My betta fish, Moe has been acting strange lately. He swims up to one corner of his tank and sits there motionless. When he does swim around, it's a twitchy sort of swimming.
What is his problem? Is it parasites? I'm going to Petco tomorrow, is there some medication I should pick up? Please advise! Thanks a lot!

Is he eating normally? How frequently do you change his water and do you use a conditioner when you do?

Because I just had a similar problem with one of my bettas, the first thing that I would recommend is a complete water change before worrying about medications. You never know, it could simply be something toxic in his water that is causing him to act abnormally. When I did a 100% water change, there was a drastic improvement without me even having to add any medications, which led me to believe something was wrong with the water in the first place.

I only wish I had acted sooner when I first noticed Gus acting abnormally. As it was, I waited two days before the water change and then was ready to add medications, but didn't end up having to.

Just my two cents. I'm a newbie myself.

I tested his water today and noticed the pH was really high. I did a complete water change (including adding aquarium salt and water conditioner), but I've seen no difference yet... hopefully he'll be better by tomorrow.
A curious thing I noticed about him is that his front fins, which are usually rounded, looked a little deteriorated and looking more triangular.

That's so weird! The exact same thing happened to Gus' front fins. They clamped up and looked more triangular shaped than rounded, which seemed to make it more difficult for him to swim smoothly. He was very jerky and erratic.

I would say if he doesn't show any improvement within 24 hours after the water change to seek other options. (maybe someone more experienced than me can advise) I did add some BettaFix to Gus' water with the water change and I'm not sure if that helped to perk him up at all.

Have you noticed any labored breathing from him? Is he still eating? Gus was still eating but spending long periods of time laying on the bottom breathing heavily. That's when I thought for sure he was a goner.

Im' also a newbie at fish, but I agree with Panini. How warm is Moe's water? Can you keep it at about 80? From everything I have read on all the previous betta posts form the more experienced people, keeping the water warm also helps. Hopefully one of the experienced betta people will see your posts. How is Gus doing,Panini? Jake ate a piece of pea today,( and didn't spit it out!) I couldn't find Omega One Betta food at petsmart, but I got Omega One flakes for my rasboras, and Jake will eat those if I crumble them up small, and doesn't spit them out. He is the pickiest thing. <img src="/images/graemlins/fish.gif" alt="" />

Gus is doing great. Eating like a pig as usual.

Temperature is so important and I can't believe how many people are just ignorant of this fact. Especially for bettas, probably due to the way they are marketed. People just don't realize they are a tropical fish. Here at work, several people have bettas like I do, but I'm the only one that keeps mine in a heated tank. And the difference in activity level is amazing. Gus is super active and swims around constantly. The other bettas simply hang around near the bottom or top and aren't very interesting to watch overall. I would guess their water temps are in the range of 70-72, judging by the room temperature.

Poor Moe was my practice fish. I didn't have a clue about them and someone gave him to me as a gift. I had him in an unheated bowl in a 65 degree house. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> I don't know what prompted me, but I felt something wasn't right and took the initiative to read up on bettas and fortunately moved Moe to a much better home as soon as possible. The poor guy!

Moe's tank water stays around 77-78 degrees. I keep him in a one gallon tank, so I can't get him a heater, but he seems to be fine with the temperature.
He's almost completely better today (his fins need to heal), so I guess it was the pH level bothering him.
I may have panicked a little. I went to Petco and spent $50 on medications and water testers/fixers, and I really only needed the water testers. But at least I have a lot of things on hand now.

Glad to hear Moe is better. My Bettas are in 2 gal tanks, and I leave the lights on all day and it keeps the water at 80.

Hi Yohko, sorry no one was around to help you figure out what was wrong with Moe. It has been unusually quiet in here. The best thing to do when something isn't right with your betta is to start with the basics. Like a good water change. Even if it is something serious, a water change can usually make some difference. Then you can relax a little and look for any physical signs.
Panini, from what I understand, water temperature is a few degrees lower than air temperature. It is important to keep your water temp stable so the fish doesn't get stressed. Keep up the good work! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

forgot to add in my previous post, ( and my friends think I'm nuts ) <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />, I wrap towels around my tanks at night after I shut the lights off at night, to keep the water temp from dropping down too far. I had a heavy terry cloth robe that I took the back and side panels from and they work perfect to go around my 2 gal and my 2.5. Like I said the lights keep the tanks at 78-80, and Boris, Morris and Jake are all happy little piggy bettas!! <img src="/images/graemlins/heart.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/fish.gif" alt="" />

Fishwife, where is everyone?? thought everyone swam off and left all us newbies here alone ! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Hey char, I used to do the towel thing too! When I first got Moe his 2.5 gallon, I got one of those jr. heaters from Walmart, but with the temperature in the house (65 mostly), the heater wasn't powerful enough to keep the water in the upper 70's, so I would leave the light on during the day to compensate, then wrap the tank in a towel at night so Moe could get some rest from the light. I was very surprised at how effective the towel technique was. Water temps stayed very stable between night and day doing this.

Finally the jr. heater broke (very poor quality, don't recommend; get a Hydor instead) and so I got a much higher-quality, 25-watt heater with built-in thermostat. Now I don't need the towels anymore because the heater regulates the temperature.

The wrapping a towel around the tank idea is pretty common. Alot of the more knowledgeable ladies have advised others to do the same thing. It does help to insulate the tank, which is great for tanks that are too small for a heater.
How is Moe doing now, Yohko?