bettas, so nothing you're doing wrong 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Can you post a picture of the fish what your ammonia nitrite pH KH GH have you added anything new to the tank recently that could have bought in disease 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermassive Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 @Colu The tank has been cycled for months so there shouldn't be any ammonia or nitrite. I will test all the parameters tomorrow just to make sure. GH should be around 60ppm and KH around 40ppm. pH is usually at 7.6-7.8. I will double check everything tomorrow. He's the only fish that's ever been in the tank. I added some plants 2-3 months ago. The picture isn't great with the lighting. I will get a better one when the light is on tomorrow. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 He’s handsome. What’s that white spot on his back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 Assuming your water parameters are fine it's Possibly old age I couldn't rule out a bacterial component causing the symptoms your seeing what medication do you have to hand @Supermassive 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermassive Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 On 6/16/2024 at 7:12 AM, Colu said: Assuming your water parameters are fine it's Possibly old age I couldn't rule out a bacterial component causing the symptoms your seeing what medication do you have to hand I have metroplex, kanaplex, maracyn, paracleanse, expel p, and ich x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermassive Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 @Colu pH ~7.8 KH ~40ppm. GH 80-100ppm. 0 ammonia and nitrite. ~20ppm nitrate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermassive Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 On 6/15/2024 at 10:26 PM, Tony s said: What’s that white spot on his back? He has a few white scales right on the tip of his back if that's what you mean. If you mean the little dot just below that I think its just from the glass or camera. I cant see it in person. This seems pretty bad. I don't think he has much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 Yeah. On the middle back. Right before it color transitions. I figured it was normal. But questions never hurt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 On 6/16/2024 at 1:46 PM, Supermassive said: I have metroplex, kanaplex, maracyn, paracleanse, expel p, and ich x Your water parameters look fine what I would do is a course of kanaplex as precautionary treatment just in case there's a bacterial component 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermassive Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 @Colu Do I need to feed it or just add it to the tank water? Also should I just dose for 10 gallons or a bit less because there isn't actually 10G of water. I have a couple amano shrimp and a nerite in the tank. Will they be okay? Lastly do I need to worry about it crashing my cycle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 On 6/16/2024 at 11:51 AM, Supermassive said: Do I need to feed it or just add it to the tank water Add it to the tank water. It doesn’t absorb in the gut well. Maracyn2 is the better one for food. sorry about your guy. Hopefully he can pull through. I get used to losing them, but I keep giving other ones opportunities to get out of the cups. they just appear fragile from box stores. Lots of weird tumors and things There are places to order online for high end bettas. Those should still last like they’re supposed to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermassive Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 (edited) On 6/16/2024 at 12:07 PM, Tony s said: sorry about your guy. Hopefully he can pull through. I get used to losing them, but I keep giving other ones opportunities to get out of the cups. they just appear fragile from box stores. Lots of weird tumors and things There are places to order online for high end bettas. Those should still last like they’re supposed to. Thank you. Yeah I've just accepted they aren't really going to live as long as I want but I'm just going to give them the best home I can and keep getting them. My first one was from a box store and only lasted about 4-6 months. This one is from my LFS and I was hoping I could keep him for a couple years or more but I guess not. I'm in Canada so there probably as many options to order good bettas as in the US. Edited June 16 by Supermassive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 On 6/16/2024 at 12:15 PM, Supermassive said: I'm in Canada so there probably as many options to order good bettas as in the US Right all you hear is the guys won’t ship to Canada. Seems like there should be an opportunity there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermassive Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 On 6/16/2024 at 12:19 PM, Tony s said: Right all you hear is the guys won’t ship to Canada. Seems like there should be an opportunity there. There probably is if I looked around but I've never ordered fish before. I would just be really worried the entire time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 On 6/16/2024 at 12:34 PM, Supermassive said: There probably is if I looked around but I've never ordered fish before. I would just be really worried the entire time I’ve ordered from Florida twice now to good results and once from Ohio. Angelfish from Florida and guppies from Ohio. Arrived in great shape..couldn’t keep guppies alive until now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 On 6/16/2024 at 4:51 PM, Supermassive said: @Colu Do I need to feed it or just add it to the tank water? Also should I just dose for 10 gallons or a bit less because there isn't actually 10G of water. I have a couple amano shrimp and a nerite in the tank. Will they be okay? Lastly do I need to worry about it crashing my cycle? Just dose the tank base on 10G as you have shrimp and snails in the tank I would dose with maracyn kanaplex can be harmful to shrimp there's always a chance antibiotic treatment will harm your benefial bacterial @Supermassive 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermassive Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 @Colu Do I need to do multiple treatments of the maracyn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 (edited) On 6/16/2024 at 9:50 PM, Supermassive said: @Colu Do I need to do multiple treatments of the maracyn? I would do one course if your dosing the tank or you could do a course of maracyn in food feeding a small amount twice a day for 7 days if you can get him to eat the medicated food Edited June 16 by Colu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermassive Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 @Colu He seems to be doing better after the maracyn. When hes resting hes not bending his body like he was before and he seems to be eating a bit better. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 (edited) On 6/22/2024 at 8:29 PM, Supermassive said: @Colu He seems to be doing better after the maracyn. When hes resting hes not bending his body like he was before and he seems to be eating a bit better. Good to hear Edited June 22 by Colu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now