Is something actually wrong with my betta or is it paranoia?

HI everyone,

After multiple posts on here, several adjustments, and different fish medications, my fish still looks the same and acts the same and I’m wondering if he was ever sick at all. He looks “funky” to me, but has been acting the same (normally) since the day I got him in October. He likes to make bubble nests, that’s for sure.

I use Seachem Prime, a little aquarium salt, carbon filtration, his tank is always 78F, and I feed him Wardly Betta Food. I have tried treating him with Bettafix, doses of salt, and General Cure (and a couple others I can’t remember). Much thanks.

 

He looks fine to me. Did you diagnose him with anything specific? I’m not an expert, but he only thing I can think of is that he seems a little bloated. I don’t thinks it anything you should worry about though. How often do you feed him?

Edit: Also have you checked your water perimeters?

 

Looks like a normal betta to me. "Funky" is a pretty vague description, what was actually wrong with him?

 

Hello both
Originally it seemed like he had velvet and fin rot. Notably he started with a silver head and now has a very dark one.

As for water parameters, they were typically ph 7.2, ammonia .5, nitrite 0, and nitrate 10-20. After General Cure it was pretty bad: ph 7.2, ammonia .5 to 1, nitrite 3, and nitrates 40. That was two weeks ago. I have to check again tonight after dinner, but I assume it’s cycling due to bacteria loss.

 

Hello both
Originally it seemed like he had velvet and fin rot. Notably he started with a silver head and now has a very dark one.

As for water parameters, they were typically ph 7.2, ammonia .5, nitrite 0, and nitrate 10-20. After General Cure it was pretty bad: ph 7.2, ammonia .5 to 1, nitrite 3, and nitrates 40. That was two weeks ago. I have to check again tonight after dinner, but I assume it’s cycling due to bacteria loss.

Bettas change colors as they grow, so that was probably what happened to his head. If you’re only worried about the color change, don’t be, unless his colors are fading and he seems sick. I can’t really tell if he has velvet or fin rot. Do you have any close ups of him? That would really help.

Also I barely know much about water perimeters. I just know that yours are definitely off. All I can say about that is to do water changes to lower the ammonia.

 

Bettas change colors as they grow, so that was probably what happened to his head. If you’re only worried about the color change, don’t be, unless his colors are fading and he seems sick. I can’t really tell if he has velvet or fin rot. Do you have any close ups of him? That would really help.

I also barely know much about water perimeters. I just know that yours are definitely off. All I can say about that is to do water changes to lower the ammonia.

The color change being normal is definitely a relief. Unfortunately I took those pictures tonight and they’re the closest I can get of him—he swims fast! But yeah, as for the parameters, they’re definitely off but they’re always off somehow, no matter how hard I try. I know that even with Prime, the ammonia will still show up as general ammonia. As for the rest, I’ve just been doing weekly changes and cleaning his decorations biweekly. When I have the money I’m going to try adding small Catfish or snails and some real plants. I figure that’s better regardless. I attached a photo of him the week I got him too.

 

The color change being normal is definitely a relief. Unfortunately I took those pictures tonight and they’re the closest I can get of him—he swims fast! But yeah, as for the parameters, they’re definitely off but they’re always off somehow, no matter how hard I try. I know that even with Prime, the ammonia will still show up as general ammonia. As for the rest, I’ve just been doing weekly changes and cleaning his decorations biweekly. When I have the money I’m going to try adding small Catfish or snails and some real plants. I figure that’s better regardless. I attached a photo of him the week I got him too.

Yeah you definitely don’t have to worry about the color change lol. As far as I can tell he looks perfectly healthy. I would just focus on getting the water perimeters to be perfect and you should be fine .

Also to help you regulate the water perimeters:
How big is your tank?
Do you have a filter?
How often do you do water changes?
And how often do you feed him?

 

He looks very healthy and happy, but I second the questions julkosI asked.

He's a stunning betta! I love that coloration.

 

Yeah you definitely don’t have to worry about the color change lol. As far as I can tell he looks perfectly healthy. I would just focus on getting the water perimeters to be perfect and you should be fine .

Also to help you regulate the water perimeters:
How big is your tank?
Do you have a filter?
How often do you do water changes?
And how often do you feed him?

Thanks so much for the helpful replies!! I’m so relieved, you have no idea haha. This whole time I wasn’t sure if I was slowly killing him or not. (Our water quality here is soooo atrocious.)

It’s a 10 gallon tank with a Tetra 2-10 gal internal carbon filter. (I wanna change it to some fancy external one I can’t afford right now lol.) I do a weekly 25% water change with Prime and a tiny bit of aquarium salt, avoiding salt buildup. I feed him two pellets twice a day, four total. Not sure what they’re actually supposed to get to be honest, but he seems ok with that amount? I noticed you said he looks bloated so I’m not so sure now.

