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If my betta mostly hangs around the bottom of the tank, and doesnt move too much, is that bad2007-11-24 23:36:06

My male betta, who is in a small 2.5 minibow, with 3 small platies, is just staying around the bottom, not doing too much. At a LPS, which is good, not like petco or anything, said they should be fine in a 2.5 gal, as long as I change the water a little more often. Is there something unusual with my betta's actions, or is that just normal? DO tehy like being near the gravel on the bottom of the tank? Well now that I think more, he also swims a lot, but also likes being lazy on the ground. Normal?

Answers:

It can be normal, or he can be developing signs of swim bladder disease. Change 50% of the water today. Don't feed the fish for two days, and on the third day feed him the inside of a pea cut up into bite sized pieces. Then do another water change. Add salt for freshwater fish if you don't already do so at a rate of one teaspoon for every gallon of tank water.

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yes, it is very normal. my betta just hangs aroung either the top or the bottom iof the tank all day long. pretty usual. just think to your self, "what else would he be doing if he wasn't at the bottom of the tank? would he be playing a PS2?" it's ok, that's all betta fish do all day.

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umm yea it should b normal i read that in books once

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yeah, betas like to chill out. :) normal.

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it ok id your fish does thatsit just means that it is scared

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Bettas live in the tiny little mud puddles in rice patties in China. They don't like to move a lot, are the only fish that doesn't need oxygenated air(since they can breathe at the top of the water), and actually prefer to live in a tiny little bowl by themselves(they are scared of large spaces of water and don't like other fish). The reason that they sell tiny little "betta bowls" is that they are the perfect environment for a betta only. Your betta will be o.k., though. Just make sure that he gets food that is formulated for bettas, since they have completely different nutritional requirements than tropical fish. I worked at Petco for five years and was an assistant manager, I hope this helps.

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Yeah, very normal, I've had every kind of freshwater aquarium fish there is over the last 30 years and beta's are lazy, unless you have a sheet of glass in the middle of the tank with one on each side of the glass, man then you've got a heck of a show, but they can't hurt each other.

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yes mine died when he did that.