Hi all, long time no talk!

My betta, Mr. Chauncey Huffcat, is not doing so well. He has always been small and runty, and finicky as heck, but this is different. lately he always seems to be constipated (poo hanging for long periods), lethargic and spends a lot of time lying on the bottom of the tank, not normal for him. He never builds bubble nests anymore. I actually thought he was dead two weeks ago, but then he started swimming around.

He lives in a 2 gallon tank with a few rocks and a silk plant. It has a little heater and stays between 78-80 degrees F. I feed him Hikari Betta Bio-Gold, soaked, two pellets a day, 5 days a week. Then he fasts one day and is fed peas the following day. Occasionally he gets bloodworms as a treat but it has been at least 8 weeks since he has had any. There is no filter so I change 100% of the water, scrub the rocks, plants and tank every 3 days, filling with temp and ph matched water. I condition with Prime and there are no other additives/meds. His fins and scales and appearance all seem normal.

I tried fasting him for 3 days and then feeding peas but he is still constipated. I have been feeding him peas exclusively for the last 5 days and no change. The ph has not changed in my tap water, and once when I waited 4 days to change his water the ammonia was still not measurable on the test, so it should not be a water quality issue.

I have been doing everything the same for a little over a year, I have racked my brain to think if I have made any changes...but I cannot think of anything. Could he just be getting old? I know bettas don;t live too long, but I thought it was like 2-3 years and I have only had him for 1.

Any advice?

What color is the poo? It could be that he's just getting old. Betta's do live for 2-3 years but depending on where you got him from he could've been a year old or older when you bought him.

Pet store bettas tend to be way to inbred and overly stressed so they can die early on. I've had pet store bettas live anywhere from 1 year to 4 years. 2-3 years is just the average amount but not a definitive answer. Sound like he either isn't getting enough oxygen(can be mixed with an air pump) or he is just running out of energy since he is old.

Sorry to hear he isn't doing well. I've always loved him and his adorable name.

Thanks guys. He came from Petco as a birthday gift for my daughter from someone, so he could definitely be inbred or older than I think.

His poo is the same color as what he eats...with the Bio-gold is a light brown color and when I feed him peas it is green.

He seems a bit better yesterday and today, more active. Hopefully he will stay that way!

Well if the poo is normal then it shouldn't be a parasite or anything. I don't know anything that can help but I hope he feels better.

Hi jen, I think you might be right about his age, if those are all the signs he's exibiting. You're taking care of him perfectly, so for his set of genes, he's definately living out his potential with you <3

Thanks Kissy, that makes me feel better, and thanks to gflover10 too.

He is often down at the bottom of the tank kind of curled up- but then at times is totally normal. If my goldfish were curled up like that i would be planning a funeral...I know he has had a poretty good life, especially coming from a tiny cup at Petco, but I will miss him when he is gone, whenever that may happen. :-( I will always keep a betta from now on though, now that I know how to care for them and how cool they can be!

Kissy-btw, Bart, our co-parented black moor is still going strong! He is not huge or anything but still growing! As soon as i can borrow a camera again and clean the green algae off their tank i will take some new pics for you and Jeana. :-)

Yes, it does sound like old age. My Orlando was behaving like that the last couple of months before he passed. He would only over to the top when it was meal time. Other than that, he would stay perched amongst the leaves of the plants or on top of the thermometer (his favorite resting place). For his last couple of days, he wouldn't even come up for food and became all pale before he died.

Zeke, my betta did the same thing too. He got pale , quit eating and laid at the bottom a lot. I was chalking it up to old age since he was 3 years plus. I put some salt, heat and most of all bettafix in the water and he snapped back. I ended up having to keep him on it all the time, but it was worth it to keep him alive.