My Betta Isn't Eating

HI Guys,

My betta just won't eat...

he's in a 25 litre with a fluval u1 filter, parameters are
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 40
His tank is heavily planted and he has a floating log to lie in when he's lounging..

I've tried everything,
Bloodworms frozen
Peas
Betta pellets
Normal fish flakes
Algae wafers
Cyclops (for bettas)

But he won't eat any of it apart from the occasional pea.

He hasn't eaten in about 4 days and even then he only ate around 2/3 peas

He just loves to hang out next to the filter,
He was making constant bubble nests. Like every day but this has stopped now...

I really don't know what's wrong with him...

Has anyone got any advice? I don't want him to starve.... All my other fish especially my mollies take my hand off for food but ploppy (my betta) is just not too interested

Emily

 

has he always hung out by the filter?

 

How long have you had this betta? Is this a new fish you got four days ago that you haven't been able to get to eat yet, or is this a fish you've had a while that was eating and now isn't?

 

Nitrates are a tad high but I don’t think they’re high enough to cause serious problems. Might want another opinion on that though. Bubble nests aren’t always a sign of tip top health either, it usually just means your Betta is ready to breed. He probably realized he wasn’t going to meet any females so that could be why he stopped. Any signs of fin rot or discoloration?

 

Thank you for your replies
Yes he always chills by the filter, his fins are very long so I think the intake holding him up is why he sits there. I have had him 4 months today.

He was in the shop for aaages and had to get him!!

He used to eat a small amount of pellets every day then 2 days a week have peas instead and sometimes some bloodworms instead of the pellets.

No discolouration or rot. He's the only one his tank as well btw..

I would upload a picture of him but it won't let me...

 

Huh. Interesting. A picture would be helpful, why isn’t it letting you?

 

These are pics of him from 2 days ago..

EDIT- Not sure why it wasn't working before... Thank you for the suggestions about the s tho!

 

The picture is probably too big. If you have an iPhone, email the picture to yourself and it will let you resize it. If you have an android, I'm less familiar, but you could transfer the picture to your computer and resize it with MS Paint.

EDIT - Nevermind, you posted pictures while I was typing this.

 

Thank you for your replies
Yes he always chills by the filter, his fins are very long so I think the intake holding him up is why he sits there. I have had him 4 months today.

He was in the shop for aaages and had to get him!!

He used to eat a small amount of pellets every day then 2 days a week have peas instead and sometimes some bloodworms instead of the pellets.

No discolouration or rot. He's the only one his tank as well btw..

I would upload a picture of him but it won't let me...

have you tried clicking add file at the bottom where you click post

 

What is the temperate of the tank and how big of a tank is it?

 

Its 26.5 degrees and it's 25 litres and he's in there by himself apart from 2 assassin snails

 

Its 26.5 degrees and it's 25 litres and he's in there by himself apart from 2 assassin snails

okay well that seems normal. Have you tried feeding him live food? If not try that and see if he eats its.

 

That’s strange. He looks perfectly healthy (and beautiful, at that!). Do you know how old he is?

 

No I haven't tried the live food yet... I haven't tried that with any of my fish I don't really like it haha..

No I'm not too sure how old he is. Maybe nearly a year? I'm not too sure... Thank you. He is lovely

 

No fish can resist wiggly food. Even when they're not hungry, they will always find room for live food. Look into live brine shrimp, and grindal worms.

But, even if you do get him to nibble on some wiggly worm, there's a reason he lost his appetite, and that should be addressed. But you might be able to get some nutrition into him this way while he is behaving this way.

 

What could it be? Has anyone got any ideas why he could be acting like this?

 

What could it be? Has anyone got any ideas why he could be acting like this?

he doesn't seem sick so maybe hes not hungry or he's stubborn. lol. try the live food if that doesn't work then there is something really wrong with him
Has he been though anything stressful?

 

Nope nothing stressful at all... Poor little ploppy

Thanks everyone for your replies

 

Try soaking some of his favourite food in garlic juice. Seachem's garlic guard for example. It helps with the fish's appetite

 

Thank you imba I'll try it

 

His fins were nipped by two KuhlI loaches last week that’s why they look like that.

 

How big is the tank? Water parameters? Heated to? When did this start? Is he still with the kuhlI loaches? Any other tank mates? More context please.

 

How big is the tank? Water parameters? Heated to? When did this start? Is he still with the kuhlI loaches? Any other tank mates? More context please.

He is in aten gallons,I’m going to check the water parameters right now, heated to 78 F, started three days ago,the tank mates are two guppies and some fry.

 

I need some more information.

• How big is the tank he is in?
• Water parameter?
• Is the tank heated/filtered?
• are the tanks cycled?
• Is he still with the KuhlI loaches?
• Is he with other fish?
• How long have you had him?
• How long has he been stressed?

 

He is in aten gallons,I’m going to check the water parameters right now, heated to 78 F, started three days ago,the tank mates are two guppies and some fry.

Three days ago, did you make any changes to the environment or tank routine? Did you change anything?

 

A little water change maybe and make sure the temperature is consistent.

 

Three days ago, did you make any changes to the environment or tank routine? Did you change anything?

Sorry for the late response was doing some work, my water parameters are 7.4 ph,0.25 ammonia, 0.25 nitrite, 5.0 Nitrate. I’m going to do a water change right now.

 

Three days ago, did you make any changes to the environment or tank routine? Did you change anything?

I transferred him to a different tank that’s all.

 

I need some more information.

• How big is the tank he is in?
• Water parameter?
• Is the tank heated/filtered?
• are the tanks cycled?
• Is he still with the KuhlI loaches?
• Is he with other fish?
• How long have you had him?
• How long has he been stressed?

Both my tanks are cycled, both have a heater and a sponge filter, I returned the KuhlI loaches, he’s with two guppies with some fry I’ve had him for a week or so got him from Vietnam, he’s been stressed for three days, the tank is ten gallons.

 

I have some Indian almond leaves in with him

 

Try dipping his food into some garlic or try feeding him live food to get him to eat.
for the fins to grow back it just takes time.
what is the tank temp.

 

Try dipping his food into some garlic or try feeding him live food to get him to eat.
for the fins to grow back it just takes time.
what is the tank temp.

I’ll try that and the temp is 78 F

 

When mine wasn't eating I tried feeding him live blackworms which he absolutely loved, I eventually weened him over to pellets and, with my new wilds, also now gets a mix of frozen food. I think it was being able to see something wiggling around in the water that made him all the more excited to eat it but it worked like a charm just dangling it off my finger.

 

When mine wasn't eating I tried feeding him live blackworms which he absolutely loved, I eventually weened him over to pellets and, with my new wilds, also now gets a mix of frozen food. I think it was being able to see something wiggling around in the water that made him all the more excited to eat it but it worked like a charm just dangling it off my finger.

How do I store live black worms in the fridge or leave them out in a container?

 

How do I store live black worms in the fridge or leave them out in a container?

A small container with tiny holes in the lid (big enough to breathe, small enough that they can't escape) in the fridge with just enough water to keep them moist but not sitting in a puddle, if that makes sense. My LFS gives them to you in something similar to a condiment cup from a fast food restaurant. You also have to rinse them once a day as they will get rather nasty if you don't and begin to die and you don't want to feed those to you betta. They informed me that if you keep them in a larger container with more surface area they might last longer/stay fresher but I never got to test that as I stopped keeping them once I weened him to pellets.

 

He might be stressed from being placed in a new environment. You acclimated him right? To the same temperature and parameters?