Please help betta, jerky movements & hiding

HI
This is my betta his name is Koolaid.
I got him a month ago with my roommates at PetSmart, unfortunately we didn’t research much and were just looking for a new buddy. He cost us a whole $3.50 and we were very excited to welcome him to our apartment. We got him a .5 gal bowl (which I now regret as I am reading more posts) some pebbles, water conditioner, and a ship decoration.

All seemed to be going fine until 2 days ago. We change his 3/4 of his water every 3 days and feed him every other day. 2 days ago he had what we thought was a seizure, he was thrashing around and swimming suPer fast and crashing into the walls we were so scared. We changed his water immediately and he seemed ok, but now he swims with really jerky movements, and he spends a lot of time hiding. We have ordered a 1 gallon tank off amazon, it will be arriving sometime during the weekend and we hope that will help. thankyouuu

-a nervous new fish owner

 

He was probably just very startled by something and is taking a bit to calm down.

FYI, people are going to tell you the minimum tank for a single betta is 5 gallons. While I agree this is the best practice, what I have noticed is that it takes about 3 gallons for a positive behavior change. That’s with a horizontally oriented tank btw. With at least 3 gallons your fish buddy will be much happier and healthier. The other thing you really must do is get a heater for him. These guys are subtropical and like it 78-82 degrees in the water. I suggest you get one with an internal thermostat because those little betta bowl ones overheat the water.

 

Hi. I'm also new to this and recently I've bought my own betta too. I suggest you to put him in a larger tank aplrox 2.5 gallons and put water conditioning to it to lessen the chlorine from tap water. Also be careful or the decorations your gonna put inside. Make sure that it won't damage their fins.

 

There are several things I see of concern about your betta's environment. The general consensus for the minimum tank size for bettas is 2.5 gallons. It gives them space to swim around and room for the necessary equipment to keep a betta. With his current 0.5 gallon set-up you would have to be doing water changes daily, probably even multiple times in order to maintain the water quality. Even with a 1 gallon tank you would have to do 50% daily water changes. This is why a larger tank is suggested.

Bettas are tropical fish from warm climates and require a temperature range of 78-82°F. Colder temperatures weakens their immune system and leads to lethargic behavior. This is why you should look into getting one in his set-up.

Ideally every fish tank should have a filter unless you're fine with doing frequent water changes. It houses the beneficial bacteria of the nitrogen cycle which converts the toxic waste into less toxic compounds which is easily removed with a water change. Ammonia -> Nitrite -> Nitrate

Problems most commonly happened because of environmental conditions and so those should be addressed.

 

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses! We have decided to cancel our amazon order (it is clear the one we chose was also too small oops). We want to help our fishy have a nice life!

Could anyone give recommendations on tanks? Links would be very helpful. There seem to be many options online but lots of them have sketchy reviews, leaving me a bit confused. Thanks again for all of your guys' help! I also plan on purchasing a heater for him

 

Bettas are smart inquisitive fish. They need a world to explore.
Check Craigslist for cheap tanks that are 10+ gallons (search the FREE section first)... unless you are breeding (in which case 2.5s due to space = numbers).

Bettas like it warm, like discus (I usually run 82-84). Any time my discus were huddling or panicking I knew I lost another heater.

 

Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle? I doubt you cycled a .5 gallon. Please, for the sake of your betta, read up on the aquarium nitrogen cycle. Your water needs to have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and less than 20 ppm nitrate (preferably 5-10). These things are all toxic to your fish and will kill him if exposed too long to them. Again, I recommend reading about it and doing daily water changes with Seachem Prime as your dechlorinator. It will bind ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate for about 24 hours making the water safe for your fish. Do this until you can get a larger tank and get it cycled. Keep us posted.

 

Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle? I doubt you cycled a .5 gallon. Please, for the sake of your betta, read up on the aquarium nitrogen cycle. Your water needs to have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and less than 20 ppm nitrate (preferably 5-10). These things are all toxic to your fish and will kill him if exposed too long to them. Again, I recommend reading about it and doing daily water changes with Seachem Prime as your dechlorinator. It will bind ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate for about 24 hours making the water safe for your fish. Do this until you can get a larger tank and get it cycled. Keep us posted.

Thank you so much! I just did a quick google search and while I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, I am glad I now have this information. With intuition I assumed that his water needed to be changed due to his wastes, but I didn't know the science. I'll be sure to change his water daily from now on, until I get my tank. When I've changed his water in the past, we would use the brand API's Betta Water Conditioner. The bottle states that it "instantly makes tap water safe for bettas, by removing toxic compounds, including chlorine, chloramines, and ammonia." Would this work the same as your Seachem suggestion? Thank you again!

