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Betta Jerking head

23 15:41:48

Question
Hi
I'm having a problem up loading this question, i hope you get it.
I just got my fish Bubba about a week ago. I bought a 1/2 gallon tank, water conditioner, betta food(natural color enhancers and greeze dried bloodworms), and aquatic plant and gravel. Once home i set up his tank, and added room temp. tap water and then added the conditioner. I then put Bubba in his new home. From then on i fed him 3 flakes a day plus a dried bloodworm, 3 times a day. After a few days, he only would eat the dried bloodworms and started blowing bubbles which I'm guessing, is his bubble nest. Sometimes in the morning it would be cold, so i would do half water change to make him warm since i dont have a water heater. Now it has been a week and lately he has been sitting at the top of his tank. When i would walk into the room or by his tank he would swim around, but while swimming sometimes he sorta jerks his head and the top half of his body and i dont understand why. In this week that i had him i have done 1 complete tank cleaning and 2 half tank cleans.  I dont understand what i did wrog :(

Thank you,
~Ashley

Answer
Ashley,

I am sorry Bubba is having problems, but i will tell you how to make him happy and healthy. First off, a Betta needs to have have room in their tank. The rule of thumb is 1 gallon of water per 1 inch of fish. For example, if your fish is 1 inch long, then he needs at least 1 gallon of water. 2 inch fish need a minimum of 2 gallons etc. When you set up a new tank, make sure you wash everything that is going in the tank with very hot water. DO NOT use soap, or any other cleaners. Doing so can harm your fish if not rinsed out completely. The food you are feeding is good, but I would add some frozen Brine Shrimp and frozen Blood worms. Healthy males tend to blow nests more often, so if you see one in his tank, its a good thing. A heater is a must for Betta's because they are tropical fish. All my tank heaters are set at 82 degrees. You can get away with no heater in the summer due to high temperatures outside. NEVER put Bubba near a window. Now for the water changes. You are doing well with the frequency of the changes but,here is a problem. When you do a water change, the new water has to be the same temp as the water it is replacing. If the water is hotter or cold will cause your fish to go into shock. That could be the reason Bubba is "jerking" while he swims. If the water is too cold, the fish will seem lethargic. He will not swim as much, not will he eat much. Does he have any white dots the size of a grain of salt on him anywhere? If so, Bubby most likely has Ich. If he has Ich, then you will need to turn your heater up to 86 degrees. You can add Ich medication to his tank, but most of the time raising the temp to 86 degrees will kill it off.

I hope this help, and don't hesitate to ask questions, I will be happy to answer them.

Good Luck