BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Fish [Betta Fish] Sick... Sad ... Dunno ?!?!?

Hi all,
It has been quit long since I last wrote anything ( means had no problems ) , well I will get in to the subject , my betta seems sad or maybe sick I don�t know because I looked all around him and found nothing no fin rot no spots no nothing, yet .. it stays all the times on the bottom of the bowel , doesn't eat , no nesting bubbles , it also seems that his color is not as bright as it used to be .. I believe if he keeps on not eating he is going to die die <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> , [[I haven't change his bowel since I bought him)]] , I clean his bowl every two weeks some times weekly� the place is Air-conditioned but I keep him near the window's sun light .
I don't think he is sad though.. Please if he is sick could some one let me know what's might be wrong with him.
Help pls ! <img src="/images/graemlins/wall.gif" alt="" />

How big is the bowl? Do you have a thermometer? If he's in the sun, it may cause the temperature to fluctuate too much. You should probably be cleaning his bowl every week at least, depending on the size, because it doesn't sound like it's filtered.

All the signs you have mentioned do not sound good. My bet is on fluctuating temperatures and possibly overall temperatures that are too low. If you can, move him into a 2.5 gallon tank and add a heater and a filter, then move him away from the sun, which can promote algae among other problems.

I think it might be a temprature issue as you said especially this time of the year.. I changed his bowel to a bigger one and changed his place ..(By the way this one is in the office His name is Mooka) still not active yet... I guess he is abit upset.. Hopefully these will do ... it has been 9 months now since I bought him ... The other one that I used to have at home for almost two yrs was a victim of my 2 years old niece .. I decided not to get one as a replacment "not in the house" .. 'cuz I really loved him <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
will see how things are going to be with Mooka =)

any ways thanx for the advice and help, I remember that you were the first to reply me last time I posted about my sick fish ( with fin rot ) as well as EmgBettaNut
Thank you again =)
wish you all the best

i hope mooka is doing better. there is a theory that bettas can get depressed. info about it is at the bottom of this page: http://bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm
My vote is the temp changing. it sounds like you have fixed this though, so it may just take him some time. How is he doing now?

Amber

So I'm just going to reply to this one I guess. I have a question. I have two bettas, just rescued one from a horrible fate at a dollar store, a male, and I thought that he looked a little down and needed a companion. So, Petsmart told me to put in a female. But I was afraid they might fight, so I seperated the tank with a barrier. She seems to be having the time of her life, but he is constantly at the barrier flaring his fins and being a meanie! So my question is, is this healthy? Or is it just too much stress?

Thanks anyone who can reply!

This is a point of debate among betta enthusiasts. Here is an article you may find helpful: http://www.nippyfish.net/flarebuddies.html

Thanks stampingchick! That helped. I had a hunch that it probably was unhealthy, so I'm glad I found that out. Just last night I took the male out of the tank and gave him his own environment with floating plants, gravel, etc and two guppy female buddies. He is doing well with them. I also now have two female betta in the 10 gallon tank with two small catfish. I also have a heater and bubbler for them. Everyone seems to be doing fine so I will post when I have problems! Thanks again!

Glad it helped!!

Amber

Your betas symptoms sounds very familar with my last beta. Here is what mine was like:

Looked thinner than usual, less color, not as active, kept to the bottom of the tank, loss of appitite and appeared to have trouble breathing, or not as deep of breaths.... and no signs of a external disease, tail rot, pop eye, ick, nothing...

I tried everything with my beta, changed the water, tried different food, adding some new plants for stimulation, but these things only worked for a short period of time.

After trying for about a month of my beta being this way I was able to talk with people from Soldan's Pet Store. So far I have found their information to be very reliable. Unfortunatly, they thought that my beta probibly had an internal paracite. As far as I know there are no treatments for this type of paracite. Sadly my beta did pass away.

All I can suggest is that you make your beta as confortable as possible and move them out of direct sunlight. If you have a bubbler perhaps place that in the tank wtih them too. Good luck with your fishie! Hope this helps, sorry I can't do more.

Fantails and Betas