Fish Swimming Vertically Occassionally. I'm Stumped!

I just brought home a half moon female betta a week ago and so far she has me stumped! When I first brought her home I tried feeding her my tropical pellets, which I quickly found out that they were too big for her. The next day she was floating on her side which I figured was from being over fed and she had swim bladder. I fasted her for 3 days and she seemed to be getting better. I did buy smaller pellets and tried that once the fast was over. She was able to eat those much better. I typically feed my fish once every-other day. She no longer floats on her side and I have been feeding her a little less than I typically would. Well now she has been swimming vertically. Yesterday and this morning I found her on the bottom of the tank. She didn't look good in my opinion. Yesterday I decided she was bad enough that I put in Jungle fungus fizz tab to treat for a potential bacterial disease. So the point of this whole thread is that she has me stumped. There are periods of time where she will be vertical and then other times where she will be swimming normally (I'll insert pictures), but I would say for the most part she is vertical. Here's the tank info:

2.5 gallon tank that is heated and filtered
Not cycled (I am trying to cycle with TSS)
Water parameters as of 7/2/18:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 40ppm
Sponge filter is turned down as low as it can go
Since adding the TSS I have not performed a WC as I was trying to wait the 14 days you are supposed to, but I plan on doing once once the first treatment is done just in case I may need to do another treatment.

I honestly did not think she would make it this long. I would love to hear what you think this might be or if this is just going to be normal for her. Thank you in advance!

 

Judging by your current water parameters, it's indeed cycled. A tank has finished the cycle when ammonia and nitrites are at 0 with low nitrates, so congrats.

As for the vertical behavior, it may be just how she is. I've had a male who does exactly what you describe; vertical, motionless behavior at times followed by regular activity at others. He's been doing this constantly for almost a year now. If she doesn't have many other symptoms, I'd personally add it up to the weaker stock of pet store bettas and it shouldn't affect her very much in the long run.

 

I just brought home a half moon female betta a week ago and so far she has me stumped! When I first brought her home I tried feeding her my tropical pellets, which I quickly found out that they were too big for her. The next day she was floating on her side which I figured was from being over fed and she had swim bladder. I fasted her for 3 days and she seemed to be getting better. I did buy smaller pellets and tried that once the fast was over. She was able to eat those much better. I typically feed my fish once every-other day. She no longer floats on her side and I have been feeding her a little less than I typically would. Well now she has been swimming vertically. Yesterday and this morning I found her on the bottom of the tank. She didn't look good in my opinion. Yesterday I decided she was bad enough that I put in Jungle fungus fizz tab to treat for a potential bacterial disease. So the point of this whole thread is that she has me stumped. There are periods of time where she will be vertical and then other times where she will be swimming normally (I'll insert pictures), but I would say for the most part she is vertical. Here's the tank info:

2.5 gallon tank that is heated and filtered
Not cycled (I am trying to cycle with TSS)
Water parameters as of 7/2/18:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 40ppm
Sponge filter is turned down as low as it can go
Since adding the TSS I have not performed a WC as I was trying to wait the 14 days you are supposed to, but I plan on doing once once the first treatment is done just in case I may need to do another treatment.

I honestly did not think she would make it this long. I would love to hear what you think this might be or if this is just going to be normal for her. Thank you in advance!

Hi, firstly your cycle looks like it’s going well with no ammonia and nitrite.
Bettas do breathe air from the surface and sometimes sleep on the surface and sometimes on the gravel.
Check to make sure it isn’t just resting.

If the fish is vertical all the time, looks stressed and struggles to keep a position in the water without swimming it might have a bladder issue due to over feeding or an internal disease.
If the fish is still eating it should be alright and it might correct itself.
If appetite is lost then the fish is most likely very ill or stressed out.

 

Thank you both for your reply! I’m surprised my tank cycled this fast! I’m only on day 4 or 5 of using TSS. I’m still testing daily just to make sure. Since you mention it my fish doesn’t seem stressed when I make sure she isn’t just resting. She doesn’t dart around her tank or show any other signs of being stressed. Maybe she is ok after all. It is disappointing that it may just be a poorly bred betta. I’ll continue to keep an eye on her. Thanks again!

 

Quick update: I've come to the conclusion that my betta is probably going to be a special one. She does still swim vertically, but can right herself. There are no signs of stress from what I can tell. I probably will do a second dose of the Jungle Fungus tabs after the first treatment has run its course just to be on the safe side. I also plan on doing the 25% WC the treatment requires despite the TSS instructions. Lastly, my tank isn't cycled like I thought. My ammonia was testing 0.25-0.50 today. Hopefully my cycle won't get too messed up with the treatment and early WC! Thanks again for your help.

 

Update:

My female is finally swimming normal and using up all the space her tank has to swim! It took a little bit, but for a good week I kept her on a strict diet. I only fed her one pre-soaked pellet every other day. At the end of that week she finally looked better than she had! In that time I left her for a week’s vacation so I was nervous that she’d die. Thankfully that did not happen! I’m writing this in hopes it’ll help someone else who is having similar problems. I know I scour fish forums when my tanks are having issues!

 

I accidentally overfed my fish a few weeks ago, one angelfish was nose down and having trouble staying down. I put hom in an acrylic breeder box and I fasted the fish for a few days. He was ok again the next day with a bunch of poop on the box floor.

Overfeeding causes so many problems. Keep on feeding him one presoaked pellet, sounds like that is enough for him.

Thanks for the update and congrats on figuring that out.