Uncertain - Could be a sick male?

Urgent - Help needed! - Could be a sick male?

hi
can anyone help please? i've had my male Betta for about 6 weeks - he's been kept in a 80L tank during that time with some platy's, tetras and a couple of bottom feeders in addition to 3 females. he's been absolutely fine - no probs. but yesterday I noticed he was just sitting on the bottom of the tank - not swimming around like he usually does. so i've moved him into another tank (a 15L tank) by himself to see if anything develops. he's not developed anything that I can see (no cloudy eyes, spots on his body or fins, etc) he's not lying lopsided and he's not breathing fast or heavy. he's just listless and not moving! is he ill? or had he become stressed OR is it something they sometimes do? at the moment he's floating on top of the tank - amongst the plants - but not eating very much if at all. Is there anything else I can do for him?

x

 

OK, I'm assuming the 3 females are Bettas. If so you should never put male/male, female/female, or female/male Bettas together. They are fighter fish and it is in their nature to do so. Your male may just be really stressed out from either the females in the tank or the other fish in the tank. Bettas generally don't do good with other fish. The only fish they may get along with are bottom dwellers like oto cats, cory cats, loaches. This could be the reason why he's acting this way. I would just keep an eye on for a little while to make sure nothing real noticeable shows up. Keep an eye on those females too to make sure there isn't any aggressive behavior going on. Natalie

PS. Welcome to fishlore!!

 

HI Natalie

thanks for your help on this - its very confusing as there is a lot of information out there and it all differs! I have always been told that it is ok to keep several females with one male. I will keep him separate for now and see if he is sickening with anything - he's been really happy in the big tank and it was only yesterday when I was cutting some of the plants (as they were getting very overgrown) that he went to the bottom and stayed there. he doesn't seem to be swimming with any difficulty - he can swim if he wants to - he just doesn't seem to want to! several members on here talk about "sulking" behaviour - could it be that is what's happening here? i've just never known him to do this!
Gill

 

I really think he's just stressed out from the other fish. They do tend to just float around sometimes, but it's not usually an on going thing they do unless they are stressed about something or if they are getting ill. They are pretty active fish when given the proper living conditions. Natalie

 

Gill listen to Natalie. They mix with their own kind and after that it is the other fish that are the problem as they are such gentle fish!

One of mine came to live here after I found him in a store ( had gone to buy 3 more oto's) He was hiding behind a heater because the tetras were attacking him when he came out!

Here my local chain fish store the 'chuck' bettas in with anything, one tank had platy's, bala sharks, about 12/15 females and one male betta in. Such a pitiful sight, females attacking each other platy's attacking them, male trying to hide. The signs of stress were horrid, I left the store crying!

I'd say he has had enough! You have done the right thing moving him. I too have read all the same type of stuff as you but having seen it with my own eyes it's.+@&*"^!*.

I'd say keep your eye on the girls for fighting amongst themselves. Make sure they can each escape to a hiding place for rest, plants, caves and be prepared with a back up plan just incase. Iwish you the best of luck and don't be afraid to ask ANYTHING on here, I see you only have 2 posts on well stay around. Oh and BTW, they do sulk!! Mad I know but they do!!

Good luck anyway, Michelle

 

welcome to fishlore. I think the key here is the trimming of the plants.

It is extremely rare for betta splendens to coexist in the same tank and when it does happen, a balance of cover, tank size, individual temperments, etc all work together. If anything upsets that balance, then the coexisting is over.

When you trimmed the plants, it upset the balance in the tank and the best thing to do now is find tanks for each betta. your male is stressed by the females and other fish, especially the Tetras. it's very likely that the females will start fighting for dominance before long. You may want to check out Petco for the 2.5g minibow tank kits. The one closest to us had them all marked down to $9 or $9.98. If it's a chain-wide thing, you could pick up tanks for them at a much lower than usual price.

 

HI Gill. Yeah, am really puzzled by the advice from some fishstores indicating to have them co-habit with cospecifics. A couple of people on Fishlore here have tried and it ended in disaster. I am a member of a betta forum and they too disagree with co-habitation, as does another fish forum I am a member of. I really trust these sources, and the more experienced betta owners here on Fishlore.

Frustrating, hey, fishkeeping's constant differences in advice?

All I know is I am of the school of not keeping them together. I would love to, as I feel really guilty keeping them in 5Gs, but I just can't face the idea that I am inflicting stress on them.

 

hI all - thanks for the information, I think in future I will go by this. it is very confusing as even this site has articles on about how to keep them and that information differs from your advice too! I am a bit sad today cos he died in the night. I will move the females to their own domains today, I have 3 tanks I can do that with - although maybe no space to put them! they don't appear to have been fighting among themselves so far but as you say (CoBettaCouple) the balance has been disrupted now (by male getting stressed and my trimming the plants) so that could start.

 

:'( i'm sorry you lost him.

 

I am very sorry for your loss. Natalie

 

Oh no what a shame! I'm sorry he's gone. Good luck with the girls and keep us posted! Michelle

 

thank you all its just hard with all the conflicting info out there but am feeling guilty that he suffered even just a little

 

hI have just finished setting the girls up - awkward little madams to say the least! have decided to put them in the 40L tank by themselves cos when I seperated them, they missed each other they're just settling into their new home now and seem to be really enjoying it. i'm keeping an eye on them tho just in case one of them decides she's the queen bee for some reason! can't thank all of you enough for your help - i'm just taking a pic of the new tank for you to have a look at - I'll let you know when its uploaded.

x

 

best of luck with the girls.

 

I look forward to the pic

 

won't be long - having camera difficulties! typical!