betta's sudden fear of me after a year

[frostier]

I've had my betta for almost a year now, and he used to be super friendly - he'd swim up to the glass and follow my finger around his tank. Lately, though, he's been acting really skittish. I hold my finger up to the tank and he darts away or backs off. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what's causing this, and I'm thinking it might have something to do with my new nail polish - it's this shiny holographic stuff from Sally Hansen called "Let's Get Digital". He's also started biting his tail, and it's really damaging his fins. And on top of that, his color has changed - he used to be this deep blue, but now he's more turquoise-ish. I'm doing my best to take care of him, but I'm not sure what's going wrong. I change the water in his tank every week, but I don't have the money to get a water tester. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?

[juicebox]

What's the tank size though?

[frostier]

What's the tank size though?

I'm currently keeping him in a 2 gallon tank, but I'm working on upgrading to a 10 gallon one.

[coltin]

I'd recommend doing a 75% water change daily for the next two weeks, and also give the substrate a good gravel clean. Poor water quality can really stress out your betta, and with daily water changes, you should be able to dilute any chemicals or toxins that might be building up in the tank. It's possible that your nail polish, or even other chemicals like perfume or deodorants, could be affecting the water quality. The daily water changes should help to flush these out and might just do the trick in reducing your betta's stress.

[oldraider]

Small tanks are super sensitive to changes. Residue on your hands can impact the water quality. I'm not surprised you're seeing issues with a 2-gallon tank. Upgrading to a 10-gallon tank will definitely help dilute any chemicals that might be affecting your betta.

[frostier]

I'd recommend doing a 75% water change daily for the next two weeks, and also give the substrate a good gravel clean. Poor water quality can really stress out your betta, and with daily water changes, you should be able to dilute any chemicals or toxins that might be building up in the tank. It's possible that your nail polish, or even other chemicals like perfume or deodorants, could be affecting the water quality. The daily water changes should help to flush these out and might just do the trick in reducing your betta's stress.

Thanks so much for the help. I'll start doing those daily water changes right away.

[frostier]

Small tanks are super sensitive to changes. Residue on your hands can impact the water quality. I'm not surprised you're seeing issues with a 2-gallon tank. Upgrading to a 10-gallon tank will definitely help dilute any chemicals that might be affecting your betta.

When I got him from PetSmart, the employee said a 2 gallon was fine, but I later found out bettas need way more space to do well.

[oldraider]

I've had my betta for almost a year now, and he used to be super friendly - he'd swim up to the glass and follow my finger around his tank. Lately, though, he's been acting really skittish. I hold my finger up to the tank and he darts away or backs off. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what's causing this, and I'm thinking it might have something to do with my new nail polish - it's this shiny holographic stuff from Sally Hansen called "Let's Get Digital". He's also started biting his tail, and it's really damaging his fins. And on top of that, his color has changed - he used to be this deep blue, but now he's more turquoise-ish. I'm doing my best to take care of him, but I'm not sure what's going wrong. I change the water in his tank every week, but I don't have the money to get a water tester. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?

I've been there too, and it's unfortunate that pet store employees often don't know what they're talking about, or just don't care. We've all been misled by them at some point, it's almost like they're not invested in the well-being of the animals they're selling.