Betta won't eat, overall strange behavior

[brianmcgann]

Hello, I've had my betta for just about 1 week now. He's been a bit strange all week...overall, I think he's ok but his mood just seems to change on a daily basis. He started out doing really well--he ate right away after I put him in the tank. I got him from Petco and it seemed like he really enjoyed his new larger home and the fact that I fed him on a regular basis. All was well for the first few days...then he started to get really lethargic. In the morning, it usually took me a minute or so to determine if he was still alive! It was almost as if he was sleeping, and then he would eventually perk up a bit, but not much. I figured there was something very wrong. A few days later he was back to his old spunky self, swimming around just as he did in the first couple of days. The problem now, however, is he won't eat. He'll go for the food when I put it in the tank and start chomping on it, but then he'll spit it out. He's done this the last 3 days every time I have fed him. I'll put a second pellet in there and he'll just look at it and swim away. I'm feeding him the Betta Bites. Any idea as to what can be the problem?

A bit more info--I don't have a heater in the tank and I know it's not as warm as it should be (during the day it seems to be about 76, but at night it goes a few degrees lower).

Any help or advice would be appreciated! Should I try different food?

[accountingchick]

First I would recommend that you get a heater for your tank. Bettas are tropical fish and should be in water around 78-80 degrees. When fish get cold they get lethargic and the cold also makes them prone to illness. Try that first then see how he is doing after a couple of days and if he is still not acting right then something else could very well be wrong. Also what size of tank is he in? The reason why I ask is because heaters vary in wattage and certain wattages work best for certain size tanks. Keep us updated on what happens and welcome to HB.

[Jilly]

I had a betta that didn't eat for three weeks. I tried every kind of food I could buy. I finally got him to eat daphnia, but I didn't think it was good to be a staple food (and it was expensive). Then one day he decided to start eating the pellets, so go figure.
You did not mention if you actually have a thermometer in/on your tank or if you are going by the temperature of the room - it would be very helpful to have one.
My boy only recently got a heater; I thought he was just slow because he was old, but the steady temp has certainly changed his activity level in swimming, bubble nesting, and flirting with his girlfriend in the next tank.

[brianmcgann]

He's doing much better now. I changed the food to the "Bio Gold" brand (I think that is what it is called) and he really seems to like that. Odd.

As for the temperature of the water, I haven't purchased a heater but I did change the light bulb in the top of the tank from a 7W to a 15W. I was very surprised that the water temp went all the way up to 80 degress as a result. The good news is that the fish was much more active and spunky with the warmer temps. The bad news is that the plastic casing that houses the bulb was hot to the touch and almost felt as if it was melting. I had to leave it off today because I'm concerned it may be just too much for it.

Anyway, overall he seems quite content and healthy...

[sawcat]

Yeah, the minibows take a max of 15 w (other small ones might too- somewhere in the hood it should say). I just finally tracked down the 10 w Flourescent someone told me about that Walmart carried for my minibow.

The only thing with using the light bulb for heat is the temperture drop when you turn it off. Mine would get up to 80 by the time I turned it off, but when I turned it on again it was around 70. That convinced me to get a heater.

Some bettas are super picky. My first one would only eat the betta bite pellets. Tried freezedried bloodworms and brine shrimp and he would not eat those.