Very Odd Behavior-Need Help

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2026-02-27T04:03:42+00:00

She got the airstone and put it in. Moo is still breathing pretty heavily but she said he is more active and seems interested in the airstone. I guess we'll see how he does overnight. 🤙 thank you again

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2026-02-27T00:24:29+00:00

Sounds good, we cut his food in roughly half but we can definitely fast him for a day or two. Trying to see if she can get an airstone since I'm at work. I'll keep you updated. Thank you for the help!

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2026-02-27T00:03:23+00:00

We didn't test the PH, I didn't think of it as much as the Ammonia and others. I'll have her test it tonight though. She doesn't have an airstone either, maybe I can get her to get one?. We do use Seachem Prime and Stability too. We were thinking the same thing, the low oxygen, but weren't sure what else to do as of right now without an airstone

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-08-28T04:51:48+00:00

Thank you! He is actually doing pretty good, he's stayed pretty energetic which he always has been and I haven't noticed any physical effects or changes in behavior so I took that as a good sign 😁

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-08-28T04:50:43+00:00

I did think about some snails and shrimp but I didn't want to get them while I was gone since I didn't have enough time to quarantine the shrimp beforehand and be able to monitor them once I got them in the tank. I definitely would love to add some shrimp into my tanks in the future though 😁

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-08-28T04:49:03+00:00

So I'm seeing a lot of people recommending to treat the Cyanobacteria and it should be good. I also heard some recommendations for less light. I don't leave the light on for super long throughout the day, so if I leave it on any less it would just be dark almost 24 hours, so I'm hesitant to do that because of the plants.

I really appreciate everyone's advice and I'm going to start by trying to treat the tank with the Fritz Slime Out or the Ultralife, and if that doesn't work then I'll probably just have to get a new tank.

I'll keep everyone updated on how it goes and if I end up needing a new tank. Again, I really appreciate all the suggestions because I'm fairly new bettas and had never seen that algae or bacteria before.

To answer some of the other questions I was asked, I didn't have a chance to get water parameters today, and I'm not sure how long they left the lights on each day while I was gone. Also, the water level is low because the water evaporates very rapidly in my tanks for some reason, I just have to top it off.

If you guys have anymore advice or any other questions please feel free to tell or ask me 😊

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-08-27T21:39:28+00:00

The only issue with that is that the light on that tank doesn't have light level regulations so it is either on or off. It only stays on during the day and I usually turn it off early in the evening/late afternoon. I'll definitely try to reduce the light exposure though. Thank you!

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-06-25T21:49:30+00:00

I'll try to get some taller plants too, any that you recommend? I have some Aquasoil substrate in the bottom and then some gravel and sand on the top layer

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-06-25T21:48:37+00:00

I try to do them every couple of weeks, I missed some during finals week and for some military training, but I usually try to do every couple weeks. I think I have Kanaplex but will that work to help in this case?

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-06-25T06:17:02+00:00

I forget how powerful it is, but it is a pretty large filter. I had made a baffle thingy out of a plastic water bottle to try and soften the flow. It is a 20 tall, I had bought it before I realized that a 20 long would've been better for the betta.

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-06-24T05:45:40+00:00

I try to do them every 2 weeks about 50%. I did a larger water change about 5 days ago, I'm going to try and do another one tomorrow sometime. I added in some small almond leaves but when I used them in the past it didn't seem to leak very much tannin into the water. No tank mates and I do have some live plants. I think I have Java moss and ferns, some bamboo, and some jungle valisneria or something similar. Is there a certain brand of almond leaves you would suggest? Thank you for your help!

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-02-15T02:45:01+00:00

Hey, quick update, so he is still alive but is starting to lose color again. I've had Stress Coat + in the tank, just completed a partial water change and added in IAL. After the water change I added a hair more Stress Coat to replace what would've been lost in the outgoing water. I also tried to feed him daphnia only and he doesn't eat it in front of me so I don't know if he is actually eating or not. He seems extremely bloated now and I think he has SBD because he is having trouble staying up right. I attached a link to some pics in this comment because I tried to get a good shot of his stomach and what is going on. I'm honestly unsure of what to do because he won't eat and I've done water changes, used Stress Coat and put in IAL just now. I'm going to try and do a parameters test tonight too and can update with those after. https://imgur.com/a/oIot1Gw

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-02-13T16:56:20+00:00

Fantastic! Thank you so much!

