Who Gives A Fish Forums

I'm dealing with a bit of a mystery with my betta, Bleu - he's been looking pretty puffy for about three weeks now. I've already ruled out dropsy, considering how long it's been going on. I've tried fasting him for a few days, and he's had multiple Epsom salt baths, but nothing seems to be working. He's still pretty active, just a bit more skittish than usual - I guess that's what I get for torturing him with salt baths. I'm stumped between a bad case of constipation and an internal parasite. Any advice would be appreciated.

P.S. He's living in a 15g heated, filtered, planted tank, so I'm not sure what's going on.

Sorry to hear your betta's not doing well, lushly. To better understand the situation and offer some advice, we'll need a bit more information.

Could you tell us what type of filter you're using in the 15g tank - is it a canister, hang-on-back, or sponge filter? What's your water change routine like - how much and how often? Also, what water conditioner do you use?

As for the diet, what type of food does Bleu get, and how much of it? How frequently do you feed him? Are there any tankmates, decorations, or plants (real or artificial) in the tank that could be affecting the environment? Have you introduced anything new to the tank recently?

Lastly, what's the temperature set to, and do you have any readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels?

Hi, thanks for the reply. I appreciate your help in figuring out what's going on with Bleu.

The filter is an Aqueon Quietflow 20. I know I said it was a 15g tank, but to be honest, it's a divided 30g - I just have it set up that way for my two bettas.

For water changes, I usually just top off the gallon or so that evaporates each week, and then I do a 4-5 gallon change about once a month to get rid of all the debris that settles on the bottom.

I use Fluval to condition the water, and I feed my bettas Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets once a day - just one large pinch, maybe 20 pellets or so, but they start to sink before they can eat them all.

In the tank, I've got my two male bettas safely separated, 8 Harlequin rasboras, 6 Congo tetras, a snail I bought, an infestation of common snails, one catfish, and a bunch of different plants - about half a dozen species - plus two flowing betta logs.

Nothing new has been added to the tank recently. The temperature is set to 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

As for the water test kit, I'm still waiting for it to arrive in the mail, so I don't have any readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate just yet.

In a 30 gallon tank, I'd recommend changing 15 gallons of water every week, rather than just topping off the gallon or so that evaporates each week. Topping up can make the water harder over time, since the minerals in the water don't evaporate with it.

When you get your test kit, please do post the results. Even if ammonia and nitrite are zero, I'm concerned that the nitrate level may be quite high due to the small, infrequent water changes.

Since the tank is divided, I'm curious to know how the other fish are distributed. Are they split evenly between the two sides, or are all the fish of one species in one side and all the others in the other?

It's worth noting that Congo tetras require a lot of swimming room - 48 inches, to be exact. Even an undivided 30 gallon tank may be too small for them. They're also active fish that can stress a betta, and they'll likely be stressed themselves by the small tank size.

I'm also concerned that keeping bettas with other fish may be contributing to the problem. Bettas are typically best kept alone, as they're not community fish. It's possible that a combination of poor water conditions and stress from the tank mates is exacerbating the issues with your betta, or even causing them.

Hi again, thanks for the reply. Just got some new info, turns out I don't have Congo tetras after all - it was a labeling mix-up at the pet store. I actually have Pristella tetras. As for the fish division, they're each in their respective halves of the tank. I've only got one catfish now, the other one passed away, and same with the snail - I used to have two, but one didn't make it.

I'll start doing weekly water changes, I had no idea about the 'hardening' effect of topping up. However, I'm a bit concerned about changing 50% of the tank water every week - won't that harm the good bacteria? I've always been told to do 20-30% changes weekly, unless there's a problem like high ammonia.

As for keeping bettas with other fish, I thought I'd done my research - I chose tankmates that wouldn't attack them. I've read that bettas can be kept with others as long as they're not aggressive towards the betta. Was that info really wrong?

I'm relieved to hear those aren't Congo tetras. Even X-ray tetras, which are similar to what you have, require a decent amount of swimming space - at least 24 inches in length. Harlequin rasboras also need a similar amount of room to move around.

I've found that doing 50% weekly water changes in my tanks has been beneficial. You're right to be concerned about the impact on beneficial bacteria, but they don't actually live in the water column - they're attached to surfaces in the biofilm or living in the substrate. Large water changes do help remove waste products and excess chemicals, though.

When topping up, it's best to use pure water, like reverse osmosis or distilled water, to avoid adding more minerals to the tank.

As for keeping bettas with other fish, I've never tried it myself. I've had several bettas over the years, but always kept them solo in a 6.5-gallon tank. In my experience, they just don't mesh well with other species, despite what some websites might say. Seriously Fish is a great resource, and they recommend keeping bettas alone, too.

By the way, I noticed your tank temperature is set at 74°F. That's a bit on the cool side for bettas - they prefer warmer water, between 76°F and 82°F.

Also, what type of catfish do you have? If it's a cory, they're shoaling fish and really need to be in a group of at least six to thrive.

But 50% of the tank water every week?

My betta's still got the instinct to chase those little guys, but he's really slow and usually doesn't catch them, it's pretty funny actually.

Oh no, poor little guy

My fish are the center of my universe, and everything in my tanks serves them. I've got cherry shrimp for my Betta to chase and snack on - it's great exercise and entertainment for him. Snails and loaches keep the tank tidy, and my low-light plants are there to provide a comfortable environment for my fish.

All my tanks are designed with my Bettas in mind, even the massive 6-foot, 100-gallon tank in my signature. It's home to five female Bettas, a bunch of shrimp, and a 3-year-old male BN. I've also got a school of Kuhli loaches - 15 for now, but I'm doubling their numbers soon. I love those little fish, and I'm excited to see how they react to the newcomers.