Marble Dumbo Crowntail Betta- possible seizure and opens mouth way too big.

HELP! Hi, My Marble Dumbo Crowntail is my only betta doing this; First he starts shaking like crazy and opens his mouth way too big. He won’t stop doing it but does it in 3 second spurt. Also he flares 24/7 and looks like he’s flaring at himself. He is in a 1 Gallon TopFin with an Element Filter, and a 50W heather. Anyone know what this this? Will test water on Wednesda probably. Need answers quick. I will add vid.

Thank you,

Christian

 

My first instinct is something in the water is off. I recommend doing a 50-75% water change at the moment.

Also you need to look into getting a bigger tanks. Bettas need an absolute minimum of 2.5 gallons.

 

Will do. Should I move him into a round 1.8 gal. (I heard fish do not know where to ‘stop swimming’ if it is round so he is in a square tank]). He is vdry defensive and flares a lot. Also just put new filter cartridges in.

 

Will do. Should I move him into a round 1.8 gal. (I heard fish do not know where to ‘stop swimming’ if it is round so he is in a square tank]). He is vdry defensive and flares a lot. Also just put new filter cartridges in.

He should be fine in his current home for a little bit longer. He likely will relax a little more when he has a bit more room. For now just keep an eye on him.

 

Yup. Do you think it’s just him flaring at himself and attacking?

 

I think that is part of it but I also suspect there could have been something in the water- perhaps the parameters were off?

 

Hmm.. I’ll go test it tomorrow morning and post asap!

 

You mentioned just putting new filter cartridges in. Did you completely replace the old one? A lot of the bacteria that cycles your tank lives on the cartridges, so if you replaced that then you may have lost your cycle

 

If you feel something is up with your fish then you should perform a water test right away rather than wait imo.

 

You mentioned just putting new filter cartridges in. Did you completely replace the old one? A lot of the bacteria that cycles your tank lives on the cartridges, so if you replaced that then you may have lost your cycle

Yup. Brand new Element ones. The old cartridges were pitch black..

 

It is not advised to change the filter cartridges, as I mentioned that's essentially where your "cycle" lives. You should rinse them out in old tank water. Keep doing this until eventually they start falling apart. Then remove the filter floss and shove it in the filter with a new cartridge.

You probably have ammonia in the tank now. I would recommend buying an apI master kit so you can do your own tests daily and do water changes when needed. In the meantime, do daily 50% water changes under the assumption that you lost your cycle.

 

Mm, ok. I’ve cling on him and he hasn’t been doing that weird seizure thing. It seemed like a ‘one time thing’,.. could it be him flaring at himself? I tried rinsing the old cartridges and could not get any black out. They also smelt bad and kelt the tank dirty..

If you feel something is up with your fish then you should perform a water test right away rather than wait imo.

I’ll go get the water tested today, if I can. I’ll keep everyone posted!

 

I would still recommend buying your own kit if you can. The kits are more accurate than the test strips, and often times the people doing the test will just say its "fine" when its not and not provide you with any concentrations that you need to know

 

I would still recommend buying your own kit if you can. The kits are more accurate than the test strips, and often times the people doing the test will just say its "fine" when its not and not provide you with any concentrations that you need to know

Ok! Doesn't seem like a long term issue because everything else with him is fine.

 

Ok! Doesn't seem like a long term issue because everything else with him is fine.

since you removed the cartridge, chances are you will need to re-cycle your tank, unless enough bacteria are living on the surfaces of your tank. Cycling a tank with fish can take over a month, and to ensure the safety of your fish requires daily testing.

 

We change them often.. you’re saying I should wait even longer?

 

I'm saying you should never change them. The manufacturer will tell you to change them every month, so that you buy more. If the cartridge seems dirty, shake it out in dechlorinated water. Repeat this as often as you want. Eventually the filter floss will start to fall off. At this point take the floss off, shove it in the filter (because it has your good bacteria) with a new cartridge. Leave to old floss for about a month to seed the new cartridge then you can remove it. And repeat

 

if the cartridge has charcoal you really do need to change it because it will let the stuff its sucked in leech back out. the problem is that this will stop the cycle. try adding in 100% polyester stuffing. its the same as filter floss and you won't need to change it at all.