Wolfire

The symptoms are lethargy, he seems to have no energy stay in one spot and he is listing laying on the bottom of the tank on his left side. He struggles to swim upwards making it difficult for him to eat. When he does manage to swim he only seems to use his tail and the fin on the right side of his body almost as if the left fin is paralized. He doesn't seem to have Fin rot or ICH. I'm wondering if it could be Swim Bladder although he is not swollen and has not been over fed. I do however feed him only one type of food

Any suggestions?

chickadee

It sounds like he has a bacterial infection of some type, unless you have him in an uncycled tank in which case he could be getting poisoned in his own ammonia waste. Do you have a test kit? We would be able to tell you more if you could send us the test on the water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.

In the mean time, it would not hurt a thing to do a massive water change, like 50% of the water with water treated with a good water conditioner like StressCoat, NovAqua+, Amquel, or Amquel+, or Prime (the last three should not be used in an uncycled tank). Then get a good antilbiotic combination like Maracyn and Maracyn2 and give according to directions on the box for the size of your tank.

What is the size of your tank? Is it heated and filtered? What temperature do you keep it at? (Bettas need to be kept at a steady 80 to 82 degrees F or 27 to 28 degrees C) What are you feeding and how much?

Please read the Welcome and betta Care Guide in the topics at the beginning of the topics of the Betta Section. I know that there may be something that would help or give you an idea.

Please post any questions or comments and his progress. We are here to help if we can and you are also free to read all the posts to see if the experiences of others may be of help to you. We all love our fish and will be more than willing to welcome and do what we can for you. Comment, question, and enjoy, we are so glad to meet you. If your little one has a name please introduce him/her as here we love to call them by name as we believe they are all little personalities and as such deserve to be treated as themselves.

Let us know how things are going please and if you can the information we need.

Rose

Wolfire

My betta's name is Hamsterdam and he is about 2 years old now. He was in a 1 gallon filtered tank with a fake plant and rock when he got sick but he could not get to his food so now I have him in a small fish bowl with a fake plant. It is much easier for him to get to the food and he uses the leaves of the plant for assistance. Since he is in a bowl I have to do water changes frequently now. I cleaned the bowl earlier today. I tested Amonia (.5), nitrite (0) and nitrate (between 0 and 5) and I will test them again after he has been in the water for awhile. I did read the Betta Care Guide before I sent this post. I'm feeding him once a day with HBH Betta Bites. I've tried flakes but out of 5 bettas none of them have been fans. I have another betta named Sid in a different tank that I got last August from someone who lost interest and was planning on flushing him. Sid is doing just fine. I've had pretty good runs with bettas (the longest being almost 5 years with one named Skuzbucket) and I've always been able to figure out and cure their illnesses but this one baffles me. Any help is much appreciated.

chickadee

Ammonia levels are too high should not ever get over .25 in my opinion. How much water do you change? My recommendation in an unfiltered and uncycled bowl is 50% daily at least. They can go toxic very fast. He could also have had an injury of some type but I still am betting on any infection. Sometimes a kidney infection will cause a one sided gaurding as they hurt on the side the infection is on.

Rose

Wolfire

The amount of water I change varies based on how filthy his tank gets. He has a hard time moving toward food so I have to stand there and make sure he gets some before the food sinks into the rocks. Some days they fall the wrong way and more food ends up in the rocks. Is the best way to keep amonia levels low in an unfiltered tank just constantly changing the water? What is the best way to clear up an infection or at least make him more comfortable?

Phloxface

You should be using a water conditioner such as AmQuel+ or Prime. They detoxify ammonia as well as get rid of chlorine and chloramines. Other water conditioners don't detoxify ammonia. If he is living in a bowl and the gravel is dirty it might be best to remove him once in a while and rinse the whole bowl and gravel with hot water to get it clean. This should be done once a week and daily 30-50% water changes with the above mentioned water conditioner.