Help! my Betta is not eating

[Cat]

I am a new Betta owner. We (my two kids and I) bought 2 Betta's two days ago. The one has settled into his tank happily swimming, eating and blowing bubbles. The second one is not doing so well. He hasn't eaten anything yet and is sitting at the bottom of the other tank very still. He seems really scared too (compared to the other one).

Will this pass in a day or so or should I be doing something to help this little guy? Do they sometimes stop eating for a few days after being moved? I've tried both flakes and Betta gold pellets (the floating ones). He hasn't shown interest in either.

Help please!

Cat

[abm]

Cat,
Bettas sometimes won't eat for up to a week after being moved into a new home - depends on the individual. But I think you need to go with your gut instincts - if he's not moving, not coming up for air, etc. there could be something else wrong with him.
Check the links at the top for Illness and Cure Info - there are descriptions of common betta symptoms, ideas as to what they mean, and ways to treat them. You don't want to just buy a bunch of meds and start throwing them into his tank, not knowing what's wrong, but hopefully those guidelines will help you determine if your guy is just stubborn or if there's a real issue.

I can tell you from my personal experience that I have had two bettas (I have 8 right now) who refused to eat after a change in their environment; I continued to offer small amounts of food to them at the same times I fed the others and gave them the same attention; if they didn't eat it within a couple of minutes I scooped it out (Make sure you don't leave uneaten food in the water - it will dirty the water very quickly). After several days both guys snapped out of it and have been fine ever since.

Good luck!

[Cat]

Thanks, that is helpful. He is coming up for air so maybe he is just subborn and adjusting to the new environment.

I hadn't been removing the extra food. There are a couple of pellets on the bottom, so I will scoop those out and give it a bit more time. As for the plant, should I remove it immediately and check it out or wait til he settles in and I'm doing a water change anyway?

One last question (remember I'm a true novice here), I'm hearing different things about water changes. Do you change it all at once, 50% or what? Does it matter? My friend who has had her Betta for a year now does full water changes each week but I've been reading on the internet about partial changes being good for them. What is best?

Cat

[Jenny]

How much of the water to change depends depends on the size of the tank and whether it is cycled (cycling is the building up of bacteria to convert waste to less harmful forms) or not. If you have them in tanks 1 gallon or smaller, or ones that are unfiltered, the tanks will not cycle, and will need 100% water changes (at least once a week for one gallon), although you can do partial changes in between this to keep the water extra clean. If you have a larger filtered tank, you will likely want to cycle it so you don't have to do 100% changes. If this is the case check out the link on cycling in the glossary in the non-urgent questions.

[Cat]

Thanks Jenny that is helpful.

Cat

[abm]

And just for further clarification, the 100% does mean all at once - you remove the betta along with enough of his current water to keep him stable for an hour or so (depending on how adept you are at the cleaning process and how close in temperature your old and new water is), rinse rinse RINSE everything in the hottest water you can get (never EVER use soap on anything for your betta - soap kills) and then replace the gravel, plant etc., refill with clean dechlorinated, preferably aged water that is the same temp as his old water. Also as you get more experienced you'll learn to use pH test kits to test other water parameters and make his home just perfect for him.

Read through these threads on the forum - lots of folks describe their methods of water changes and how their fish react.

About your plant - if you are concerned that it might be bothering him or be a snagging danger to his fins, I would remove it, maybe put a little candle votive in there, just something for him to swim in and around for variety and to make him feel secure. All bettas are different - I have one guy who absolutely lounges on the top of his decoration, and two others who ignore them completely.

[palepinkvase]

Hi Cat - How is your new guy doing? I am sorry to hear that he is not feeling quite well. As the others have said it is not unusual for a Betta to refuse food when in a new environment. As long as he shows no signs of disease (please check out the Illness section on the main HB website) then just be patient. Some Bettas can also be shy. If he still seems nervous and scared, I would place him where there is minimal stimuli from outside his tank. I have all my guys in 2 gallon containers that are not cycled. I do complete water changes every 10-14 days. Providing clean, properly treated water is the best thing you can do for your Bettas. I use a conditioner for my tap water that removed chlorine and chloramine. I also use a Pur faucet water filter and I sometimes buy bottled spring water. Aviod distilled water as it does not contain beneficial minerals that the Bettas need. Good Luck and keep us posted. Please don't hesitate to ask if you have a question. Many of us have been where you are now.

[Cat]

Thanks for all the help. My betta is still not eating but he is hanging in there. It has been 5 days so I'm a little bit worried still but as he doesn't appear sick in any other way I guess there is not much to do...
I am going to do a water change today as he is only in a gallon of water max (it is probably a little less) Is there anyway to entice them to eat -- like would it be good to get blood worms or something else besides the pellets and flakes that I have?
I really appreciate everyone's concern about my poor little fish and all the support I've recieved through this message board. Thank you.
Cat

[spiff]

I know what the whole not eating this is like! Joey didn't eat at all when he was in a 1/2 gallon tank, so I bought him a bigger tank (10 gallon divided with another betta). He still didn't eat then, and I figured out it was because he didn't like the flakes. Once I offered him pellets, he gobbled them up, but that doesn't seem to be your problem.

Aragorn didn't eat for about a week. Apolo started eating right away and would come up to the top for food whenever I opened the lid, but if Aragorn came up it was because he was chasing Apolo and flaring at him. He eventually calmed down and started eating, and now he's the first one there when the lid opens. Is your betta seeing other fish or his reflection? Perhaps right now, he would rather flare than eat.

[palepinkvase]

I know it's distressing that he is not eating. One of my guys went 10 days before he ate and then only 1 pellet a day for a week! Have you ruled out an illness? I don't want to rush you into using medications, especially if they are not necessary. What is the water temperature for your guys? You could try changing food brands. All my guys turn up their noses at any pellets besides Hikari Bio-Gold. I wouldn't move to blood worms or anything else just yet. That sort of food should be reserved as treats. Hang in there, Cat.

[Cat]

That is good to hear. Perhaps he will start eating soon. He still appears healthy except for not eating.
I'm not sure what my water temperature is at. Do I just get a thermometer at the pet store to keep track of it?
I just have my bowls in the warmest room in our house -- as I said earlier, the one guy (Bruce) seems to be doing well there but the other one, Ashley, seems scared and still won't eat. I do use bio-gold pellets and Betta flakes. I've been feeding him when I feed Bruce but Ashley still hasn't responded. (at least now I know that I need to remove the uneaten food right away )
I'm such a novice so once again -- thanks all for your support of me and Ashley (he is my 3 year old daughter's fish. She has decided that Ashley is a girl and no amount of arguing on my part could convince her otherwise! ;D)

Cat

[Jenny]

I would definitely get a thermometre for the tank. You can get one from a petstore for only a few dollars. You can either get the kind that stick on the side of the tank, or ones that float or suction on to the side. I have used both and find them to be about equally accurate (at least they always show me the same temperature when I have both in a tank).

[Cat]

Ashley is gone. I am not sure if it was from not eating or popeye. My final question at this point is simply, how do I treat the bowl he was in to make sure it is safe for a new fish? Since I'm not sure why he died I want to make sure that I don't pass something on to a new fish -- My daughter is consoled by the fact that we can get a new fishy soon .
Thank you to each of you who supported me through this hard time.
Cat

[ACKislander]

You need to wash it with extemely hot water and no soap. Soap shouldn't be used on anything that goes in a fish tank. The gravel, plants and decoratons can be boiled. Also use very hot water for any nets you may have used as well.

[Cat]

Thank you for the info. I'll be sure to do that before getting a new one.

Cat