# Male betta lying on side/wedged next to heater, otherwise seems OK



## organometallica (Oct 24, 2012)

Hello, I'd like to introduce you to Nelson. He started behaving strangely this afternoon. Normally a very active, happy fish, he's been spending most of his time lying on his side on the bottom of the 10 G tank he shares with a pair of Mollies. Worried, I took him out and put him in a ~1 G jar kept mildly saline with a small heater. The main tank was kept at 75-6˚F, so I took the jar to 80˚F just in case.

Now he's still just hanging out on the bottom; the way the heater's arranged in the jar, he's wedged himself up against where it meets the wall. Every now and again he goes out on a lark and looks normal, before promptly settling back next to the heater.

He seems a bit bloated, though symmetrically, so I've given him some pea to see if he will pass it, though it hasn't piqued his interest yet.

I suppose I'm worried, as the last time I had a betta act like this, it died of ick a short time later. I was wondering if the greater world had any suggestions for how to handle my poor, sick Nelson!


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Feed him a pea.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Betta- he did.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

How old is he? Bettas are very short lived fish.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

start changing water and leave the salt out...add a filter and keep temp at 80-82.......


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## organometallica (Oct 24, 2012)

The fish is about 3 weeks old, or at least that's how long I've had him. He seems to have gotten worse since I posted, he's now only coming up for air, it seems. The pea is still uneaten, and he's begun to clamp his fins... 

Is there a chance that this is just constipation, or is this something more sinister? He was happy as a clam yesterday, and today he seems to be a totally different fish....


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## organometallica (Oct 24, 2012)

And literally just now he's taken a nibble of the pea, for what that's worth...


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## organometallica (Oct 24, 2012)

OK, a few hours later, he has pooped, and has begun scooting around the bottom of the jar, though his dorsal fin is still clamped. He seems a little happier, though just as bloated. Perhaps by the morning he will be feeling better.


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## Guest (Oct 27, 2012)

It could be swim bladder disorder. Keep feeding him the pea, or you can fast him for a couple weeks. Fish can go without food for two weeks. Also take a flashlight and shine it on his body, if you see a gold dust covering that is velvet and needs to be treated with meds, same meds as for ich. If you see white spots, that is ich, treat with meds for ich. That is how I found out that halfmoon had ich by shining a flashlight ontohis body. 

It does sound to me that it could be swim bladder disorder and ich since he isn't swimming around and is near the heater.


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## organometallica (Oct 24, 2012)

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. He's swimming about, "talking" to the other fish today, though he sets himself down for a spell every so often. I don't think I see any ick, but I'll definitely try the flashlight to see if he might have velvet.


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## organometallica (Oct 24, 2012)

Three days later and he's still acting funny. I threw his moss ball into the jar with him to help keep the water clean, and now he's lying on top of it. I can't see any velvet "rust" nor do I see anything consistent with Ich or fungus. His bloating has gone down considerably. I'm really worried now. He hasn't seemed to have touched the pea lately.

Thoughts on the prognosis for poor Nelson?


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

If his bloating has gone down he might just need some time to recover. Keep the water crystal clean and observe the fish. Keep trying to feed him the pea


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

bmlbytes said:


> How old is he? Bettas are very short lived fish.


That's what petco and petsmart want you to think. A betta that is well treated and has good genes will live over 5 years. 2 years is the average for bowl fish with 3 being long. Hikari did an experiment and fed a betta their best food and gave it a tank that was perfect temp, water parameters, and size, and the fish lived 10 years. @ organometallica, does your fish swim funny?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

you know ; instead of playing around with trying to get the fish to eat a pea ; why can't folks figure out that it is much easier to just buy some spirulina or vegetable flake foods and feed it to their fish 2 or 3 feedings each week...
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...(not my saying)


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## organometallica (Oct 24, 2012)

Alright, so he's not quite back to his usual self (still going and lying with the moss ball for extended periods of time) but the bloating is down, his color is good and he's going out for strolls now. I'm hoping that this is indicating that he's on the road to recovery. Thanks everyone!

Iohachata, can you recommend some veggie flakes that might be worth investing in?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

sure....try this guy..........

http://www.fishforums.com/forum/neptune-aquatics/35523-new-stock.html


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