Sputnik
- #1
Hi all
My female betta Mahachai is giving me all kinds of worry! I have had her for six months ( she was a young juvenile at acquisition) and except for a brief period acclimating to a new tank she has always eaten like a pig. She ate anywhere from 4 to 6 ocean nutrition pellets in the am and brine shrimp in the pm, and was also active. Over the past 3 -4 weeks she eats only about 2 or 3 pellets a day and hardly eats frozen food. Her activity has decreased in the past 3-4 weeks too. I think she has reached maturity and has colored up since January- she now has has her adult coloration. Parameters in that tank are ammonia 0, nitrites 0 and nitrates 10-20 ppm ( 10 ppm right out of the tap). pH is about 7.8. I do 25-30 percent water changes with gravel vaccing weekly. Pellets are fresh ( under 6 months since opening) and stored refrigerated). Frozen food is under six months old. Tankmates are fine and she does not appear bloated to me. The only issue I could identify is that the male is pestering her more ( he grew a lot and she is under 2 inches). Yesterday I moved her from the 15 gallon to a 7.5 hospital tank. Parameters same as above except nitrates at 10 ppm. She is more active ( though not much) but still eats less and spits out food. Here are some pics. Does she look thin? Bloated? Is this just a normal change that comes with maturation? Any ideas and suggestions for next steps are welcome!
My female betta Mahachai is giving me all kinds of worry! I have had her for six months ( she was a young juvenile at acquisition) and except for a brief period acclimating to a new tank she has always eaten like a pig. She ate anywhere from 4 to 6 ocean nutrition pellets in the am and brine shrimp in the pm, and was also active. Over the past 3 -4 weeks she eats only about 2 or 3 pellets a day and hardly eats frozen food. Her activity has decreased in the past 3-4 weeks too. I think she has reached maturity and has colored up since January- she now has has her adult coloration. Parameters in that tank are ammonia 0, nitrites 0 and nitrates 10-20 ppm ( 10 ppm right out of the tap). pH is about 7.8. I do 25-30 percent water changes with gravel vaccing weekly. Pellets are fresh ( under 6 months since opening) and stored refrigerated). Frozen food is under six months old. Tankmates are fine and she does not appear bloated to me. The only issue I could identify is that the male is pestering her more ( he grew a lot and she is under 2 inches). Yesterday I moved her from the 15 gallon to a 7.5 hospital tank. Parameters same as above except nitrates at 10 ppm. She is more active ( though not much) but still eats less and spits out food. Here are some pics. Does she look thin? Bloated? Is this just a normal change that comes with maturation? Any ideas and suggestions for next steps are welcome!
