Please Help With My Betta

Hello everyone.
I currently bought home a betta fish. His name is Achi.
At first he was pretty active. These day, he’s is not at all. He’ll swim around for a little bit then sink down to the bottom. I have some floating plants and he also lays on top of them too.
He still reacts whenever I come over or if I have food. However, 5s later he will just become freeze again.
This make me really sad because I don’t know what is wrong with him.
He’s living in a 5gallons tank with a heater, a light and a filter.
Temperature is around 78
Ph is about 7.8
No ammonia or NH3 or NH4.
Please help!!

 

Put a mirror next to the tank so he has something to do. Odds are he's comfortable since his color is good and his fins don't look damaged. If he's interacting with you he's probably fine, just lazy.

 

sorry to hear that
It looks like you have a nice tank setup for him so firstly, do a large water change with dechlorinator (it’s incredible what a difference this makes) and if that behaviour keeps up let me know ASAP

Also, what filter are you using?

 

sorry to hear that
It looks like you have a nice tank setup for him so firstly, do a large water change with dechlorinator (it’s incredible what a difference this makes) and if that behaviour keeps up let me know ASAP

Also, what filter are you using?

I am changing the water tomorrow. I used API tap water conditioner and stress zyme for the water. I have the Aquatop IF 201 filter in my tank

He’s been switching to different corners of the tank to lay down. I just realized that he lost some scales on his head too. This morning his head was fine

 

I am changing the water tomorrow. I used API tap water conditioner and stress zyme for the water. I have the Aquatop IF 201 filter in my tank

Okay, I haven’t heard of that filter but I assume it follows the default setup (mechanical>carbon>bio) so that shouldn’t be the problem
just try and change water as soon as possible but don’t jump to medications too quickly

 

It’s normal for betta’s, you can try to give his some shrimp and snails to entertain him but the issue is he’s bored like all betta’s. Mine just lay at the bottom of the tank and occasionally flare at each other (divided tank) my other one who has fish friends swim with them and sleep next to them but not all betta’s like other fish. Some other things you can do would be move around decor every other day, feed live or new food, or teach him tricks.

I don’t and never will recommend mirrors to betta’s as they make them stressed because they think someone is trying to steal their territory, mirrors are pretty much putting two betta’s in the same tank :/ it’s stressful

 

I don’t and never will recommend mirrors to betta’s as they make them stressed because they think someone is trying to steal their territory, mirrors are pretty much putting two betta’s in the same tank :/ it’s stressful

I can mostly agree to that because it is stressful, but doing it once to test the Bettas health can’t hurt

 

Yeah, use the mirror sparingly. I use the mirror on my bettas about once a month just to make sure they still flare lol!! Mine all active, just pretty laid back except the one....

 

He’s been switching to different corners of the tank to lay down. I just realized that he lost some scales on his head too. This morning his head was fine

Looks like he just bumped into somthing, mine has done that a couple times (he’s special). I see your tank set up and while it looks nice to us it’s boring and plain to the Betta, try adding more plants around and a decor piece he can swim in. My Betta is obsessed with his hide. Some good ones are these:

 

My Betta also does some "sitting" on the bottom of his tank and in plants as well but gets very active when I come around. I have shrimp and a snail in my Betta's tank and he seems to like interacting with them. I also keep my Betta's tank next to my kitchen sink. He is fascinated with the new things (dirty dishes) that appear and disappear.

 

He does flare when I used the mirror.
I just want to make sure he is fine, because when he’s laying down, he just motionless.
I do have some ghost shrimps in the tank too

 

My little guy in this tank is rarely bored.

Though I have caught him headbutting the glass before his remodel.

 

My little guy in this tank is rarely bored. View attachment 485068
Though I have caught him headbutting the glass before his remodel.

That’s a nice tank!

 

That’s a nice tank!

Thanks! As mentioned earlier, moving stuff around in the tank helps too. I moved something in another betta tank about 1 inch and the fish decided he needed to re explore the whole tank for several hours!

 

Oh I almost forgot but my betta used to love his floating log! I still put it in sometimes but it tends to block a lot of light. He was always interacting with that and since it moves around on its own it is easier than moving decor around to keep him engaged

 

Update on Achi.
He becomes more motionless than he was yesterday. He did swim for a little bit but then he sank back down.
He looks like he’s sinking, not just swimming to the bottom

 

Is he bloated? Get a good look at him from the top and see what his tummy looks like. You didnt mention what the nitrites and nitrates are that I saw.. Is the tank cycled? Also, what does his poop look like? Do you notice anything white and stringy coming out?

 

Is he bloated? Get a good look at him from the top and see what his tummy looks like. You didnt mention what the nitrites and nitrates are that I saw.. Is the tank cycled? Also, what does his poop look like? Do you notice anything white and stringy coming out?

Nitrite and nitrates are 0
I don’t think he’s bloated either, his belly is not big, plus I only feed him twice a day and 2 pellets each time.
I could track his poop. However there was a big clum in the middle of the tank two days ago, but it’s too big to be fish poop

 

Nitrite and nitrates are 0
I don’t think he’s bloated either, his belly is not big, plus I only feed him twice a day and 2 pellets each time.
I could track his poop. However there was a big clum in the middle of the tank two days ago, but it’s too big to be fish poop

So the tank is not cycled? Look up the nitrogen cycle and invest in some seachem stability or other kind of beneficial bacteria (bb). Water changes need to be about 25% every other day until the nitrates start to appear. If you dose the water with seachem prime instead of whatever conditioner you use now, it will actually detox ammonia for 48 hours. The filter could be too powerful for him as well, They like a soft flow. Do you have a bubbler in there? I always suggest sponge filters for bettas.
They are soft flow and produce oxygen as well.