 

Here are some ideas:

AquaTop Pisces Cube Style 5 Gallon Aquarium Amazon.com : AquaTop Pisces Cube Style 5 Gallon Aquarium : Pet Supplies

Fluval 10528A1 Evo V Marine Aquarium Kit, 5 gal Amazon.com : Fluval 10528A1 Evo V Marine Aquarium Kit, 5 gal : Pet Supplies


If you are on a budget something like this could work:

Koller Products 6.5-Gallon Aquarium Kit with Power Filter and LED Lighting, (AP650) Amazon.com : Koller Products 6.5-Gallon Aquarium Kit with Power Filter and LED Lighting, (AP650) : Pet Supplies

Or this:

Koller Products Panaview 5-Gallon Aquarium Kit - Power Filter - LED Lighting Amazon.com: Koller Products Panaview 5-Gallon Aquarium Kit - Power Filter - LED Lighting: Pet Supplies

Or this (I’ve personally had this one and loved it):

Tetra Crescent Acrylic Aquarium Kit, Energy Efficient LEDs, 5-Gallon

Honestly though, I’m a fan of PetSmart’s 5.5 gallon starter kit. Comes with light and filter, so all you need to buy is the heater. The general rule for a heater is approximately 5 watts per gallon of water.

Thank you so much! I just did a quick google search and while I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, I am glad I now have this information. With intuition I assumed that his water needed to be changed due to his wastes, but I didn't know the science. I'll be sure to change his water daily from now on, until I get my tank. When I've changed his water in the past, we would use the brand API's Betta Water Conditioner. The bottle states that it "instantly makes tap water safe for bettas, by removing toxic compounds, including chlorine, chloramines, and ammonia." Would this work the same as your Seachem suggestion? Thank you again!

No product can actually *remove* ammonia. I’m not sure how the API stuff works but Seacgem’s product, Prime, basically chemically alters the ammonia and turns it to ammonium for about 24 hrs so it is less harmful to the fish. This only works up to a certain level though so frequent water changes are a must. Once you learn the nitrogen cycle and get your filter so we can start cycling a tank you will get a good culture of beneficial bacteria going that will do this work for you. At that point you’ll only have to do about a 50% water change weekly (and if I’m being honest I usually do every 2 weeks for a single betta).

You might also consider getting him a snail buddy (only after his tank is cycled). I recommend a nerite snail because many other types either get too big for a small tank or reproduce too much. Bettas often find a snail buddy enriching.

Also if you want, there are betta leaves and betta logs sold that are pretty popular and loved by the betta. Just don’t add these until you have the larger tank.

 

Here are some ideas:

AquaTop Pisces Cube Style 5 Gallon Aquarium Amazon.com : AquaTop Pisces Cube Style 5 Gallon Aquarium : Pet Supplies

Fluval 10528A1 Evo V Marine Aquarium Kit, 5 gal Amazon.com : Fluval 10528A1 Evo V Marine Aquarium Kit, 5 gal : Pet Supplies


If you are on a budget something like this could work:

Koller Products 6.5-Gallon Aquarium Kit with Power Filter and LED Lighting, (AP650) Amazon.com : Koller Products 6.5-Gallon Aquarium Kit with Power Filter and LED Lighting, (AP650) : Pet Supplies

Or this:

Koller Products Panaview 5-Gallon Aquarium Kit - Power Filter - LED Lighting Amazon.com: Koller Products Panaview 5-Gallon Aquarium Kit - Power Filter - LED Lighting: Pet Supplies

Or this (I’ve personally had this one and loved it):

Tetra Crescent Acrylic Aquarium Kit, Energy Efficient LEDs, 5-Gallon

Honestly though, I’m a fan of PetSmart’s 5.5 gallon starter kit. Comes with light and filter, so all you need to buy is the heater. The general rule for a heater is approximately 5 watts per gallon of water.

Thank you sososo much! These are all super cool-looking and I'm excited to upgrade my little dude's home. Just from first impressions I'm leaning towards the Tetra ) Hopefully he starts to feel better and swims normally soon! We were all worried for him aaa but I'm so glad I decided to post on here! I'll update which tank we end up choosing hehe. (More suggestions are more than welcome <3) Thank you again !!!

 

This is the heater I use:


Lefunpets Aquarium Heater, 25W Explosion-Proof MinI Submersible Fish Tank Heater Suit for 3 to 5 Gallon Betta Tank (25W Suit for 3-5 Gallon) Amazon.com: Lefunpets Aquarium Heater, 25W Explosion-Proof MinI Submersible Fish Tank Heater Suit for 3 to 5 Gallon Betta Tank (25W Suit for 3-5 Gallon): Pet Supplies

Also (lol I just keep going) some plants would help him feel more secure in his home. Live are preferred but if you are uncomfortable with that or don’t like them, you can do artificial. My only warming on that is to steer clear of plastic plants. Only get the silk ones. The plastic ones can actually cut up his fins.

 

If you live in the States, Walmart has a 5 gallon with filter and lighted hood for $28.00. They also have inexpensive heaters. I have a couple if these tanks.