Betta question

Question
I have a betta that used to be a very hearty, aggressive eater- over the past month he has just been camped out in the corner of his bowl near the surface seemingly asleep and is very uninterested in food. He'll go for days without reacting to food offered. Is there such a thing as "hibernation" for these fish in colder weather? I'm very worried otherwise- I feel like he's slowly starving!

Answer
Hi,
Oh, no.. That is a bad sign.. Bettas are usually always aggressive eaters and they should always be. There is no hibernation for bettas in colder weather, but they tend to be less active when the temperature drops too low. I have had many bettas, though, and they were always fine with room temperature.

You will not have to worry about his starvation because bettas can go almost up to two weeks without food. What you really need to worry about is his health. Not eating is a sign of unhealthy/sick fish.

If he is an a bowl without heater and filter, try changing water, since it can be excessive amount of bacteria. When changing water, use drinking water and keep it indoors until the water temperature becomes your room temperature. I have had a betta die of fungus and ich (at the same time!! :[[[ not good) and about from two weeks he got infected, he was just sitting in the corner of his bowl with his fins closed, and did not eat. If he is not used to having his water fully changed, do a partial water change. Try not to take him out of the water- catch him with a cup to a full water change or just leave him in the tank and do 25%-75% water change (depending on your normal change.)

Some people might recommend putting them into a tank with filter and heater, but you should never do that when your betta is acting that way. It gives tremendous amount of stress, and I have had a healthy betta die from moving from a bowl to a 29 gallon tank.

If you really wish to move him from his bowl to a tank (big tanks are not necessary for bettas. I would say, if it has filter and heater, move to a tank less than 6 gallons), do the following:

1. Setup the tank with heater, but don't turn it on.
2. wait until the water in the tank adjusts to room temperature.
3. place his bowl INSIDE the tank (half way only, so he cannot escape to the tank). If it does not fit, put him in a small goldfish bowl that would. Just make sure he does not come out of the water when doing that.
4. turn the heater on with the betta in the bowl in the tank.
5. Please wait at least half an hour. One hour or more would be better.
6. gently tilt the bowl and let him come out.

My best recommendation is to get an ich and fungus medicine. When your betta is weak, he is very easy to get infected. Check on him often to see if everything is ok. Try feeding him frozen bloodworms or frozen brine shrimp. Do not feed him more than how much you used to feed him. Since he is not used to the food right now, a sudden massive amount of food will definitely shock his digestive system. If he eats, that is wonderful. Keep feeding only the food he eats for the next few weeks, until his health gets better. If he still does not eat for a several more days, I will say, take him to the vet. Usually a local pet shop will do it for a low price or even for free, if it is an easy check up.

I really wish he is ok!! Good luck!

Barbara