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Very Lethargic Betta

13 years ago

I've had my male betta a month shy of 3 years. He's been incredibly lethargic since new year's weekend. He is typically very active and spends the day swimming energetically around his tank. For the past 2 weeks however, he just lays at the bottom of his tank. He only comes up for air and feedings. He used to follow my finger on the outside of his tank and jump if I put it above his water, but has stopped doing both.

He's in a filtered 10 gal tank with a heater. His water is 82F. I do regular water changes and monitor it for PH, ammonia and nitrates...water wise, his tank is fine. I even took a water sample to our local pet store for testing, since their kits are a bit more elaborate & they agreed that his water is fine. Their fish expert chalked it up to "old age." But his personality changed overnight, so I'm really worried that he's suffering.

He's a pale yellow, translucent betta, but he looks even paler than normal. Other than that, he looks perfectly fine. His fins still look great & he hasn't lost his appetite at all. Is it possible that he is just bored? I've never added any other fish to his tank because he's always been so aggressive.

Any help at all is really appreciated!!

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Comments (2)

gopeacefully
Original Author
13 years ago
Just today I noticed that he's acting disoriented. He swam to the top just fine, but seemed to have a hard time finding his food. & only ate 2 pellets instead of his usual 4. He kept running into the side of his tank repeatedly instead of swimming down and then he finally let himself sink all the way down until until a plant caught him. He isn't bloated...on the thin side actually. He won't come up for the rest of his food now & is just laying at the bottom of his tank again.
citrusnut
13 years ago
How is your betta faring now? Did he recover? If not, try giving him cooked, shelled, chopped up peas. It worked wonders for my my betta. He had the same symptoms and is now fully recovered.
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