# Betta sluggish, reluctant to eat [Sad Ending :(]



## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Last week I moved my betta from his 3G cube to the Fluval Ebi, which is moderately planted with a dozen pygmy cory's which have been in there for 2 weeks.

He took to it pretty well, and a couple of days ago he built a bubble nest, but yesterday morning I noticed he didn't chow down his pellets as he usually does. 

I didn't feed last night, thought it would be best to lay off, and tried again this morning. Very reticent but he eventually took 2 pellets. He mouthed them gently instead of wolfing it down as per usual.

Water parameters are good - pH is 7.4, ammonia nitrites & nitrates are 0/0/0, gH and dH are both 4-5, water temp is 26. The filter output is turned right down, there's a large area that's current-free where he hangs out.

He's hanging around low to mid-water, and isn't his usual active self.

The cory's are zipping around as usual.

What should I do next?


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## kid4life (Oct 23, 2011)

try blood worms


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

How often do you feed him and how much?

Is your spray bar pointed at the water surface? Maybe he is stressed out by the current.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

He was getting some Hikari freeze-dried bloodworms as part of his feeding... I had hesistated to get the frozen b/c I don't have a lot of fish (just him & a dozen cory's). He usually chows those down but he ignored the piece I offered him this morning.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Atom said:


> How often do you feed him and how much? Is your spray bar pointed at the water surface? Maybe he is stressed out by the current.


He usually gets 2 of the betta pellets in the AM and 2 in the evening, with a small piece of freeze-dried bloodworm in the evening.

Spray bar is above the water surface and aimed at the Ebi's backdrop. It is turned down so that as he swims, I'm not seeing his fins billow around like a kite. I wondered the same thing about the current this morning, so I've turned it down even more - it's now only barely a trickle.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Hello. how big is your Betta ? sounds like you might be feeding to much. i give mine 3 Betta pellets a day. i have a smaller twin tail that only gets 2 pellets a day. plus he might be eating whatever you are feeding the cory's. all that together would be too much for him. Hope that helps Cheers


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Scherb said:


> Hello. how big is your Betta ? sounds like you might be feeding to much. i give mine 3 Betta pellets a day. i have a smaller twin tail that only gets 2 pellets a day. plus he might be eating whatever you are feeding the cory's. all that together would be too much for him. Hope that helps Cheers


Do you give 1 pellet 3x a day? I've backed off while he's feeling lethargic... hopefully he comes around.


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## JohnnyAppleSnail (May 30, 2010)

My Betta sometimes gets that way and may not eat for a couple days,but when it comes out of it's Funk eats normally,all foods Flake and Froz. I'd try Froz. Bloodworms or Br.Shrimp.,I usually put some on My fingertip and put near Betta's face let it fall and He snaps it up,whatever may go to the bottom Your Cories will love to eat them.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

*Sad End *

Came home and found him under the driftwood, on his side, unable to float or swim - it was difficult but I thought it was for the best to euthanize him and put him out of his misery.

Dammit.


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Sorry to hear that. 

Sounds like it could have been a swim bladder issue. I think I read that diet and how much you feed them can be the cause of it. Worth looking into.

I only feed my bettas 3 to 4 pellets a day. They fast
one day a week to clear things out.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Arcteryx said:


> Do you give 1 pellet 3x a day? I've backed off while he's feeling lethargic... hopefully he comes around.


Hello. 3 pellets once a day, or 1 or 2 blood worms max. They say there stomach is the size of there eyeball. and as Atom said it wouldn't hurt to fast them one day a week. sorry to hear he didn't make it. Cheers


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Atom said:


> Sorry to hear that.
> 
> Sounds like it could have been a swim bladder issue. I think I read that diet and how much you feed them can be the cause of it. Worth looking into.
> 
> ...


Hello, Defiantly Swim bladder. i have dealt with this before and had no luck saving them after they lay on there side. and it is caused by over feeding. there might be other circumstances that i am not aware of but over feeding is the main cause that i know of. I have also herd that skinned peas are good for there bladder, helps clean them out. Cheers


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Sorry to hear about your Betta! Just to add some more info to reasons for swim bladder disorders. It is not necessarily due to over feeding. I am by far an expert but I personally feel that overfeeding is an overrated excuse for it. I say this because I always give my Betta's 5-6 pellets plus a pinch of bloodworms (freeze dried or frozen) and have never had a problem with SBD. I have lost 2 betta's that did have it. But both Bettas were within a couple day of getting them from the LFS and I fed less then , than I do now. 2 of my Betta's are in Community tanks and after they eat their pellets and bloodworms , I see them eat the flakes fed to the rest as well. So I can no longer believe it it from over feeding. They probably eat more in the wild than they do most peoples tanks. 
This is from another site but sums it up pretty well IMO:
_ The swim bladder is an air-filled organ which the fish uses to balance itself and swim up and down by regulating the pressure inside. If the airbladder becomes compressed, deformed or diseased the fish cannot regulate it and therefore 'loses its balance'. Fancy goldfish frequently suffer with SB problems due to their compressed body shapes; the cause may therefore be internal physical deformity. Other causes are constipation - which compresses the SB - *gulping air whilst feeding at the surface or eating food with too much air inside, such as dry floating foods*, Fatty Liver Disease or kidney cysts. Bacterial or internal parasitical infections can also be involved,_
The statement in bold is what I think is the main reason for it with Betta's. Pre-soaking the food before feeding is probably best, that way the pellets expand and the air is gone. Ever notice a uneaten pellet in the water looks twice as big as when it was dry? The Betta eats 4 dry pellets is going to be like 2-3 presoaked pellets. Plus like goldfish, they eat the dry pellets from the surface and take a chance gulping in extra air that isn't good either. Either way the dry pellets are probably the main reason but I would say its is overeating not overfeeding. The fish is going to eat until he is full, he doesn't know that food is going to swell up in his stomach, unlike most things they would eat in the wild. Limiting the dry food may help but always best to presoak the dry food before feeding. Just my 2 cents on it.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Sigh. I wish I didn't have to learn these things at their expense... thought I was feeding him the right amount and it turns out not after all...

