Pepsi216
Member
HI everyone!
My betta, Polaris, seems to not be doing so well. First, to establish his personality, he's a very quiet boy; he likes to keep to himself, and enjoys living with his other tankmates. Any time I put my hand in the tank, he'll come over and "cuddle" with me, rubbing his body against my fingers. Recently, I haven't seen a whole lot of him in the tank, but I chalked it up to a combintation of my being away at class all the time and him hiding in his castle. However, today as I was cleaning the tank, I came across Polaris huddled between the gravel and some driftwood I have in the tank, as if he was trying to become one with the wood. As I gently shifted him so I could vacuum the gravel more, it became apparent that his fins were more tattered than they had been before (he had a bad case of finrot over Thanksgiving, fortunately he's been very healthy since then). He then swam over to another nook and almost lodged himself under it, as if trying not to float away. Concerned, I gently moved the water around him, causing him to swim away, but when he did so, his head was down with his tail up, almost vertical, and he looked like he was having some trouble even moving at all. I left him alone and he swam into his castle. I threw in some peas for good measure, but I'm worried about him. Could it be constipation or swimbladder? Whatever it is, it looks to be serious. He's very listliss and doesn't look well at all.
I should probably also mention that Castor, my Gourami, being a semi-agressive fish, does like to have his way around the tank, and this sometimes leads to some mild bullying of some other fish. Usually this only consists of getting them to move when there's some food to be had, and I've only rarely noticed any nipping. It's not a territory or space problem, he's just being he usual ornery self. Could Polaris be stressed out by Castor? Could Castor be responsible for the damage to Polaris's fins? Could I be overreacting?
Here's some additional info that may help:
Co-inhabitants 1 Opaline GouramI (about 3 inches in size), 3 Cory Cats, 4 Cardinal Tetras, 2 Hillstream Loaches (about an inch in size)
Tank size 10 gal
Tank has been running for 5 months, no problems whatsoever since the finrot over Thanksgiving
I use an undergravel filter and a Fluval 2+ filter for filtration
Water was last changed today (Jan 30), about 25%, used DeChlor
Temperature 75* F (24*C)
Unfortunately, the water paramaters are unknown; I've run out of test strips and need to get more from the store. For what it's worth, all of the fish are very healthy, with the exception of Polaris.
Feeding takes place twice a day, in the morning and the evening, with a small amount of food being given each time
~~
Does anyone have a diagnosis? Polaris has been a very lovable fish, and I don't want to lose him if at all possible. Any and all advice is appreciated!
Thanks!
My betta, Polaris, seems to not be doing so well. First, to establish his personality, he's a very quiet boy; he likes to keep to himself, and enjoys living with his other tankmates. Any time I put my hand in the tank, he'll come over and "cuddle" with me, rubbing his body against my fingers. Recently, I haven't seen a whole lot of him in the tank, but I chalked it up to a combintation of my being away at class all the time and him hiding in his castle. However, today as I was cleaning the tank, I came across Polaris huddled between the gravel and some driftwood I have in the tank, as if he was trying to become one with the wood. As I gently shifted him so I could vacuum the gravel more, it became apparent that his fins were more tattered than they had been before (he had a bad case of finrot over Thanksgiving, fortunately he's been very healthy since then). He then swam over to another nook and almost lodged himself under it, as if trying not to float away. Concerned, I gently moved the water around him, causing him to swim away, but when he did so, his head was down with his tail up, almost vertical, and he looked like he was having some trouble even moving at all. I left him alone and he swam into his castle. I threw in some peas for good measure, but I'm worried about him. Could it be constipation or swimbladder? Whatever it is, it looks to be serious. He's very listliss and doesn't look well at all.
I should probably also mention that Castor, my Gourami, being a semi-agressive fish, does like to have his way around the tank, and this sometimes leads to some mild bullying of some other fish. Usually this only consists of getting them to move when there's some food to be had, and I've only rarely noticed any nipping. It's not a territory or space problem, he's just being he usual ornery self. Could Polaris be stressed out by Castor? Could Castor be responsible for the damage to Polaris's fins? Could I be overreacting?
Here's some additional info that may help:
Co-inhabitants 1 Opaline GouramI (about 3 inches in size), 3 Cory Cats, 4 Cardinal Tetras, 2 Hillstream Loaches (about an inch in size)
Tank size 10 gal
Tank has been running for 5 months, no problems whatsoever since the finrot over Thanksgiving
I use an undergravel filter and a Fluval 2+ filter for filtration
Water was last changed today (Jan 30), about 25%, used DeChlor
Temperature 75* F (24*C)
Unfortunately, the water paramaters are unknown; I've run out of test strips and need to get more from the store. For what it's worth, all of the fish are very healthy, with the exception of Polaris.
Feeding takes place twice a day, in the morning and the evening, with a small amount of food being given each time
~~
Does anyone have a diagnosis? Polaris has been a very lovable fish, and I don't want to lose him if at all possible. Any and all advice is appreciated!
Thanks!