Hey guys

I know this is a goldfish message board but I was wondering if you can still help me. I have a Beta fish and he used to be in a tank with a little plecko. The little beta used to be so active and be swimming around all over the place. About a month or so ago the little plecko passed away and since then the Beta has looked really down. He seems to lack energy and always sits around amongst the plants in the tank. Do you really think he misses the plecko or do you think there is something Wrong?

Please help

Roger

why did the pleco die? how old is your betta? wuts the set up like? plants.filtration temp. water changes? any other fish?

I had the Beta for 5 months now. I have no idea why the plecko died. I got the temp at 29 degrees. one undre gravel filter. Three fairly large silk plants, one piece of small rock (its only fake rock so its not going to alter the water) and its a 2.2 gallon tank. I only got the Beta

Thanks, Roger

29 deg c or f? if its c then it may be too hot and he will be slowing down from that but if you have no heater and cant turn the haet down move him to a cooler spot in the house. the bubbles from under ground filters can stress a betta out too. in that size tank i would say he dosnt need a filter and would probly do better with out one. just make shure you clean his water once a week 40 to 50% each time. wut food are you feeding him? add 12 a tsp of pure salt (non iodized) no tabel salt. that will help word off infection.

Its 29 degrees C, I can turn off the pump and I hope he perks up. I am feeding him bloodworms from the frozen blocks. He never ever ate flake food. I tried some different ones and he totally ignores them. I'll turn the filter off and see how he reacts. thanks for the help

roger

get some betta pelets(if you havnt tryed them) and add some salt to the water he should perk up.

thanks for your help both of you . I'll get some pellets and can I get the salt from a superstore or would it be from a pet shop?

please dont add that much salt, if any some bettas are very sensitive to it.
( i think that post was a typo, please do not add 12 tsp to your tank)

with any fish acting different,...
start with clean water
remember to add dechlor and temp matched.

make sure the ugf isnt gunked up

you can slow down the air by bending and clipping the air tubing.. if the bubbles are bothering him,

29 deg C is about 84F, that is warm but only by a few .. if you do lower, remember to do it gradually.. keep is light off, another location, not as much sun, things like that

have your water tested at your local pet store for levels of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and the pH

more frequent water changes .. perhaps twice a week of 20-30% may also help make him feel better

note: any non-caking salt, except epsoms salt will work. they sell it at pet stores and others.

good luck,
-Tooterfish

as a man who has never used under gravel filters im not 100% sure but if the filter just gets gets turned off wont the filter break down biologicaly and poison the tank ?

Hey guys

thanks for your help. I tried to go down the pet store today but it was shut and I just been seeing my Beta sitting on the bottom of the tank looking at me as if he's asking for help but I really don't know what I can do to help. the store is open tomorrow and I'll rush straight down there. I think I may try and get another plecko to help clean the tank a little too. I have noticed something else about him today. He sits on the gravel all day and when he does swim, its lop sided as if one side of him is heavier. Also, when he is on the bottom of the tank, he gets into some really akwards looking positions. He used to sometimes come up to the edge of the tank and flair out a kind of hood and look menacing but he has not done that in probably 2 weeks now.

Any ideas? I am going to the store tomorrow and can you guys give me a shopping list please? I know you offered some help but over in england are some of the suggested items called different things? If I go into the store, will the guy know what I'm talking about? All I have at the moment is this liquid which I think is a water softener. I place one drop for every gallon of water and its a blue colour. I have no Ph tester or anything

I appreciate your help and so does my fish

Roger

help your little guy by putting a water test kit on your shopping list for tomorrow there quite easy to use and let you know where you stand they cost around £20 and there worth it !! also i wouldnt get plec tomorrow id leave it a while until you know whats wrong and finally id advise not to put any chemicals in until your sure you need them (water test kit will tell you)
good luck and i hope little guy gets better

p.s wots his name ?

pps test the water before you do anything and test the water you are putting in the tank (i.e your tap water) and make a note of it to refer to !!

right, I'll get that tester kit. Just out of curiosity, will the water tester include a the equipment to correct the water or will it just tell me whats wrong with it? I am in Essex and I know its known for hard water. His name is Terry and I really want him happy. When fish get old are they like this or is it just that he's unwell?

Roger

the kits only test the water, id say its just a case of him being unwell/unhappy, hopefully that wont be the case for long. there are a few different kits about so talk to the retailer and find out which suits you the best. theres even a 5 in 1 paper dip test which is super easy to use but doesnt test for ammonia (and take's the scientest fun away)so you could get that and a extra ammonia test
happy shopping phunky_H

Nothing to add but DO NOT put a pleco in that tank! It is way to small for one. A pleco can grow very large (I have an 8 inch one in my 25 gallon). It will cause way to much poop and pulloute the water. It probably died from lack of space(moving ammonia build up which a betta would handle better but will still die from).

Well you can put a pleco in a small tank, long as the pleco is miniature too! I had a bushy nosed pleco in with Jupiter. He was only about 1.5 inches long. Common plecos, which I"m assuming Jewell has, get VERY big, and wouldn't do well in a small tank. Either way, don't get a pleco right now. Your betta may very well be sick with something, and you don't want to introduce another fish that may get sick as well. Or, even if your betta isn't sick, he's obviously in a depressed state, and introducing another fish may make him feel worse (stressed), or could intro another disease from the fish store the pleco came from... Just my 2 cents.

Even a minature pleco would get to 2 or 3 inches would it not? But yes make sure your betta is 100% healthy before adding anything else.

Yeah, even a small pleco will eventually get to 3 or 4 inches. (SMaller variety plecos anyway). But like in my case, I was gonna put the little guy in my goldie tank, but after getting him home and seeing home small he was compared to my other pleco, I was a little worried about him getting picked on. He was actually smaller than I first posted. He was an inch. So, I put him in with Jupiter, and was gonna put him in the goldie tank in a few months. He was growing very well, and he and Jupiter, strangely enough, were buddies. Disaster struck when they both developed ick very badly, and Jupiter made it, thanks to the desperate salt dip I did one night, but the little pleco didn't. He was such a tiny, cute little thing too.