Is my betta stressed?

[florizen]

Hi guys,
my fin_tank seems really tired and sad all the time. He often turns away and stays at the bottom of his tank.
It's a 2.5 gallon aquarium.
The temperature is fine, 25-27°.
I make sure not to overfeed him.
And now he's alone in the tank.

But when he sees me, he becomes more active, looks at me and seems happy.
The thing is, I'm not always in the room or near the tank.

I'm not sure what to do.
Should I get him a tankmate so he's not bored or sad?
Or is he maybe sick?

Is this normal?
I'm really not sure what's going on.

Thanks for reading, and sorry again for my bad english.

[goldminer]

Can you please help me by answering these questions.

My tank is 2.5 gallons like I said before, and it has a heater set to 25-27°.
I do have a filter, but I'm not sure how strong the current is, I'll check that.
I think the tank is cycled, but I'm not really sure what that means, can you explain?
I change the water about once a week, and I change about half of it.
I do vacuum the substrate when I change the water.
I use tap water and some additives to make it safe for my fin_tank.
I don't have a water test kit, I just use the additives.
When I clean the tank, I just change the water and clean the glass.
My fin_tank eats flakes, and I give him some bloodworms sometimes, but not too much.
He's alone in the tank now, but I was thinking of getting him a friend.
I've had him for a while now, but I don't remember exactly how long.
He's been healthy so far, no illnesses that I know of.
I have some plants and decorations in the tank, but I don't know what kind they are.
I can try to take a close-up photo of my fin_tank and the tank, but I'm not sure if it will be good quality.

[florizen]

1. The tank is 2.5 gallon.
2. No heater.
3. Yeah, there's a filter, but it's not very strong.
4. When it gets dirty I change it like every two weeks or less.
5. I change all the water, I need to clean the whole tank.
6. No, I don't vacuum the substrate.
7. I use a water cleaner, I'll upload a photo.
8. I just use tap water.
9. No, I don't have a water test kit.
10. I don't know how to use it, to be honest.
11. When I clean the tank, I get the betta out and put him in a bowl with clean water at a good temperature.
Then I take out all the things that are inside the tank and wash them in the kitchen with the tank.
After that, I put fresh water with a good temperature in the tank, and then I put all the decorations back in.
I also clean the filter, and then I put the fish back in.
12. I'll put a photo of the food. I feed him once a day with three pellets.
13. No, he's alone in the tank.
14. I've had him for about three months.
15. He was always a bit passive, but now he looks worse.

[florizen]

I think my fin_tank is always tired and sad, he looks unhappy. Sometimes he turns away and usually stays at the bottom of the tank.

His tank is small, it's 2.5 gallon. The temperature is 25-27°, I don't think it's too hot or too cold for him. I'm careful not to overfeed him, I don't want him to get sick.

He lives alone in the tank now, maybe that's why he's sad. But when he sees me, he gets happy and active, he looks at me and swims around. I wish I could be in the room all day to keep him company.

I don't know what to do, should I get him a new friend or is he sick? Is it normal for him to be like this?

[coltin]

I think I can help with your fin_tank. If he's looking sad or sick, try changing 75% of the water every day until he's better. Most of the time, it's because the water's not good, and changing it helps get rid of bad stuff, so the fish usually gets better quickly.

When you change the water, make sure it's clean and doesn't have chlorine or anything like that in it. Don't take the fish out, just scoop some water out and put new water in. You can use a special tool to clean the gravel without sucking the fish out.

If you put some floating plants in, it might make him feel safer. Water Sprite is a good one, but if you don't have a light, you can use fake plants that float on the water.

You can also try giving him different food, not just the same old pellets. If you have aphids on your roses, you can catch them and feed them to him. Or if you have buckets of water outside, sometimes they have mosquito larvae in them, and you can feed those to him too. Just make sure it's safe and doesn't have any chemicals on it.

Another thing you can try is putting a mirror on the outside of the tank for a few minutes. The fish will think he's fighting another fish and will feel happy when you take the mirror away.

If you take some of the tank water to the pet store, they can test it for you. Ask them to check for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH, and write down the numbers. That will help you figure out what's going on with the water.

[florizen]

Okey, I'll try to change the water and change his food. I'll try to give him different food, not just the same pellets every day. Can I use normal tree leaves as something floating in the aquarium? I'll wash them first, of course. I'll also try the thing with the mirror, it sounds like a good idea. And I'll ask a pet shop if they can test my water, I'll update you if they do.

[coltin]

Hi guys,
my fin_tank seems really tired and sad all the time. He often turns away and stays at the bottom of his tank.
It's a 2.5 gallon aquarium.
The temperature is fine, 25-27°.
I make sure not to overfeed him.
And now he's alone in the tank.

But when he sees me, he becomes more active, looks at me and seems happy.
The thing is, I'm not always in the room or near the tank.

I'm not sure what to do.
Should I get him a tankmate so he's not bored or sad?
Or is he maybe sick?

Is this normal?
I'm really not sure what's going on.

Thanks for reading, and sorry again for my bad english.

I am not sure what the three leaves is, I think you mean Water Sprite, right?

[florizen]

I'm so sorry, I made a mistake, it's tree leaves haha.

[coltin]

Tree and plant leaves will probably sink, so it's better to get a floating plant that's made for aquariums, like Water Sprite, or use plastic plants that can just float on the surface.

[florizen]

Thanks again