Ziay!

Lipstick

My betta fish has been so healthy for the last 7 months. I cleaned his bowl yesterday and nuteralized the water as always and now he won't leave the bottom of his bowl . His fins are limp. I have had a mirror next to his home for months and he loves it. He can't seem to get enough of himself. Do you think he is sick or depressed. I lost my last betta to a tumor and just don't want to lose this one.
He isn't interested in his mirror now.

Dan

I have had 2 beta fishes. One lasted 4 years and the other one just died the past week, and he lasted 5 years. Before they died, they both started acting like yours, they wouldn't go out the bottom of their bowl.... I'm sorry, but u should buy another one before this one dies, that way you'll have a consolation.

ilovedragonflies6

Maybe you should re-clean the container? Did you wash it out really well?

got_milk_its_dairy

who cares.. a fish is the stupidest animal u can ever have what a waste of time....

Venus__27

Actually the mirror should not be there all the time, it's simply there for exercise. He may simply be tired...giving up the fight with the "intruder" for his space.

Take the mirror away. You should only let him see the mirror for about 10 mins a day, if that long.

Campbell Gramma

you probably stressed him with the mirror.....
bettas are fighting fish...they aggressively display when they see another male.....this takes a lot out of them.....he's been seeing another male in the mirror for how long now????....he doesn't " love " it......he's been trying to fight himself.......

ye_river_xiv

Well, he may just be getting old. Bettas rarely live for more than two years, and a lot of that time can be on a shelf.

Some bettas just get like that, and never get back, I'm not sure why. I think the owners tap the glass every time they feed them, and the bettas figure there's nothing but food to get excited about. I never tap my glass, and my bettas always go nuts when they see me. They're like "Hey! Come here and feed me!"

You might try giving him a bigger place to live in. Bettas do like to explore.

shady_lmtd12

yea probly dying, sometimes when u change the water it takes a few weeks to get the eco system back to the fishes liking, and theirs nothing u can do about that, try only changing half the water at a time

chevyman502

well they arent that exciting, their rather calm, and after seeing a mirror for so long hel get bored, go buy another one and put their tanks next to each other. that should cheer him up. but all they really do is sit there wen they cant fight or anything.

amaranth628!

the mirror's probably not the best thing for a FIGHTING fish, but your answer may be in your water--how much of the bowl did you clean? usually you don't want to clean more than 50% of the water, because there's often good bacteria in it that will help the fish.

there are two things you can do to help your beta here:

1. salt the fishtank. i know this seems strange for a freshwater fish, but put 1tsp per ever galon, and if you're not sure, guess under. basically--how many milk cartons would it take to fill up your bowl? if you have a really small one, just put a couple of pinches in. anyway, the salt will calm down the beta, and also get rid of the natural slime coating he has on his scales.

2. the slime coating makes him more responcive to meds. you can go down to your local pet store (i'm not reccommending petco or pet supplies plus--go to a family owned one / specialty one, where they know what they're selling), and you should be able to find an all-in-one medicine. it treats the most common types of fish desease (scale rot, ick, etc), and should be able to help your beta.

good luck dear!