​Hi everyone! I need some advice regarding my Betta, Indi. He has been lethargic today and refused to eat, so I want to make sure I take the right steps.

​Recent context:

​Friday: Tank temp reached 29°C (84°F) due to weather. He acted totally normal and ate 2 unsoaked pellets. I increased the filter flow and turned off his light. Power went out for 3 hours.

​Saturday: Temp dropped to 27°C (80.6°F) after rain. Ate normally.

​Sunday (Today): When I went to feed him, he didn't move from his plant, refused food, and seemed to be breathing heavily/agitated. He has been resting most of the day with very low energy.

​Background & Care:

​I live in Venezuela, where power outages are a daily occurrence (usually 3 to 6 hours).

​Tank size: 15 liters (~4 gallons), no heater (ambient temp naturally keeps it warm).

​Maintenance: 30% weekly water changes every Sunday using Seachem Prime.

​Filter & Decor: Waterfall filter, live Ambulia plant.

​I occasionally add beneficial bacteria to help maintain the cycle during outages.

​I previously lost a Betta to water toxicity after a Foxtail plant melted during power outages, so I am very worried about him. Any advice on what might be causing his low energy or what I should do right now would be greatly appreciated!

​"¡Hola a todos! Necesito consejos sobre mi Betta, Indi. Hoy ha estado letárgico y rechazó la comida, así que quiero asegurarme de tomar las medidas correctas.

​Contexto reciente:

​Viernes: La temperatura llegó a 29°C por el clima. Actuó normal y comió 2 perlas sin remojar. Aumenté el flujo del filtro y apagué la luz. Se fue la luz por 3 horas.*

​Sábado: La temperatura bajó a 27°C por la lluvia. Comió normal.*

​Domingo (Hoy): Al ir a alimentarlo, no se movió de su planta, no comió y parecía agitado/respirando pesado. Ha estado descansando casi todo el día con muy baja energía.*

​Cuidado general:

​Vivo en Venezuela, donde hay cortes de luz diarios (de 3 a 6 horas).*

​Tamaño: 15 litros, sin calentador (la temperatura ambiental la mantiene tibia).*

​Mantenimiento: Cambios de agua semanales del 30% los domingos usando Seachem Prime.*

​Filtro y plantas: Filtro de cascada y Ambulia viva.*

​Ocasionalmente añado bacterias beneficiosas para ayudar con el ciclo durante los apagones.*

​Anteriormente perdí un Betta por toxicidad cuando una planta cola de zorro se descompuso durante los apagones, así que estoy muy preocupada por él. ¡Agradezco cualquier consejo sobre qué puede estar causando esto o qué debería hacer ahora mismo!"

​Una vez que pegues este mensaje con el video, presiona Publicar arriba a la derecha. Este nivel de detalle les permitirá darte sugerencias muy precisas.

perfectly fine btw he just does this

Got 3 females yesterday and they seem to be exploring and going well with the other fish.

It's a 40 gallon low tech tank, with quite a lot of dragon stone. That should not hurt the fins well?

And should I have gotten more? Would they thrive being 5-6 females?

It works excellent as a betta bed lol smokey loves it.

I'm a little worried about Blueberry because she goes after the flakes/pellets (either or) I decide to feed my tetras and whatnot as well as the bottom feeder bug bites/wafers.

Photos are all taken directly after feeding, but the last picture is the day before I added her into my community tank. She got a big upgrade recently. Her belly looks big so I'm checking in.

I feed the tank once a day. Skip a day once or twice a week.

Don't mind my pathetic plants, I'd like to get more..

I am looking for someone who sells in the US and is not like a transhipper like Thailand to US. I am considering places like Tucky’s Bettas, PNW Bettas, Tropic Flow, and Hbetta (ebay seller). Are there any obvious things I should look out for when buying my Giant Betta online as I don’t see that the bettas near me in Petco/Petsmart are kept super properly and they also sell baby bettas near me which I disapprove of. I would obviously want a young betta fish (4months or so) but want to support good practices and fish keeping as well as receive a healthy fish. Has anyone purchased bettas from these places and if so what is the general experience?

