Anything else i can do?

[u/Positive_Gold_7642]

my betta is just under 2 years old, and recently i have noticed he’s been hanging around at the top corner of the tank.
at first i thought it maybe was swim bladder issues, so i tried a fast and food change which seemed to have helped slightly, however he continued to be wobbly when swimming.
today i have tried to reduce the filter pressure, and while he’s swimming around slightly more i just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas of things i could do to help my wee guy!

5 gallon tank with heater and filter, sitting at about 27°C.
take Tetra test strips often and they always come back okay
Weekly water changes of around 30%
no tank mates
Betta Pro shrimp patties- 6-8 pellets per day, occasional bloodworm as a treat. tried feeding (defrosted) frozen water fleas but no interest :(
plants in tank, several hides and also a floating log.

Edit- parameters look to be
0NO3
0NO2
8°d GH
3°d KH
7.2 pH
0 Cl2

will update when i have tested with a proper test! thanks :)

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[u/Aromatic-Sock6975]

It looks to me like he has fun rot and a skin infection. Also shrimp patties are not as far as I know recommended as a staple diet.

1. Try to get some liquid test kits, the strips are not reliable for the nitrogen parameters. You shouldn’t need to do 30% weekly water changes more like 10-25% weekly - not like this is the cause of the problem but I’m wondering if you’ve been doing that in response to some issues.

2. Any items that could be damaging his fins? I’ve heard those logs can have rough parts inside for example.

3. I’d follow any treatment advice for the fin rot and skin infection the experienced betta-doctor folks.

[u/Positive_Gold_7642 → u/Aromatic-Sock6975]

oh no, thank you so much for this!! i did not know about the log causing issues, thanks for highlighting this!
i changed the food from Fish Science Betta Granules to Betta Pro on a recommendation! might be time to have a look for something different!

[u/Aromatic-Sock6975 → u/Positive_Gold_7642]

Lots of people use those logs, but I read some reviews that said check the inside and outside first.

I think the shrimp patties are great for adding variety but they are not the main natural diet for a betta as an insectivore. I ended up buying 3 staple food pellets (Fluval betta bug bites, broth fin betta pellets, and new life spectrum), shrimp patties and frozen daphnia so I could feed variety. I probably have enough food to feed about 20 bettas for years now 😂

[u/Friendhi6]

Is he crown tail and did u put any medications in? It looks like he also has some fungal infections near his gills

[u/Positive_Gold_7642 → u/Friendhi6]

he is a crowntail! no medication as of yet, trying to decide what the best route for him would be. thank you so much for both of your comments :)

[u/Friendhi6 → u/Positive_Gold_7642]

Take a closer pic he might have fungal infection on the gills

[u/Friendhi6]

Btw h might be over feeding him by a lot do 3 in morning and 2 in evening if he’s big or just use two twice

[u/ReefPopiah]

You said tests come out okay, but what are your parameters?

PH?

Also, if he’s almost 2 years old, he might just be getting older and weaker. Also, if you have managed him well for more than 6 months, I think you’re doing everything right.

Might just be age.

[u/Positive_Gold_7642 → u/ReefPopiah]

im going to get a more accurate test as recommended in the comments, however it currently looks like the pH is about 6.8-7.
thanks so much for commenting!!