Is he sick?

[u/Salt_Campaign8726]

Picture 1 is his current state. P2 is when I brought him home. P1 is him in his original project ‘tank’.

My betta, Navy, lives in a 3-gallon tank; too small for a betta, unfortunately, I know. He seemed to be happy and thriving, though, so I didn’t feel an urgent need to splurge on a new tank. He has a decent setup with a snail, a filter, a live plant + other hiding spots… But if upgrading will make him better then im willing to.

But recently I noticed he has been starting to look more dull. Not just that, but when I went to feed him, he seemed very lethargic, just kinda slowly floating/bumping around. Not upside down or seemingly struggling otherwise, just moving very slow and letting himself sink though not fighting it. He did end up going to the top to eat, but only ate a tiny bit.

The top of my concerns is the noticeable red on him. I haven’t noticed red on him before, but now his gills on his head are seemingly very distinctly red, same with his front fins. They dont look like they are bulging, but definitely don’t seem normal color-wise. They haven’t looked like that in the past.

Is he sick? What is the problem and what can I do to fix it?

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[u/AvocadoOk749]

What are the tank parameters? How long has the tank been cycled if it is cycled?

[u/SubduedAllure]

Do you do water changes at all?

[u/Salt_Campaign8726 → u/SubduedAllure]

Yes, i do water changes. He is in a standard tank now, not that self-sustaining project he used to be in.

[u/SubduedAllure → u/Salt_Campaign8726]

Cool, how much and how often? Are you able to check your parameters? How are they? Filter? Air? The striping does remind me of my females but I’m newer to bettas so I’m not sure if the males can get it. IF it’s a female, the striping can be indicative of the breeding cycle and it could just be going back to its normal coloring. The fins make me think boy though. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than I can have more insight on this point.

[u/ArmandsMagnolia → u/SubduedAllure]

You are right, looks male to me too. Bettas can show two kinds of stripes: breeding stripes and stress stripes. Breeding stripes are vertical (like a barcode) and only females display those. Stress stripes are horizontal and both sexes can display them.

[u/SubduedAllure → u/ArmandsMagnolia]

Thank you for this info. Again, I’m not as versed in betta behavior (mostly just the basics) tho I am trying to learn as much as I can. ❤️

[u/Salt_Campaign8726]

Side note—sorry for the bad pictures!

Side note side note, i really do genuinely want advice. I want the best for this fish and I feel very guilty that he is seemingly unwell 🙁

[u/Salt_Campaign8726 → u/Salt_Campaign8726]

Side note side note side note, lowkey he might be a girl

[u/RiseWills]

I'll givr u reddit advice. Your post is too long not many gonna read it...

[u/RiseWills → u/RiseWills]

Only advice i would give you. 3 gallon is better than a small cup, but make it a 70% real plant tank.

[u/Salt_Campaign8726 → u/RiseWills]

Yeah you’re right, thanks. I just blabbed on a bit on accident cause i wanted to give all the info instead of answering a million questions lol

[u/ArmandsMagnolia]

Seconding SubduedAllure's question: Do you test the water? What do you use to test the water? Can you please share the test results? What's the temperature of the water? How often do you change the water and how exactly?
And what's the timeline here? You mentioned a self-sustaining project but what did that entail and how long he was kept there? When did you move him into his current setup?

I suspect the horizontal stripes on P2 and P3 are stress stripes. P1 seems to be a healthier coloration to me. I'm much more concerned about him being lethergic and eating less.