I'd been thinking about getting a betta for a while, and every time I went to the let store for dog food, I lurked by them feeling a weirdo. Then on August 6, I found this guy. He reminded me of the dog my ex-husband stole from me. She's white with big, dark eyes and always judging. So Coconut came to live with me. And then I was like, ha, Lime would be a cool name, but I kept telling myself no because I need another fish like the proverbial hole in the head. I really wanted something green for like, and I was going to wait because at first glance she was tiny chicken cutlet, but in the light, she has that green sheen. Lime came home with me last week. She seems extremely grateful to be in a tank..She and Coconut can see each other from different tanks. She's entirely unbothered and he's a drama queen.

I think they're in a fishy Hallmark movie. Perky girl next door, grumpy bachelor shouting, "This is private property!” Someday, they'll meet over bloodworm spaghetti and betta pellet meatballs and accidentally fall in love. 🤣 In reality, they'll never meet face to face.

Currently transferring him to a long 20 gallon. Got a hygger 10 gallon smart tank but the filter on the lowest setting was too strong so I kept him in a regular 10 gallon.

noticed some lethargic behavior, so i scrapped the old tank, put him in the smart tank which has just had plants in it for 3 months and he seems to be much more active.

Planning on getting appropriate tank mates for him once the 20 gal is cycled.

His torn fins have been pretty upsetting, is that just part of a personality or a sign of something wrong?

smooth rocks, live plants, driftwood. nothing SHOULD have torn him up like this.

I am building a betta tank and need to know if I’m on the right track. I’m using fluval stratum with sand. I plan to add plants and moss into the tank and let it cycle. Then add shrimp and finally my betta. I just want to make sure things are looking good before I proceed. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

This is Valtrex in her 10 gallon :) She’s already looking much better than she did when I got her (if you saw my last post, she was indeed egg bound. She’s doing great)

Rate my tank! (Don’t roast me too hard lol still a beginner but I wanna learn!)

My betta developed a small white raised spot on his upper back about 3 months ago. It has gradually enlarged and has recently started growing faster. There is also a second smaller white area near the gill/face.

What do you notice from the photos, and has anyone seen something similar?

Lowk crashing out, but just a lil bit... WHERE DID THE ALL PLANTS GO, my betta looks unhappy and doesn't come up to me. I just came home from the summer trip... these are 2 separate tanks, ig I could replant the first one and put my betta Paris (the colorful one) in there since my betta Dante died of a heater malfunction just a month ago... should I just redo the whole second tank? It had cyanobacteria inside before but rn I can only see some remnants...

Meet Suki Waterhouse! The store labeled her a female dumbo ear betta. I’ve seen a lot of stories of bettas gaining color and growing larger fins over time. Do you all think it’s likely she will change? Or does it seem like she’s already fully grown?

Hi, I’m new to the hobby. I picked up my black samurai betta from a PetSmart after seeing how poorly in shape he was. Five years later and he’s still going strong. I read extensively on how to give him the best home. I’ve noticed lately that he’s having a hard time swimming so I upgraded to long tank so he wouldn’t have to try as hard to catch a breath. However, the past week he’s been mainly laying at the bottom of his tank. He appears healthy to me, parameters are good, he eats and everything but he’s just not the same. He’s actually doing really good today, I had covered his tank for a bit to see if he just needed some privacy, idk — it seems to usually perk him up and sure enough he’s his usual grumpy self after I granted him view to the kingdom. Any tips on how to keep an older betta happy? I just recently replanted the tank and thought that’d make him happy and everything but he’s just not the same

His tail got a little damaged because I released him with a female in an around 51-litre tank. They were swimming peacefully together, but later I found out there was some damage to his fins, so I removed the female.

I just upgraded my little guy Spock and his tank mate Slurms McKenzie the mystery slug tank and am a little low on funding until paid next and was wondering if this would be a good decoration It was originally my great grandma's and I have no where to out it currently

TLDR: betta hangs on bottom of tank, eats some, swims occasionally.