 

He’s a beautiful guy.

I thought he looked a little bloated too just at first glance. Some fish just look that way. But it could be more the food you’re feeding not quantity.
Just a suggestion to look into something like omega one or new life spectrum. They have whole fish, less fillers and no soy. New life has garlic and probiotic infused pellets and flakes as well.

For the sake of ongoing health getting the ammonia and nitrites under control is a must. Especially in the case you’re ever unable to constantly dose prime.

But he looks good in those shots!

 

Thanks so much for the helpful replies!! I’m so relieved, you have no idea haha. This whole time I wasn’t sure if I was slowly killing him or not. (Our water quality here is soooo atrocious.)

It’s a 10 gallon tank with a Tetra 2-10 gal internal carbon filter. (I wanna change it to some fancy external one I can’t afford right now lol.) I do a weekly 25% water change with Prime and a tiny bit of aquarium salt, avoiding salt buildup. I feed him two pellets twice a day, four total. Not sure what they’re actually supposed to get to be honest, but he seems ok with that amount? I noticed you said he looks bloated so I’m not so sure now.

So I guess the water quality is what's causing the water perimeters to be off bc as far as I can tell your doing everything right. I also forgot to ask you if you cycled your tank before adding your fish in. I think that could be another reason why the water perimeters could be like that. If your tank is fully cycled though, I suggest making another thread asking about what to do when tap water quality is bad. I think some people use bottled water, but idk if that’s the best way to deal with it.

As for his diet I agree with what Addictedtobettas said above. I also had a problem with my betta being slightly bloated recently bc I was over feeding him and didn’t realize it lol. Anyways what I do now is feed him one pellet twice a day, occasionally feed him some snacks (not often though), and fast him for one day a week.

 

Stop adding meds, you should never add meds without a clear diagnosis!.
NEVER use melafix or betta fix with labyrinth fish, it has been known to coat the labyrinth organ of these fish and prevent them from breathing. It is also not real medicine, it's just a tonic like Vix vapor rub, despite anything it says on the bottle.

Stop adding salt!, bettas are sensitive to salt!

Add som thoroughly soaked freeze dried blood worms, daphnia, or tubifex worms, or thoroughly thawed frozen blood worms, brine shrimp, or daphnia to his diet 2-3 times a week.

He does look kind of bloated, consider fasting for a day or 2, and or feeding about half as much for awhile.
4 pellets a day is usually ok. But I am wondering if the food you are giving him is not the best. I just looked up the ingredients Fish Meal, Whole Grain Wheat, Shrimp Meal, Soybean Flour, Brewers Dried Yeast, Wheat Germ Meal, Wheat Gluten, there is an awful lot of junk food that carnivores can not metabolize in the first most important ingrediants.

I recommend
New Life Spectrum | Betta (Naturox Formula)

per Cichlids

 

Hey y’all! Thanks for more replies. It is absolutely possible that my fish food just kinda sucks. It was the most popular thing on Amazon so I bought it. This was before I even had the fish though. I’ll look into different ones.

Sigh, yeah, I looked into tap water solutions and it was a very messy adventure. Seachem was a common response since it neutralizes the “bad” ammonia and helps with nitrates. And people said to use a small amount of salt for a conditioner. I’m honestly at a loss. I’m in an industrial ghetto area and so my own consumption of water is a questionable lol, so I’m not sure what the best long term solution is.
And I learned about the bettafix after I got it! I was so mad lol! I just didn’t know better. But hey, at least he’s doing okay.

 

Its a shame that you can't trust products to do what they say. don't beat your self up, most of us here have learned from our own mistakes, and I hope to help others learn from my mistakes as well as my good experiances. Your betta is gorgeous BTW!
I hope that your water situation stays stable for your familly and your fish!

 

Hey y’all! Thanks for more replies. It is absolutely possible that my fish food just kinda sucks. It was the most popular thing on Amazon so I bought it. This was before I even had the fish though. I’ll look into different ones.

Sigh, yeah, I looked into tap water solutions and it was a very messy adventure. Seachem was a common response since it neutralizes the “bad” ammonia and helps with nitrates. And people said to use a small amount of salt for a conditioner. I’m honestly at a loss. I’m in an industrial ghetto area and so my own consumption of water is a questionable lol, so I’m not sure what the best long term solution is.
And I learned about the bettafix after I got it! I was so mad lol! I just didn’t know better. But hey, at least he’s doing okay.

