betta problem

[Dusty]

I have a 2 yr old betta who for the past month kind of just lays around the
bottom, almost always on his side. He swings only very occasionally in
spurts. He is eating a little bit. what's up?

[Dusty]

"Dusty" > wrote He swings only very
occasionally in spurts.


LOL... my fish is not a "swinger".... I obviously meant swims. ;)

[carlrs]

Dusty wrote:
> "Dusty" > wrote He swings only very
> occasionally in spurts.
>
>
> LOL... my fish is not a "swinger".... I obviously meant swims. ;)

This may just be signs of old age.
What are you feeding? Be careful about feeding too much worms. Also I
suggest soaking pellets (I feed Sanyu Betta Gold Pellets) in water for
5 minute prior to feeding so as to not add too much air to the
digestive tract.
It is very important to have electrolytes in the water, changing water
regularly will usualy help and products like Wonder Shells can add
electrolytes regularly.

For disease prevention or treatment you may consider a methylene blue
bath for 30 minutes and/or Pimafix.

For more medications information:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Information.html

[IDzine01]

Not knowing anything about your water cleaning routine or set up, I
will need to ask a few questions. Bettas can be sensitive to water
quality problems and most issues originate there. If you can tell us
more about your set up, we may be able to dig a little deeper. For
instance...

how big is his aquarium?
are you running a filter?
is the tank cycled or is this a betta bowl set up?
how often are you changing the water and how much are you changing at a
time?
how often and what foods are you feeding?
is the tank heated?
what is the temperature?

I always recommend testing the water at the first signs of distress.
For bettas, ammonia and nitrite do the most damage. Test nitrate too if
the tank has a filter. Water tests usually tell a lot.

Good luck!

Dusty wrote:
> I have a 2 yr old betta who for the past month kind of just lays around the
> bottom, almost always on his side. He swings only very occasionally in
> spurts. He is eating a little bit. what's up?