Sick beta?

[joji123]

I posted about a week ago that my betta has started to become less active. After some responses, the conclusion was that my water parameters needed to be monitored and that I should make sure my tanks are cycled. I have done all of those things and everything from the water temp to the water parameters are in good condition. As I am still new to cycling tanks I test my water daily to make sure everything is in good shape. I have two betta fish and even switched their tanks to see if that was the problem. My newer betta fish, I have had him for about three months, thrives in whatever tank I put him in. My other betta fish has seemed to slow down a bit. He is a lot less active and just seems to settle at the bottom of the tank. He is not old as I just got him in January and he has grown a lot. He used to be very active and now just seems uninterested and doesn't move as much. He still flares his fins, which look healthy, and eats immediately. I do see him swimming around like normal he just needs to "rest" on the bottom of the tank leaning against the tank which is unusual behavior for him and my other beta never does that. I am worried he is getting sick or already is. I do have to work late sometimes and my bedroom light stays on. Could this be the cause? If so, will a blanket over their tanks be okay?

 

[CiwisAquatics]

Is he a long finned fish & if so, do you have anywhere for him to rest? Sometimes bettas with long, heavy fins that don't have any places to rest will sit at the bottom of the tank because moving around is too much work. If you don't have anything for him to rest on, you could get a few fake silk plants, or live plants if you feel prepared. You could also try the betta leaf hammock, I do know many bettas don't use them, though.

 

[joji123]

Is he a long finned fish & if so, do you have anywhere for him to rest? Sometimes bettas with long, heavy fins that don't have any places to rest will sit at the bottom of the tank because moving around is too much work. If you don't have anything for him to rest on, you could get a few fake silk plants, or live plants if you feel prepared. You could also try the betta leaf hammock, I do know many bettas don't use them, though.

Yes his fins have grown long since I’ve had him. He has a house a moss ball and a silk plant. I tried a leaf hammock but neither of betas used it.

 

[CiwisAquatics]

Yes his fins have grown long since I’ve had him. He has a house a moss ball and a silk plant. I tried a leaf hammock but neither of betas used it.

Okay! You could try adding a few more silk plants to see if that helps at all. If that doesn't help there could be multiple reasons as to why he's sitting on the bottom. Even still, his fins may just be too long and heavy and it causes him a lot of effort to swim around.

 

[joji123]

Okay! You could try adding a few more silk plants to see if that helps at all. If that doesn't help there could be multiple reasons as to why he's sitting on the bottom. Even still, his fins may just be too long and heavy and it causes him a lot of effort to swim around.

I want to add some real plants in but I don’t want to overcrowd his tank. But I will be replacing my silk plants with real ones soon. If this isn’t the issue what else could I do to help? This is been happening for a month now and his fins grew drastically but haven’t grown much after February. Thank you for your help!

 

[CiwisAquatics]

I want to add some real plants in but I don’t want to overcrowd his tank. But I will be replacing my silk plants with real ones soon. If this isn’t the issue what else could I do to help? This is been happening for a month now and his fins grew drastically but haven’t grown much after February. Thank you for your help!

If this is due to long fins, there's not much you can do but provide a lot of places to rest. You can trim the fins, but I really don't recommend it, especially if you don't have much experience. It could also be something else Internal that usually can't be treated with medications, and if you don't know the fish's background (or even if you do) there could be a genetic factor playing into this as well.

 

[joji123]

If this is due to long fins, there's not much you can do but provide a lot of places to rest. You can trim the fins, but I really don't recommend it, especially if you don't have much experience. It could also be something else Internal that usually can't be treated with medications, and if you don't know the fish's background (or even if you do) there could be a genetic factor playing into this as well.

I wasn’t aware that you could trim beta fins. However, I don’t think I will ever do that. I’m still really new to this. I’ll look into buying more plants. I bought him from Petco so I’m not sure of his age or his background but I’ll do that best I can. He seems healthy overall. Thank you so much for your responses!

 

[Rose of Sharon]

Could you provide a few pics of your betta and the tank? How many gallons is his tank? What type of betta is he, or what is is tail type? Veiltail, half moon, wild type?

Are you sure that there is nothing wrong with him?

I would not trim his fins; I have only ever heard of doing that in case of a very, very bad bacterial infection, and I have only read that in a few places.

Some times bettas need stimulation of some sort. Moving their decor around, or adding new things helps. Adding the plants will help a lot.

The pics will help in trying to identify the best course of action for him.