Its a shame that you can't trust products to do what they say. don't beat your self up, most of us here have learned from our own mistakes, and I hope to help others learn from my mistakes as well as my good experiances. Your betta is gorgeous BTW!
I hope that your water situation stays stable for your familly and your fish!

I used API Bettafix and aquarium salt on my betta too smh. But the aquarium salt seemed to work well for my betta. He started looking really healthy when I used it in his tank, but I stopped using since it started hurting the plants I have. I think I’m also going to change the pellets I’m feeding my betta as well. I didn’t even realize what the ingredients were smh. I hope you find a good solution to fix your water! I might look into it as well so I’ll know how to help next time .

 

In a strongly planted, well cycled tank the ammonia in tap water would convert quickly. But since it sounds like it’s rebooted on cycling... it may just be overwhelming.
Found an older discussion on it with some science.

My Tap Water Has Ammonia In It, How Do I Deal With This? | Aquarium Water 59090

 

In a strongly planted, well cycled tank the ammonia in tap water would convert quickly. But since it sounds like it’s rebooted on cycling... it may just be overwhelming.
Found an older discussion on it with some science.

My Tap Water Has Ammonia In It, How Do I Deal With This? | Aquarium Water 59090

thanks much! yeah, I want to start using more real plants. All I have right now is moss balls. Preferably I’d like all real plants and some snails and plecos. Soon, if the paycheck gods allow it!

 

The only other thing Ill add is, bump the temp to 80/82, it will help raise his metabolism, help with digestion and make him a little more active. Also no reason to add salt.

 

The only other thing Ill add is, bump the temp to 80/82, it will help raise his metabolism, help with digestion and make him a little more active. Also no reason to add salt.

Sounds good! I’ll have to get an adjustable heater though. I just have that $10 tetra one that’s set to 78F.

 

I have good news! The tank finally recycled itself. Here are the tubes from today. Ph around 7-7.4, ammonia .25 to .50 (lowest it’s ever been), 0 nitrites, and the only thing is high nitrates. Yay I think?!

 

I have good news! The tank finally recycled itself. Here are the tubes from today. Ph around 7-7.4, ammonia .25 to .50 (lowest it’s ever been), 0 nitrites, and the only thing is high nitrates. Yay I think?!

I’m not an expert on this stuff, but I’m pretty sure that’s a lot better! I guess if you keep doing what your doing the ammonia should eventually reach 0.

 

Yup, looking close. No ammonia will be perfect. Do a water change to lower those nitrates.

 

The nitrates are strong in this tank.

 

Yeah, the nitrate issue is actually not new. It’s from my water directly—I used my kit on my tap water. Same with the ammonia. Bleh. The nitrates are higher lately but they’ve always been at least around 20-30 unfortunately.

 

He's beautiful!

 

Yeah, the nitrate issue is actually not new. It’s from my water directly—I used my kit on my tap water. Same with the ammonia. Bleh. The nitrates are higher lately but they’ve always been at least around 20-30 unfortunately.

So I just found out you can buy betta water. I never heard of it before until now so idk if it’s good or not, but you could maybe check it out if your water doesn’t improve.
(I think it’s for water changes but I have no idea lol).

 

So I just found out you can buy betta water. I never heard of it before until now so idk if it’s good or not, but you could maybe check it out if your water doesn’t improve.
(I think it’s for water changes but I have no idea lol).

That’s cool! I think I’m okay though—I figure if he’s making bubble nests and everyone here is calling him beautiful, he must be okay with my yucky water as long as I condition it well. But thank you!!

P.S., if anyone has name ideas for him, let me know!

 

"Betta Water" is a joke. Its tap water, nothing more, nothing less. Buy a bottle of Prime and use your tap water, same thing.

 

That’s cool! I think I’m okay though—I figure if he’s making bubble nests and everyone here is calling him beautiful, he must be okay with my yucky water as long as I condition it well. But thank you!!

P.S., if anyone has name ideas for him, let me know!

He is really beautiful! I’m glad he’s doing better too.
I usually suck at names but maybe you could name him after your favorite music, artist, song, or something like that? I was listening to a lot of Tyler the Creater when I got my betta so I named him Tyler lol.
I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know his name is Tyler though bc my mom keeps calling him “zęmbatek” (which apparently translates to “gears”??) but what she means by it is that he looks like if he has a tooth lol.

"Betta Water" is a joke. Its tap water, nothing more, nothing less. Buy a bottle of Prime and use your tap water, same thing.

Yeah I thought so, but the reviews are pretty good and if someone didn’t have access to water good enough to use in their tank, then I guess it could work. (But I’m also 85% sure the people who left those reviews keep their bettas in bowls ).

 

I’m also 85% sure the people who left those reviews keep their bettas in bowls ).

Exactly. And they just don't know any better regarding the water.