betta sits at bottom of bowl

Question
I've had my betta for a month now and, while he does swim to the top when he sees me, he spends most of his day sitting on the gravel at the bottom of his bowl. He is making bubble nests so he can come to the surface often enough. My other betta usually hangs out near the top or the middle of his bowl - rarely at the bottom. I don't think he has a swim bladder infection but I'm wondering if I should be concerned. I would really appreciate your help. Thank you.

Answer
Hi RG;

It does sound like a swim bladder failure. The swim bladder controls buoyancy and usually fills with blood gasses when the fish wants to float up or the blood gasses dissipate when the fish wants to sink. If their swim bladder is damaged or inflamed, it will hold the gasses too long and float all the time, or can't hold any and sink to the bottom. There are many possible causes but only two that are treatable; Infection and overfeeding (leading to constipation). We can't always tell which possible cause it is so we usually treat those two and hope for the best. Infections can be treated with "Maracyn 2". Constipation is treated by witholding food for 2 or 3 days and then feeding peeled green peas.

The problem with any treatments is that the damaged swim bladder often does not regain it's function. The fish can live a long and pretty happy life though. He just can't swim like other fish. Here is an article about it;

http://www.petfish.net/articles/Bettas/swimbladder_betta.php

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins