Erratic swimming, possible SBD?

Hello!

I recently purchased a new king halfmoon betta. I've only had him for a few hours, and he is being housed in a 2.5 gallon aquarium with a heater and no filter, currently. Half of the water and substrate was taken from a cycled, mature aquarium with good water quality.

Immediately upon placing him in the tank he began swimming somewhat erratically, with his mouth in the air and the rest of his body angled downwards. When he is not swimming, he is constantly at the surface - with his mouth/head at the surface and his body still angled downwards. Even when resting he seems to be breathing somewhat hard. At one point after an episode of erratic swimming, be very briefly sunk to the bottom before managing to swim back to the top.

I've kept betta fish before and have never had one behave this way. Is this swim bladder disorder? Adjustment stress? What is going on with him? I want him to be happy and healthy. Any help or suggestions appreciated!

 

How did you acclimate him to the new water? What was he acting like before you added him in?

Have you tested the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Even though the water is from a cycled tank, it is still worth checking. Especially if your tap water has ammonia or nitrite - you never know until you test.

Did you dechlorinate the water that was not tank water?

What temperature is the water right now?

 

Hi! Thanks for asking!

I did acclimate him, I floated him for about 20 minutes in a fish bag from the pet store , and added dechlorinator / stress coat to the new water.

Before I added him in he was staying at the surface of the cup most of the time, slightly angled like he is now - but I didn't think anything of it as he was in that tiny cup. I had been in to the pet store the day before and saw him resting near the bottom (not in a concerning way). His fins weren't clamped and he would swim around pretty aggressively if you jostled the cup at all.

I used my last test strip on my most recent water change (less than a week ago), so I haven't tested it again yet, but there was no ammonia or nitrites last time I checked. The tank I pulled the water from is a planted 36 gallon with only three small fish currently, but it's been running for years. I have no idea how long he was in that tiny pet store cup that he came in though, so it's entirely possible the ammonia and nitrites were way off beforehand.

The temperature is only around 73-74F; the heater I have right now is not very strong, but he was in room-temperature water when I got him.

 

If you don't have a (cycled) filter, ammonia is going to build up fast. Taking water from another tank may mean you have cycled water to start, but the filter is where the magic happens for the nitrogen cycle. Your betta is producing ammonia and there is no bacteria to eat it. Honestly sounds like ammonia poisoning (at the surface, breathing heavy, darting). I would get him a filter and take media from the established tank to help push the cycle along. Seachem Prime or Ammolock to help with ammonia, and daily water changes to help him til things straighten out.

 

Did you add in any water to the bag/cup slowly before releasing him into the new tank, or did you just let him out of the bag/cup after he was floated for 20 minutes? I would be concerned that your water chemistry was too different from the bag's/cup's water chemistry and he was shocked by the difference without any true acclimation that involved gradual water exchange. Best you can do is leave him be and do large daily (or twice daily, if you can manage) water changes until you get a cycled filter running, and hope he recovers.

Do make sure you are either performing large daily water changes, or you get a cycled filter running for him soon. However, I do not think that is what caused this current issue, because you said this behavior was immediately after you released him, which does not give the tank any time to build up ammonia before his reaction began.

 

LanceDog - I was planning on getting a filter, but the only ones in stock would have been far to strong for this size tank. I know a filter would be ideal, and will hopefully have one soon, but I have successfully kept seemingly, happy, illness-free bettas for years with frequent water changes and without a filter, so I didn't foresee that being a problem right away.

SM1199 - Unfortunately I did not add any water into the bag before releasing him, so that could certainly be the case. I'm more than happy to do daily or more water changes for the time being until I can get some filtration going. Would you agree that this sounds / looks like ammonia poisoning?

 

Unfortunately I did not add any water into the bag before releasing him, so that could certainly be the case. I'm more than happy to do daily or more water changes for the time being until I can get some filtration going. Would you agree that this sounds / looks like ammonia poisoning?

I believe that he might have some ammonia poisoning from where he came from, but not from this tank. That, combined with the shock of improper acclimation, I believe is what is causing these symptoms. Either way, the treatment is the same: clean water and wait.

 

Yeah, that would make sense. I'll certainly keep on it with the water changes. Hopefully the little guy starts bouncing back soon. Thanks for all your help!

 

So after observing him some more, and from different angles, he does seem to have a slightly S-curved back (mostly noticeable when viewed from above), which I have heard is often indicative of swim bladder disorder.

In addition to the measures to offset potential ammonia poisoning, I was thinking of fasting him for a few days and then maybe trying to feed him some cooked pea after. If anyone has had success with other methods, let me know!