RIP Blueberry, you were a good fishy.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Thanks folks for the advice - socked away for future reference. Not sure if I want to get another betta, but the pygmy cory's in the tank now need a tank-mate... maybe I'll get shrimp for the Fluval Ebi after all.

They're just such personable l'il guys... just seems I don't have much luck with them. I'll definitely pre-soak their food next time... had noticed that they do expand in the water.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

it definitely sucks to learn anything the hard way, but it happens. Atleast you can learn from experiences like this and apply it to your next one. I felt so friggin bad when My first one died, but after alot more research and discovering there are other things beyond our control that could have been the cause, it's just not worth beating yourself up. They are very personable and I am quite addicted to them myself, kinda hard not to be lol If it were me, I'd get another. I didn't reply on your other Betta thread, but I would suggest floating plants if you do get another. Mine love floating plants and almost every one I have had like to rest/sleep in them.


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Diztrbd1, that's very good advice. I recall I lost a betta to SWBD and I never overfed mine either. Sometimes it's something beyond our control like a physical deformity. I don't soak my pellets, but that is a good practice.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Arcteryx said:


> Thanks folks for the advice - socked away for future reference. Not sure if I want to get another betta, but the pygmy cory's in the tank now need a tank-mate... maybe I'll get shrimp for the Fluval Ebi after all.
> 
> They're just such personable l'il guys... just seems I don't have much luck with them. I'll definitely pre-soak their food next time... had noticed that they do expand in the water.


Hello, you should get another Betta they are great fish. did you get your Betta's from the same store ? if so you might want to try a different source. i think Diztrbd1 made a good point about the food. and that is new and valuable info to me. but it could also be the fish in general, as always quality fish make a huge difference. Cheers


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

sorry to hear about your betta. If you are looking for another personable fish, a dwarf pea puffer would do, as long as its decently planted, the cories wont be harassed that much. Pea puffers are about as risky with tank mates as betta's, except they are ugly cute rather than pretty cute


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Very sorry that your fish died, Arcteryx. Such a beautiful fish, too, and you tried so hard. I think that bettas are bred for their colours and many may be more vulnerable to infection or have inner deformities than wild bettas would. (Just a guess, I don't really know) 

I wonder if a dwarf gourami could be kept in an Ebi? The croaking ones seem quite small (though perhaps they are juveniles). I have some tiny endlers, if you'd like some. They are very hardy and the males are colourful.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Thanks Maureen... I'll probably wait a bit before adding another fish to the tank... maybe some shrimp, who knows. In the meantime I'll watch the pygmy cory's romp about...


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Sorry to hear, Arcteryx. Try not to beat yourself up too much. First, we all make mistakes and that's how we learn. You tried your best. Second, nothing tells you that he died because of overfeeding. There could be a host of reasons, possibly (but maybe not) triggered by the stress of a new tank. But really, often we never really know what happens. It's just a reminder that their life is precarious (and so is ours), and we owe it to them to try our best to keep them healthy. And you certainly did.

I hope you find another fish that you like for your Ebi. And that's going to be a lucky fish.


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## Bfunk89 (Dec 1, 2011)

If you do want another Betta for your tank I would go with a female. You can get some beautiful colours and fins on them and they have TONS of personality. Mine also enjoy the current and often play in it! They're also a little calmer with tankmates.

My only concern adding shrimp to your ebi would be the fact that the cories and shrimp might compete for ground space. But I've read you've got a good set of plants going, so if they're tall the shrimp will hang out at all heights. Mine love to pretend their bats on the duckweed =)


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Hey thanks you guys, really. Makes it a lot easier to accept and move on when I hear from all of you who've been through this and know how much it sucked. Y'all the best - thanks again


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## roadrunner (Apr 25, 2010)

sorry to hear about your betta. I did loose couple of bettas due to the SBD in the past and I was really sad. Over the years I've experimented with food.Now I feed mine with Hikari micro wafers, treat them with dried blood worms (once every 7-10 ). Last time I tried frozen blood worms it killed 3 of my bettas, so I will never do that again. Looked like they got some parasites from it. As for peas, I read lots about it and some people on some forums said that peas is not really good for them. I use daphnia instead. It works same as peas (laxative) and it's less messy, and fish love them more.

So don't give up on them. Bettas are beautiful fish and have lots of personality. I love them all! Currently I have 4, but I had as many as 13 at the same time!


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Sorry about your fish. Same thing happened with my old betta, except we think that old age played a factor...just gradually losing energy and "oomph" and colour until he passed.

Not your fault, so I wouldn't be too hard on yourself.


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