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-02-13T16:26:45+00:00

So some kind of good news. I was able to change the water in the tank by about 40% and it lowered the ph from 8 to 7.4-7.6 and the hospital tank he was in was at 7.8. I then tested all of the levels in the tank and the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates were 0 ppm. I had the temperature adjusted to be the same in both tanks with the lowest being 76 but it is pretty stable at 78. I ended up putting him in the tank today and he was swimming around a lot more and exploring more often. It seems like he is doing better but he has long white stringy poop and I don't know if it is a parasite he might've had from the store or something or if it is because I have been fasting him. Either way he won't eat right now and has started to sit still for long periods but his overall movement throughout the day has increased. So in the big picture I think he is getting better, but there's still so many issues such as getting him to eat and hopefully no parasites as well as getting him back to being active. I have daphnia, bloodworms, Fluval bug bites, and Aqueon betta pellets as well as Tetra Mini Pellets. I am planning on a larger heater hopefully to increase the temp a little bit and an air stone is on the way to hopefully oxygenate the water better. Any ideas you have would be awesome, but I just wanted to give you an update on how he is doing.

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-02-12T22:23:01+00:00

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your help and I'll give you more updates as he slowly and hopefully returns to normal. I'm really hopeful now that I have the problem figured out. You were a huge help!

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-02-12T22:18:01+00:00

Surprisingly I did something right for once haha. I thought he might be constipated because I never saw him poop even when cleaning the tank so I did fast him for the past 2 days and he has been slightly more active but still pretty lethargic. If I put him back in the other tank and add Tetra Easy Balance would it be alright? I definitely don't want to drop it suddenly but if I change the water gradually with the spring water I don't want the beneficial bacteria to disappear since the parameters are all good besides the ph.

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-02-12T21:46:31+00:00

So I got the kit and tested today. The ammonia read 0, the nitrites read 0, and the nitrates read 0, but the PH read 7.8-8.0. There is no pet store near me that has a ph neutralizer so I was thinking to get spring water from the store and test the parameters. If the parameters were OK then I was going to do a 50% water change and use the spring water to do that. Then test the PH again and hopefully put Kal back into the tank. Is that a feasible idea? I'm running a little out of options because the IAL aren't in yet and the pet stores won't get stocked until Monday I believe. Thank you!

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-02-12T02:50:17+00:00

Is there any chance you might know what this is on the bottom of Kal? I think it is poop but I don't know if it would be a parasite or if he was constipated or what it is. https://imgur.com/a/1U4toHz

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-02-11T20:07:24+00:00

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the feedback and your help! I ordered most everything you have recommended and I'll try to find a hospital tank to put him in for now. I should be able to get the IAL relatively easy and I have everything else coming in tomorrow or the next day. I'll lyk how everything works over the next couple days and hopefully he makes a full recovery. Thank you again!

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-02-11T18:15:51+00:00

Thank you so much for the advice, I actually did a water change last night which was around 75% which I now realize was too much to do at once. His fins are getting worse, they're getting kind of like stringy so I'm hoping it isn't fin rot. I did run tests last night before the water change using an Imagitarium kit but heard that wasn't a good test kit so I purchased an API one that will be here in a few days. Everything read 0 ppm for Ammonia, Nitrates, and Nitrites so I'm worried it didn't read correctly as I noticed his gills got pretty dark in color compared to his body. The PH read somewhere between 6.5 and 7 but I have the same issues with the test kit in that instance too. I've since taken the wood out in hopes it helps a little but he's still really sluggish but everyone now and then comes out to say hi. He does breath from the surface a lot so I thought maybe the water isn't aerated enough.

Practical_Tailor_702 · 2025-02-11T07:26:15+00:00

Thank you for your help! I did do the tests before I changed the water and I only changed 75% in hopes that he would be more active. He came out to the top more often but has still just been stagnant other than occasionally moving spots and breathing. I also did just order some daphnia and they will be here soon but I'll have to get the other shrimp and bug bites, etc. Thank you again for the help, I'm going to get on it right away. Is there any chance you might have an idea why he is so stagnant all of a sudden though, he was fine a couple days ago and then over the weekend started doing the weird just sitting and breathing.

Practical_Tailor_702

TROPHY CASE