whats wrong with my bata?

Question
Dear Nicole,
i have a pet bata named "Petey" and i have no idea what is wrong with him. It just sits there at the bottom of its tank in the exact same spot every day. Ive been feeding it three times a day, when i get up every morning, at 4;00 when i get home from school, and right before i go to bed. I cleaned his tank about three days ago but then i've noticed the light was broken so now its off but he has a water filtration in his tank, and i've added one drop of this anti fungus bacteria stuff in his tank every time i clean it. I have no idea what Im doing wrong. I also have a bird, his cage is right next to Petey's tank, he does chirp loudly at times but i usually quiet him down when i can. Could my bird be the problem? do I need to change the light in his tank? Is he just sick? How can i cure it? please send me an answer as soon as you can. Thank you.

Answer
Good morning, thank you for your question. By the way, I like your name! :)

You don't mention how large your tank is, but I bet that a few things are going on. First things first, do you have a thermometer in the tank? I bet your betta is just cold. His water should be 78-80 degrees, otherwise he just won't be very active and is more suspectible to becoming sick.

Petsmart sells a heater for very small tanks or bowls, Hydor makes it and it's just 7.5 watts. A 25 watt heater will work too (unless your tank is a mere gallon) for a tank up to 5 gallons. Add the heater and I believe you will see a nearly miraculous recovery. Let me also give you some tips...

When you clean your filter and change your water, make sure that you don't rinse out your cartridges in tap water. Chlorine kills the beneficial bacteria that live on the cartridge, which is why it is best to rinse it in water from the aquarium or dechlorinated water such as drinking water. Prime, by Seachem, is my dechlorinator of choice.

Don't change out 100% of the water, either - that's awfully stressful to Petey. Instead, change only about 50-60% of it. If it were my tank, I would not use the fungicide with the water changes, even if it is just a drop. The sanitizer in it could harm the beneficial bacteria that process the waste - you can type "nitrogen cycle" into Google and learn much more, if you're curious. I would instead add aquarium salt to the water at 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons, as preventative medicine. You can find this salt at Walmart or most any pet store. Dissolve it in a little warm water first.

You ought to remove any uneaten food from the bottom of the tank. It will not be consumed by your betta, and will only serve to foul the water. Use the smallest gravel vacuum you can find, although for my tiniest tanks I use a piece of rigid airline tubing connected to some flexible airline tubing, to siphon away debris from the bottom. I have yet to end up with a mouthful of water, but I use a long piece of tubing! Also, keep in mind that your betta's stomach is only the size of his eye, so 3-4 pellets a day or a few worms at a time is all I recommend you feed him. One pellet at a time works best. There are other foods you can try, too...

The light was probably giving him some warmth, and since it has been off, he has been colder than usual. Do look into a heater for his small tank, it's a necessity to keep him healthy. The perfect betta systems, in my mind, are the 5 gallon ones that Walmart sells for $40-50. You get an acrylic tank, a hood with a light on it, and a filter with a bio-wheel. It's just as good as an Eclipse system, and it's made by Marineland under a generic name for Walmart.

I wouldn't worry about your bird. He might annoy the betta a bit, but I bet the members of your family/yourself are more annoyed than he. At least he hears it chirping underwater!

Good luck, and check out www.bettatalk.com if you haven't already. It's chock full of information such as feeding suggestions, disease diagnosis and treatment options, and much more. Another site I recommend is www.wetwebmedia.com - their site is searchable and has lots of betta Q&A!

Feel free to write again anytime.
Nicole