BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish HELP - Betta fish problem!

I was hoping that someone could offer some advice for me. I rescued a betta fish about a year ago from a home that did not know how to take care of him.. he was pale, undernourished, etc. I brought him back to life and he is the nicest betta fish I have ever met. We just moved to Colorado (from AZ) and he's been fine here as well. But I decided to get a heater because it can get very cold here... I purchased a 2.5gal tank, some new rocks (mixed them with the old rocks) and a heater. Unfortunately, I didn't realize it at the time -- but I had purchased a heater that was too large of a watt for his tank.. it quickly heated up and he endured a huge temperature shift. The snail that I had in there started to secrete a strange slimey substance... Ian (my betta) started looking droopy.. we cleaned the water, took out the snail, and put him back. Still not good... we realized the heater wasn't right so we went back and purchased a better, more expensive heater. We transferred him to the bowl and kept the temperature at 72.. and he was doing great.. it was amazing. Then I purchased a plant (anachrias? the fish store said it would be fine for bettas....) and I put it in there.. it clouded up the water overnight and he started acting bad again. So we cleaned the water.. called the fish store and they said to make sure the plant isn't dead, clean the tank and the plant and put it back in so we did... but no real improvement in him. We are removing the plant and putting him in his fish bowl now (we had him in a large glass "goldfish" bowl before we transferred him to his new home) to see how he does.. I considered also purchasing some Stress Coat.

Here are his symptoms: turning very gray on his face/under his face... losing color in his body......... seems very listless.. he usually greets us with enthusiasm when we come near his tank... but he isn't doing that now... he just "sits" there..

Any advice?

Also.. the heater keeps it at 72 and it gets to about 75 at night because of the temp. in the house


we ALWAYS treat the water... actually, I don't know if it needs to be mentioned, but we just switched to a different water treatment (after he started getting sick because we ran out of the other and that brand doesn't seem to be sold here). It is called AmQuel+.

We also got test strips to test the water... the ph is excellent in the treated water, I don't know what the ph is just for plain tap water.. but we always treat the water. We tested the nitrites and they are about .75

We were doing weekly water changes, but since the transfer to the 2.5gal tank and all the problems we've had, we had to do several water changes

I asked how long the previous owners had him and they thought maybe 6 months but possibly less. We've had Ian for a bit over a year now.. so he is possibly 1 1/2 years.. but also we don't know how long the store had him before they purchased him...

He was doing fine before we purchased the heater and the new tank...

Could be depression, just from all the moving around. But one thing I have to ask is if you are adding a water conditioner (you say you treat the water) or if you are trying to adjust the pH (or both). There's another thread kinda like this actually, but it's really a bad idea to try to adjust your pH with chemicals, because bettas are pretty hardy and adjust well to any reasonable pH. It's healthier than adding all kinds of chemicals to their water.

The other possibility is that he is getting old. Bettas are, I believe, about six months old when they get to the pet stores, so add that to the year and a half you had him, and he could be somewhere around 2 years old. That's getting up there for bettas, especially when you factor in the stress he's had in his life so far. I would keep him wherever he seems the happiest, even if it is in the smaller bowl.

The water treatment that I use is AmQuel+.. I researched and found that several people suggest that to treat the water. I do not and have not tried to adjust the ph in anyway... the AmQuel+ just treats the nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, chlorine and chloramines... the PH is fine (I tested it several times)

Thanks for your response.. we just don't know what else to do.. We are keeping him in his smaller bowl for now to see what he does. We love him very much and want to do whatever is necessary to help him. You are right, he may well be 2 years or possibly more. Plus he had a hard life before I rescued him.

Wow,sorry for your struggle,it can be so exacerbating...
First thingi would do is raise your temps slowly ....most Betta's get pretty listless at those temps.. Amquel is fine, but brook is right about messing around with ph. Probably hard on him to have complete water changes so quickly. The plant should NOT have been a problem, and a good 25 watt heater that you can adjust is worth the money. he definitley needs to be warmer while recouping... MY heater cost mo;re than my 5 gal.setup, almost 30 dollars.(amazing) but it stays steady at 78. keep his tank dark, with a heater for awhile. my last Betta llived for 5 years, and quite a few folk I know have had them at least 4, so don't give up hope yet.... keep us posted!!

I agree with Elise, it sounds like he is kinda old and tired and probably depressed from the moving around. I would just continue what sounds like your excellent care and give him time to adjust. It may take weeks for him to 'get over' his sadness spell. The plant should not be a problem, BTW.

As Acadia says, 75 to 78 degrees is better than 72-75 for a betta that isn't too strong to begin with (ie, one you rescued from a hard life). BTW, very nice of you to save him. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Some bettas just don't like change - poor little guy. I think he should be fine once he gets comfortable. give him a hidey hole to retreat to if you don't have one already. Don't let his water temps fluctuate if possible. And Stress Coat is a good idea since Amquel, while being a fine product, does not have any slime coat additive (I prefer NovAqua for that reason).