CAS512

hi, my friend has 2 siamese fighting fish and they're in a smalll tank (unsure of size but i do know it's not that big) with a divider. one of them is swimming down the bottom of the tank and then it's like he's real tired and can't swim anymore and then he floats to the top. he's still alive and seems happy still. she called the LFS and they said to do a water change and add rock salt.
can anyone help as to what is wrong with her fish? could it be old age?

Shawnie

no salt as bettas dont do well in it...its probably ammonia from lack of a filter and too small of a space...they cant possibly be happy in a tank like that do you know how often your friend does water changes? and how cold it is in his area now?

Alessa

The problem with the bettas is that they need at least 2.5 gallons for each! and a filtered, heated tank... I wouldn't advice any salt, just a what I said before, that all they need to improve and live better... that and being fed every day with a balanced diet.

Lucy

Rock salt? Isn't that what they use to melt ice?

CAS512

i have no idea

Amanda

Yeah, that's what rock salt is used for.
People aren't even supposed to touch rock salt, so I HIGHLY doubt any type would enjoy it too much.
*shakes head*

CAS512

oh no!!! i cant believe the guy from a fish place told her that!!! i hope it doesnt kill the poor fish.

Amanda

Ok first things first.
Can you find out the size of the tank?
And find out if the tank is cycled.

CAS512

ok i'll find out as much as i can and get back to you. thanks for helping.

Shawnie

im thinking the tank is like this from your description

BBT3Glamour.jpg

which is less than a gallon

Lucy

I'd like, just once to talk to the people who came up with that kind of ::cough::tank::cough::

CAS512

i agree!!! when i went to a fish place last night i saw mug size tanks with bettas in them!! i just wanted to take them all and put them in bigger tanks.

CAS512

i found out that my friends tank is about 2 gallons. she's had it for about 4 months and the fish have been great ever since she got them. she said they've always been happy from day 1 up until now and 1 of them is acting strange. when she was doing water changes every month she was doing 100% water changes, i said that from now on only do 50%. would age have anything to do with her sick fish?

Shawnie

does it have a heater and filter? and my betta's get 100 change so not sure that could be it unless she isnt conditioning the water or keeping it at the same temps

Lucy

I wonder if waiting a month between changes has weakened the little guys and now they're showing the effects of it. That and no heat.

CAS512

yeah there isnt a filter or heater. she conditions the water everytime she does a change.

Amanda

She should have a 10 gal. tank if she wants 2 bettas together. I have a 10 gal. divided tank.

CAS512

she doesnt want them together. it's a divided tank

Amanda

So is mine. I have a 10 gal. divided tank. That's really the minimum for a divided betta tank. Any smaller is very unhealthy.

CAS512

oh ok, i'll let her know. thanks heaps for your help everyone!!

Alessa

In reality, what she meant is bettas need a min of a 6 gallon (LONG) tank to be in the same tank divided. The best would be a 10 gallon divided, filtered and heated for both bettas. 25% water changes every week as well.

gremlin

Rock salt is basically the natural form of salt. It does not hurt humans. When I was a kid, we would use rock salt when we made icecream and we used to suck on the pieces of rock salt. Yes it is used to melt ice - salt water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water, so salt sprinkled on fresh water ice will melt it and weaken it enough to be brushed/shoveled away. Rock salt also used to be what we used in our water softener. Now there is a pellet that is used. Rock salt is mined and processed into table salt from huge salt beds. Any more questions on it, you can go to wikipedia and type in halite which is what the actual mineral is called.