njhelena

My husband and I have had our betta Reggie for almost 2 months, and after a rocky start (a week in a way-too-small bowl without a heater, because we didn't know any better) we've become a happy, comfortable family. He's currently in a 1.5g tank with heater and filter; the heater keeps the tank at appx 76 degrees. We feed him Betta pellets and freeze-dried bloodworms which he's always scarfed down with gusto, and I admit that I overfeed him (maybe 5 pellets and a worm in the morning, and my husband gives him a worm treat at dinnertime). I keep seeing droppings at the bottom of his tank that are the color of the food and about the size of lighter flints (if you remember them), and I'm guessing that they are his poo so I don't think he's constipated. FYI we fed him a smushed-up pea once but he spit it right out. We change 50% of his water weekly and I think the activity traumatizes me as much as it does him. His tank is in our den - the only really perfect location in our house for him - where he is alone most of the time, not seeing us for hours at a time.

Lately, he doesn't seem as active as he had been, often staying on the bottom in the back corner of the tank until he sees us. As of yesterday, he suddenly doesn't seem to like his pellets - will eat them then spit them right out. He still seems to like the bloodworms as much as ever.

Any ideas? Did he just suddenly get sick of the pellets? Is he bored or lonely? Do we need to get him into a bigger tank, maybe with another fish as company? Try a different food? We keep looking for signs of illness but we don't see a thing. We're stumped at the sudden change but we love this little guy and want to do what we can for him.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks very much for your help!

lalynya

I would suggest a bigger tank with some plants maybe. Give him somewhere to hide and swim around in..maybe even add a cory to keep him company...I have othello my black betta in a 5.5 gal tank with cory's and plenty of plants and decorations and he has been quiet happy there for months now....he sometimes charges after the cory's and then run's the other way but he is a suspicious fat lil betta soooo...Cory's and betta in general get along and they help to keep the bottom of the tank clean and I put the cory's in there to keep them safe after finding allmost all there fins riped off from someone in my community tank they keep each other company and don't bother eachother too much except for some "fishy" play...hope this helps

sirdarksol

Welcome to Fishlore!

Verify the temp really quick (I had a heater set at 78, but it jumped to 90 something, and that's how my betta was acting).
Also, what are the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings?
What brand of pellets do you feed him?
If he won't eat a plain pea bit, try one soaked in garlic juice. If that doesn't work, you can use freeze-dried daphnia as a weekly treat. They have the same effects as peas.

It may just be that he's feeling closed in. Unfortunately, 1.5g is still pretty small for a betta (better than a bowl, of course), and depending on the betta's personality, some will make a go of what they have, and others will seem to get depressed.

LuvaBetta

A bowl/tank that small is also much harder to keep cycled and stable. I'd recommend monitoring the water parameters very closely - and maybe do partial water changes more often. You're right, sudden changes are very worrisome. I hope he perks up soon!

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

I'd agree on a larger tank and 78-80F for his water temp. He may want more attention from you, but they don't really mind not having fish company.

Part of it maybe that he's bored, Some silk plants or a cave or 2 (all smooth inside and out with holes big enough for your thumb to fit through) would be fun for him.. The little hamster igloos go over well with Bettas and just need to be held down with some flat glass marbles - which we use for substrate. They also like the little T-shaped pieces of hamster tubing floating in the tank. Our male bettas all love those.

Part of it could be he felt a little cold, but it's not likely at 76 to have this much effect. I think the biggest probable cause is parasites. Lethargy and loss of appetite are pretty much textbook for internal parasites. The treatment for that is usually either Parasite Clear tablets, but those tablets are for 10g and would be easier to dose in a larger tank.

When he's in a larger tank, the cleaning and water changing will be less stressful for him. I've noticed with ours, that the more room they have in the tank, the less stressful it is for them when we do that stuff since they can get away from it if they want.

Lucy

I agree with that. I was so happy to move my betta from the 5g hex into the 10g. The shape of the hex made it hard to use the siphon and Prissy would get stress lines.