Betta fish seems ill?

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I recently had a problem where my heater in my 20L tank blew up due to a power surge so I didn't want to risk chemicals leaching into the water. Because of this I had to move my betta into a cycling 54L tank with an ammonia nutraliser and he was much more active in there. I moved him back into the 20L as the tank can't cycle with the nutraliser in it. The water I used was shower water, as it has the least trace of ammonia in it. I let the water sit for a day, added my water conditioner and ammonia detoxifier and the water chemistry is great. I noticed a day after I moved him, which was yesterday that he isn't moving and is resting for the whole day. He is eating normally, but is acting very odd that it is worrying me. Could this settle down as I just moved him in a new tank? (I did let him get used to the new tank water for 15mins before putting him in) or could this be something bad? I know it is nearly impossible to diagnose through email but I thought that you might know from owning bettas?

thank you for the help

ANSWER: Hi Alexander,
I believe you asked me about your betta before. I remember you mentioning about the heater problem in the 20L and how you were concerned about cycling the 54 L

Your betta may be a bit unsure of his surroundings after being moved. Usually, if conditions are good, healthy bettas will start coming around in 1-2 days and will be back to behaving normally in less than a week.

Have you checked the temperature of his water? If the temperature is below 70 F or 21 C then the water is just too chilly for him to be real active.

Does he sit with his fins clamped? If so he may be coming down with an illness. Also take note if his gills are 'pumping' more strongly than usual. Both are warnings signs you should keep a close eye on him and take note of any physical changes.

If he is still sluggish by tomorrow (with today being the 27th) I would try a 50% water change with pretreated water (water conditioner and ammonia detoxifier) that is the same temperature as his tank water. You wont have to let the new water sit out for hours as the conditioners work much faster than you think. I like to add the water conditioner as the container I use for new water is filling up, that way I'm sure the chemical is well mixed.

I wish I could say more but this is simply a wait and see situation.

I really hope all is well and best of luck!
Susan~


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the help!

I took your advice and so far so good. Since he is in new water that hasn't cycled I am doing daily 25% water changes and sometimes 30%. He is now moving  normally but is still resting more than normal. I can see him improving as he is coming for food and swimming around when I am near the tank. I think it was the new conditions as it probably shocked him. He has been in and out of tanks so I doubt he has liked that.

I had to add some multicure to the tank when I first put him in a few days ago as I thought the move may have caused fin rot again. I don't know why but it makes his fins loose their colour and go see through a little. Is that a bad sign? The colour is returning as I added my carbon back in early as his fins didn't get worse at all. So far he isn't displaying his fins, only sometimes but that should hopefully start happening. His temperature is good and isn't fluctuating (81F) and it doesn't look like he is stressing as he is breathing normally.

I was also wondering how I should go about changing my filter media so I don't loose bacteria again? (This is how the whole problem started) I changed it about 5 weeks ago which caused rot and the tank issues, its amazing how such a simple mistake can cause such problem

Answer
Hi there! I'm glad to hear your betta is doing a little better.
Most fish when moved do in fact lose their color and they may shy away from everything for a while, including food.

It just takes them awhile to get use to new suroundings and new water. With time (depending on the individual fish) they'll be back to their normal selves so all you should really have to worry about as I've said before is keeping the water clean.

If you only removed the carbon out of your filter and not the entire filter media, usually the aquarium will be fine. I'm not sure what type of filter you have but some will allow you to dump the carbon out and keep the fiber part still in the filter. Even then, some medications wil wipe out the good bacteria population and this is quite a risky situation that is best handled it with daily water changes to keep the fish safe until the bacteria grows back and establishes once more.

Best of luck with your little guy! :-)
Take care,
Susan~