Laughter

Hi I'm new and well I need a little help.

I just cleaned my beta fish,Creeper's, bowl and while removing him he jumped and fell onto the countertop. He's safe in his clean bowl ,but now he's acting really weird. He's a really active fish and I mean insanely active like a little kid on christmas monring, but he's floating either at the top of the bowl or the bottom not moving much. I 'm really worried. He wont even play with his reflection in the mirror and he'll do that for hours on end. I don't think he's hurt or anything. I even tried moving my finger along the outside of his bowl and he wont follow.

Could anyone tell me what to do?

Thanks,
Ava

Lucy

Hi Welcome to Fish Lore
Poor little guy. I'm sure you're worried about him.
First, I'd suggest you read this:
Betta Care Guide - Please Read First!!!
and this:
Nitrogen Cycle

It would really be a good idea to get your betta into a nice heated cycled tank. I prefer a minimum of 5gallons but some members have them in 2.5.

If you can get Fish Protector, Vita-chem garlic guard and keeping his water very clean, this combination should help him heal if he's not injured internally.
We've had other bettas on the forum jump and this worked wonders.

Good luck, I hope he feels better soon

Laughter

Thanks so much. I always put Betta Plus (it makes tap water safe and coats him so he doesn't get cut or scraped) in his tank after I move or clean his tank. But I'm going to try Fish Protector and Vita-chem garlic guard, I already keep is tank really clean but will clean it more then weekly if I have too.

Lucy

It would also help if he was in a heated tank. Bettas are tropical fish and like water temp close to 80F.
A gallon doesn't give much swim room and it's hard to keep the water at a consistant temperature and ammonia can build up quickly.
You should also look into getting a test kit. Avoid the strips, they're not very accurate. A liquid kit such as the API master kit to monitor his water.

Let us know how he does.

Amanda

I agree with Lucy, a heated tank does wonders.

aquarist48

Oh no!!!! Lucy gave you wonderful advice. I had some to jump out before as well over the years. (I don't currently have Betas) One time the poor fish was even covered in cat hair and dirt. I just added it back to the tank. It took a while for him to readjust but he survived and lived for a long time. Keep your eye on him and try not to worry too much. Best of luck.
Welcome to Fish Lore!