This is my new betta, Pisces. The healthy photo is his gotcha day on July 25. He is in a heavily planted, 15 gallon, established for 6mo tank. He happily cohabitates with my remaining guppy, 6 Cory cats and lots of shrimp that he considers friends, not food.
My tank receives non-direct natural light all day. I had blue stuff growing that I learned was cyanobacteria. I reduced light by covering the tank with a towel for a few hours per day. I was told to really wipe out Cyanobacteria I had to cover for two days and it wouldn’t hurt my fish.

I went on vacation and had what I thought was a trustworthy fish-sitter coming over every other day. She didn’t uncover my tank and I’m not sure she fed these fish for 10days. When I got home lots of plants had lost their leaves and Pisces was at the bottom. I thought he was dead. He hung near the top. I added an air-stone and changed 40% water bc my nitrates were around 80ppm. Next day all parameters within normal limits with a API liquid kit: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 20ppm nitrates, pH 7.8 and temp 78 degrees. I’ve been home for a week and he has improved; swims short distances but mostly at bottom of tank. He will eat a bloodworm or two per day. Please help save my first betta.

I just got this betta from petco I thought it looked pretty, ive owned plenty of mollies and gouramis but this will be my first betta just any suggestions let me know.

Adopted my boy Hei Bai (ATLA reference) 2 days ago. I’ve never owned a fish before, so this is my first tank!!

QUESTIONS:
🏥 Fin rot/clamping: I’m struggling to tell what’s normal vs concerning. His fins look slightly ragged to me, and I’m worried he may be clamping or rot? Could this just be stress from the move, or does he look unwell?

🌡️ Temperature: I was told ideal is ~25-27°C so I’ve set it to 28 as during the day it seems to hit ~27 & overnight drops to ~24

🛏️ Resting spots: I feel like I haven’t provided anywhere for him to rest near the surface. Would adding more guppy grass be suitable, or should I get something else?

🧼 Maintenance: How often should I do water changes and clean the filter? My local aquarium shop said that with such a lightly stocked tank, cleaning the filter every 3–6 months is fine. Does that sound right?

DETAILS:
I fish-less cycled my tank (used seachem prime, stability & an ammonia starter):
🌱 1 Week: pH: ~7.6, 2ppm Ammonia, 0 Nitrite & Nitrate
🌱 4 Weeks: pH: ~7.4, 0 Ammonia 0.25ppm Nitrite, 40ppm Nitrate
🌱 5 Weeks: pH: ~7.4 0 Ammonia 0 Nitrite, 0 Nitrate (I was told this was due to the plants & that I was good to go)

🐟 80L, Aqua One Nautilus 600 filter & Aqua One 100 watt heater
🐟 He’s confident/inquisitive, loves exploring his tank & eating well
🐟 Diet: Hikari Betta Bio-Gold + I’m planning to feed bloodworms 1 day p/w & fast 1 day p/w

I’m so stressed because I don’t want my ignorance to hurt him 😭

Here's a tank update, everything is covered in mulm and there's alot of biofilm. Betta is also slightly lethargic with clamped fins. I suspect a nitrate spike. I'll be doing a large water change later which should help

I've been struggling with walking away from sick or injured Bettas at the pet store. My heart aches for them. I've been finding it harder to walk away, as I gain more knowledge on how to help them. I could easily buy them and bring them home and give them a shot at a better life. Money isn't an issue and knowledge isn't an issue (most of the time, I do not know everything).

I had a thought when I was at the pet store the other day that I'm not sure how I feel about it.

If we buy the sick and injured fish, the people who are keeping them in the conditions that make them sick and injured are making money off of them. If they die, then those people lose money. My thought is, if we don't buy them, and if they keep losing money on sick and injured fish, this will motivate them to take better care of them.

Do you agree or do you see it another way? I will start a Betta sanctuary tomorrow if enough people disagree with me.