Hi, so yesterday the ghost shrimp I had I my bettas tank passed. He had slowly been going downhill over a week, and he would swim, then stop and sort of crash down to the ground where he would stay for about an hour. I immediately knew something was wrong. He passed later yesterday, and I took the dead shrimp out. But now my betta acts kind of weirdly now. Yesterday I caught him with only his fins on the intake part of the filter! It was just his fins, and I opened the flap on the lid to get him off, and he kinda stared at it for a while, then moved off of it. His fins aren’t damaged now, nothing is damaged, but I don’t get why he did it. He hangs out a lot more on his betta leaf also. Is he depressed because of the shrimps death? I never saw them interacting before.... Tank Parameters - Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: About 10 (So yes, it’s cycled.) It’s a 3.5 gallon tank, by the way. But I am going to move him into a planted ten gallon soon. Any suggestions/answers are appreciated.
I've never known bettas to get depressed over a tank mate's death. Usually when a betta is less active then it usually is then that almost always means something is not right within the tank or the betta. Is the tank heated? If not, that could be a cause. If it is, then try a 50% water change. Also how long have you had the betta for? Because bettas get less active as they age. If it's an older betta then it's understandable but try to avoid having the betta's fins on the intake filter. I'm not 100% sure why your betta did that but if I were you, I'd observe him for a couple of days to see if anything else is wrong or any new symptoms of any sort appear. And also i recommend you try your best to stop him from hanging out by the filter. Pics of him and tank would be useful if you don't mind. Hope the info I provided was a little helpful.
The tank is heated to a constant 78* F and I am closely watching him now. I’ll do another water test as soon as I get home from work just to make sure everything’s okay. Also, he’s about two months old. (Well since the day I got him. It was March 17th 2018) But I don’t think he’s THAT old.... thanks for replying also!
NP, chain pet stores usually sell males and females around certain ages, forget the exact ages but you could search it up and closely guess his age. Bettas in the right conditions can live for years. Some people say 3 max but I believe bettas kept in right conditions can live longer than their assumed lifespan. One member of fishlore said their betta lived to be about 7 years old!
Bettas don't usually bond with species out of their own. Even then they don't always 100% bond with their own. I've never heard of a betta fish getting emotionally attached to a shrimp. Maybe it's possible but I've never seen it.
I've seen it happen and also know members on here had their bettas become depressed for a little bit after a tank mate die. I know my betta became sad for a little bit when my mystery snail died. It's not very common but it does happen
I would double check your water parameters and make sure everything looks normal - shouldn't be an ammonia spike or anything like that since you took the shrimp out right away when he passed (sorry you lost him ). Once you eliminate any water issues, maybe change his tank decor up a bit or add something new for him to check out - might perk him up? Also, do you have a sponge or something protective on the filter intake so his fins don't get damaged?
I agree. If his fins are getting stuck in the filter that sounds worrisome. It could end up being detrimental to think it’s simply depression.
It's not uncommon. my first tank ever (My 10g before it crashed) I had a pickerel which was in a very unfortunate filter accident. lost its fins and couldn't swim, Any ways it died and the other became depressed, he stopped eating just laid at the bottom. It stopped doing flips and everything.
I don’t have a cover on it because the filter seems rather weak. Eclipse (my betta) would sometimes swim around it and he never got sucked in. I should be home soon so I can do a water test. And I need to do a water change on Saturday, so I’ll switch up the decor then. I can reply soon once I get home on how he’s doing and what the water test said. I just got home and looked at him and he seems fine. He greeted me like usual with his ‘hello dance’ and is swimming fine. I just did a water test and: Ammonia: 0 Nitrites: 0 Nitrates: A little over 10 Also, I’ve included a picture of my filters intake. (Of course Eclipse decided that he would sneak into the photo. And the intake isn’t curved, it’s just the angle that I took the picture at.) I mainly just think that it was one of those weird things that Betta Fish do, and I’ll keep an eye on him, just in case. Thank you all for your help!
