I finally added some crushed coral to my betta's filter while doing a water change last night. But ever since he has been back in the tank he has been bottom sitting or lying on the rocks. He does get up and swim occasionally and later I will see if he eats, but I wondered if the coral could be hurting him somehow? I rinsed it very thouroughly until the water ran clear.

I did a 100% change like I always do (waiting for a larger tank to attempt a cycle) and did everything the same way...made sure temp and ph were matched. He usually is fine when I put him back in and does not have an "adjustment period" like some fish do after large water changes.

Any thoughts? Could it be the coral? I will check params later this afternoon but I don't think coral would cause the ammonia to rise or anything.

I wouldn't think it was the Coral at all Jen from what I know.Coral slowly raises the Ph etc. so I don't think that it would have any effect on him. It's so hard to tell what's going on in their little minds.The littlest thing's seem to "Bug" them.

The only reason you would add coral would be to buffer up the ph of the water. What are the parameters of the tank now?

Thanks guys!

I am at 0 on ammonia, nitrites and nitrates since I am not attempting to cycle. I just added the coral last night, but the kh is already reading at 20 (was at 0) and the ph is steady at 6.8. On the kh though all I have are Mardel dip strips, so i hope it is accurate. I could not find a drop kit for kh anywhere locally, only online. I am going to try and order one online this week.

I am using the coral/shells because my tap water comes out at 7.2 then drops to 6.8 within hours. Then once it is added to a fish tank it will crash to 6.o or lower within a few days. I have no buffer in my tap water! I use crushed coral in the gf tank and it works great, has the kh up to 80 and keeps the ph at 7 steadily. That is the only reason I have a filter on the betta tank, so I could add coral and buffer the water. I guess it is kinda stupid since I am not trying to cycle, but I want to see how well it works in the little tank, which i am hoping to upgrade soon. I may just end up taking the filter off entirely and putting the coral in a nylon and tossing it in the bottom of the tank. But I heard it is more effective if you have water flowing through it. And if I DO get a larger tank I will probably put this filter in the gf tank to get it seeded then do a mini-cycle in the new tank, since I have also heard betta do not do well with cycling. LOL, sorry, that is probably confusing!

Chauncey seems better now, he is swimming about more and he ate. But he is still lying on the bottom occasionally or lying in his plant. I turned the filter down to its very lowest flow to make sure that isn't the trouble.

It probably is just stress or he doesn't like the exact way I put his plant back in...perhaps I will purchase a feng shui book for the tank! Fussy little thing...durn pampered betta.

Thanks for the reassurance, I just hate to see him not swimming around!

how long have you had him? elderly bettas generally become lethargic by the third quarter of their second year

Thanks Man Yu, I have only had him for about 6 weeks, he was a gift for my daughter and was purchased at a large chain store begining with Pet and ending with co. So I can't tell for sure how old he is, but assuming he isn't too old.

He is still bottom sitting today, and pretty lethargic. When he does come up his dorsal fin is down. He is eating fine though, so I am taking that to be a good sign.

I tested the water again today, ammonia and nitrites at 0, ph at 7.0, kh at 80 and gh at 120. I didn't bother testing for nitrates today since I am not trying to cycle yet. Everything is the same in his tank other than the added crushed coral in the filter and the fact that the kh has gone from 0 to 80. Temp is at 80 degrees, normal for him. I have not moved or added anything in the tank either, he just has a silk plant and some large, smooth river rocks on the bottom.

He acted like this once before after a water change, but I attributed it to the ph crash that happened because of there being no buffer in the water, which is why I am using the coral in the first place. But he was totally fine before I changed the water, swimming all over, fins erect, dancing for food etc. One of the other reasons I want to get a buffer going is so I can do partial water changes and NOT have to do 100% all the time, which can be stressful. I think I am going to get him a bigger tank (3 gallon) and then I may attempt a cycle.

Any more thoughts? I just don't want him to be uncomfortable or worse, have him pass over to the big fish pond in the sky...

Make sure that you do not cycle the tank with him in it! Bettas are sensitive to cycling.

Thanks Michelle, I should've said that! I am going to try and get some good bacteria growing in the filter by putting it in the goldie tank for awhile and go from there. I did not know bettas were sensitive until someone here told me though, it may have even been you in another post!

Chauncey seems better today, his dorsal fin is back up and he isn't bottom sitting! I hope it isn't the water changes causing this behavoir since I will probably have to do another one tomorrow. I'll keep you guys posted...thanks!

Glad to hear that Mr. Huffcat is doing better Jen! Maybe he's just moody.

Keep us posted, with plenty of pics!

Hi jen,glad to hear that Chauncey's doing better.When are we getting another pic?

I will try and get some pics soon but they are hard to get with my cell phone in that tank. Maybe when I change his water I'll take some in his cup.

I swear Chauncey feels better when there is ammonia in the water! As soon as I detect a little he starts being more active and friendly. I think he has trouble with the 100% water changes, so I am going to try and do partials, although it will be hard not to cycle doing it that way, right?

Let me know what you guys think and as always, thanks for being so supportive!

So... I guess you mean to say he looks down during a water change and looks better when the water's aged a bit to have accumulated ammonia in it? I think it's got more to do with the "aged" water than the ammonia in it... Ammonia's bad news for all higher animals!
Do you check with your water company about what additives they put in your water or do you use a deep well?

I have city water and have never checked about what is in it, should I?

My tap water tests at 7.2 ph, and 0 ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, 120 hardness and 0 alkalinity. I leave the water for my betta tank out for at least 24 hours to get the air bubbles out and I use Prime as a water conditioner. Could it be something else in the water?

He is happy right now and the ammonia is probably at almost .25 and I agree that it is probably NOT the ammonia making him happy, but something else that is better with the water. I am going to try partial changes and see what kind of a difference that makes. i'll change at least 50% tomorrow and suction the bottom of the tank.

Also, I *think* he started blowing a bubble nest! See pics in post above...

If It were me doing it, and I wanted to quickly cycle a tank or skip the process all together I would take some of the goldfish's media and gravel and put it into the betta's tank.

Unfortunately I have not-so-great Whisper filters in the gf tank that have no media, unless I can use a sponge? IThe gf tank has river rocks, not sure if they carry much bacteria?

I was thinking about putting the bettas filter in the goldie tank for awhile and get it really seeded, then move it ver, but the betta would still have to mini-cycle right? Would that be ok? Thanks!

I would put the betta filter on the GF tank for about three weeks. I would change the betta tank weekly (or whatever ritual you had pre-filtration) while the filter was being seeded. Once the filter is added back to the betta tank it should be cycled enough to handle the load from the betta, so there shouldn't be any real cycling in that tank. Keep an eye on the params tho, it still could happen. Keep us updated!

Well, just to be on the safe side, I guess you should have an idea what goes into the water you provide for the fish. The water company shouldn't be surprised if their customers would ask about their service

Thanks everyone, I will check out the water in our area and plop the filter into the gf tank! :-)