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New Member
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Last Login: 7/27/2008 6:34:34 PM
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| Well I've had a male Betta for about a week and a half now, He was fine, but today he started sitting around wouldn't eat and has clamped fins. So I put some para guard in the water, and he started moving a little more. I 100% cleaned his fish bowl the day before, so I'm not sure why he's acting this way now, I don't see any signs of disease. Except the behavior is abnormal. I 100% cleaned the water again today to see if it would help and he seemed to start breathing heavily after I put him in and a little jumpy/spazzy. I also added a little bit of Para guard in here too but he still was acting wierd. But he's swimming around alot more now. he's still not eating and has clamped fins. I also noticed he seems to have a little tear in his one fin under him, but doesn't seem to be rotting away. I use water conditioner, PH adjuster and aqaurium salt in the water, the water is cold-ish sometimes after it cools off from the warm water. I tested the water and it was fine too, He has a plastic plant in his bowl with him too. I clean the water 2 times a week. One other thing, he has red-ish marks on top of his gill covers on both sides, but they have been there for a long time, since he is a blue bodied betta with some red, im not sure if it is just part of his color. I'm not sure what to do to make him stop acting this way.
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Senior Member
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You don't need the pH adjuster or the aquarium salt, you can stop using it, just do so gradually. How much salt do you usually put in?
You said you tested the water, do you know what the numbers were? Also what water conditioner do you use?
What is the normal temperature of the water? Bettas are tropical fish and require temps up around 78-82ish. Mine is at a constant 80* and he's active and as can be. They tend to get very sluggish and unhappy at lower temperatures.
You should also stop using the para-guard without knowing what you're treating for. Extra stuff in the water is an added irritant, and we don't even know what's going on yet.
Red-colored areas around the gill covers are somewhat normal for bettas. Mine has them. If it looks irritated or inflamed though, this is not a coloring thing, but probably a symptom of ammonia burn.
20 gallon long
Lionhead - Kiko
Calico Lionhead - Little Bean
29 gallon
Fantail - Oliver
Black Moor - Damian
Calico Ryukin - Serafina
2.5 gallon
male betta - Pirate
10 gallon planted
minnow, betta, guppy
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Fishkeeping GURU
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100% water changes are very stressful to fish, especially if not all parameters (temp, pH, salinity, etc) are perfectly matched. It could be that you are stressing him and that is why he acts so off a day or so after a water change. Definitely stop using the pH adjuster, medication, and salt, but slowly as princess said. I would start doing 10% water changes every day without adding anything but dechlorinator. If you do this for two weeks you will have easily removed all the chemicals, while keeping the water very clean.
How big is his bowl anyway? Really, bettas should have a filtered, heated tank of a minimum of two gallons. They are tropical fish and must be kept warm (should be 75+ degrees), and fluctuating temps will easily bring on stress and outbreaks of disease.
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New Member
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| I use Aqua Plus water conditioner, I'm sure the bowl probably holds less than a gallon. I put in a about a pinch or 2 of salt, which is little. Nitrate - 0 Nitrite - 0 Hardness - 25(very soft) Chlorine - 0 Alkalinity - 120(Ideal) PH - 6.8
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New Member
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I've kept Bettas in the past and I never put salt in their water. I kept them in a 2 or 5 gallon tank with the water at 78-83 degrees. The water was changed at half the volume bi-weekly. They flourished and lived for over two years at a time. 
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Fishkeeping GURU
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Dragina, I would be looking for a bigger tank so that 100% water changes or extremely frequent partial water changes won't be necessary, and so it can have a heater and filter. You can usually find very cheap (under $20) or free complete 10g set ups on Craigslist or local yard sales, so look around and you may get a great deal. If you did find a 10g, your betta could have some nice tankmates, and the maintenance will be minimal.
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New Member
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| I tested the ammonia today, it looked like it was either on safe, or stress, it's hard to tell since sometimes the color's are very simular. The water cooled down a bit today, and he stopped swimming around so rapdidly like he was last night when i noticed the water felt warm. He swims around every so often, but is still a little twitchy, I got him to go for a piece of food but he spit it out, normally he doesn't spit out this type of food I gave him.
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Fishkeeping GURU
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The ammonia is going to be all over the place, safe one day and dangerous the next, because you are doing 100% water changes. It doesn't allow the tank to cycle, so there won't be anything to remove the ammonia other than water changes. Read this so you know what I mean. http://fish.orbust.net/cycling.html
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New Member
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