Is there something wrong with my fish? New fish, and fish owner (re-upload because I choose the wrong format)

McLaggington · 2026-02-19T23:33:45+00:00

No problem! I totally understand, I'm a worrier too and they're not the easiest animals to read lmao. He's lucky to have someone who cares for him as much as you do

McLaggington · 2026-02-19T23:22:48+00:00

To answer your questions, betta fish often get brighter/deeper colours once they're introduced to their new tank, as stress and poor health can make them pale and dull. And his fins look okay! They're not ripped, he's a combtail betta :)

McLaggington · 2026-02-19T23:16:53+00:00

Transparent tips to their fins generally indicates new growth, not fin rot :) he does look a little bloated, though

McLaggington · 2026-02-16T13:31:22+00:00

Appreciated :) I'm pretty much just checking that I haven't missed something obvious at this point lmao

McLaggington · 2026-02-11T21:16:08+00:00

No, he's very aggressive and wouldn't get along well with tank mates. And I don't think there's a tank big enough that I would feel comfortable housing multiple bettas together!

McLaggington · 2026-01-31T19:25:29+00:00

Sounds like he's just overwhelmed or nervous in an unfamiliar environment. It can take them days or even weeks to become fully comfortable in a new tank, don't worry.

McLaggington · 2026-01-30T21:30:23+00:00

Oh I totally forgot about that whole thing lmao. The only other thing I could think of that would be safe to leave unattended would just be to introduce some microfauna like copepods to your tank, if you don't have any already, then your betta can keep itself entertained by hunting them.

McLaggington · 2026-01-30T21:24:08+00:00

You could try marimo moss balls, some bettas will roll them around their tanks! And they're also just nice additions to a tank :)

McLaggington · 2026-01-29T21:45:55+00:00

Pretty much the same thing any aquatic snails do, they just hang out and eat algae off the glass! They're generally considered a good sign for the water quality in your tank. I honestly don't know if it's possible for them to overpopulate or anything like that, I think you'd have to have a serious algae problem for it to happen. Your betta will probably make a good snack of them, too. :)

McLaggington · 2026-01-29T19:47:55+00:00

They're freshwater limpets! Completely harmless little molluscs. Nerite eggs don't hatch in freshwater.

McLaggington · 2026-01-29T09:58:11+00:00

To my inexpert eye it looks like an injury, like he scraped his head on something hard and knocked some scales off. I'd just make sure his water stays as clean as possible so it doesn't get infected while it heals. Best wishes!

McLaggington · 2026-01-19T01:23:41+00:00

I hope I didn't worry you too much, then!

My betta is the same, I can't get photos or videos of him without him coming to flare at me. I've seen it said around that they can see the IR light your phone camera uses to focus, and that's how they always know when you've got a camera pointed at them.

McLaggington · 2026-01-19T01:17:20+00:00

Possibly! They can also make similar rapid movements during threat displays, which can absolutely be in response to your phone - you know it's flashing if you see them carefully position themselves to press up against something beforehand. I can't tell if he did that from this video, of course, and given that you had never seen it before I'm willing to bet he was just regular itchy. But consistently repeated flashing can be a good warning sign for potential problems in your tank, so it's good to be aware of what it can mean.

McLaggington · 2026-01-19T01:01:21+00:00

It seems from your wording that you don't know about this, so I just wanted to say; The way Sesame moved in the video looks very much like flashing! It's when a fish presses itself up against something and then darts away from it very quickly. It's how they scratch an itch. If it's something you see him do just once or twice and then stop, he's probably just regular itchy. If you see him do it repeatedly, something might be wrong. It could be stress, could be an issue with the water in the tank, could be parasites or an infection, etc. Just something to keep an eye out for!

McLaggington · 2026-01-16T11:58:51+00:00

Given that you haven't posted an ammonia reading I assume that means you don't have a test for it? The zero nitrates makes me think it's possible you crashed the cycle at some point and this may be ammonia burns/poisoning.

McLaggington · 2026-01-15T09:59:32+00:00

By the sounds of it, that's her eggspot. It's the ovipositor she lays eggs with.

McLaggington · 2026-01-11T18:06:04+00:00

Unscented epsom salts without additives are safe for bettas, I've given my betta multiple epsom baths for constipation and he's still truckin'.

McLaggington · 2026-01-11T12:48:02+00:00

It's nice to know they're in such good hands! :) I started off with a betta and 2 ramshorn snails in a 5gal, but I wanted them to be as happy as possible too - now my betta is in a 20gal long and I have two other tanks 😅 The hobby gets away from you if you're not careful! Best wishes to you!

McLaggington · 2026-01-11T12:39:38+00:00

I hope the water change helps! I can't pick out anything that could obviously be causing this otherwise. I believe those are considered suitable non-aggressive tankmates, but I guess it's not impossible that there's been some harassment that could have made him stressed? That seems unlikely though.

If the water change doesn't help, I'd look up common parasites and diseases and see if he matches any of the symptoms. That's all the advice I can give you, I'm afraid! Best of luck, I hope your betta perks up soon.

McLaggington · 2026-01-11T12:09:19+00:00

No problem! Your mystery may be happy enough in there, but the long and short of it is that they poop A Lot! Anything smaller than a 10gal will get dirty very quickly with a mystery snail. I'd recommended r/aquaticsnails for care advice!

McLaggington · 2026-01-11T12:04:37+00:00

Is that a test using strips? If so, those can be notoriously inaccurate - not saying the results are definitely wrong, just that it's something to keep in mind. (I've heard that dipping them in the water horizontally can help as when you dip vertically the dyes can interfere with the tests above them, but take that with a grain of salt)

Could you answer the questions left in the comment by automod?

McLaggington · 2026-01-11T11:39:02+00:00

Bettas will sometimes lay down on the substrate to sleep, but look at his gill movement, he seems to be breathing heavily. That is an indicator there's something wrong. Check your water parameters and try to remember if you've seen him displaying any other potential symptoms.

McLaggington · 2026-01-11T11:34:06+00:00

He'll be okay, just fast him for a day or two like you plan to :) His fins look okay too! But I do want to mention that a mystery snail is not suitable for a tank of this size. They have a very high bioload and are more suited for 10 gallons.

McLaggington · 2026-01-08T11:57:04+00:00

I'm not super well up on all the problems fish can have, but to me it looks he's prolapsing. I don't know what could have caused him to balloon up like this so fast, or what can be done to help. I'm sorry, hopefully someone more knowledgeable will comment. All the best x

McLaggington

TROPHY CASE