betta not well somehow

[mousey]

About 4 weeks ago my 1 1/2 year old betta got tangled up in a couple of bits of duckweed. there was only one or 2 bits in the tank and it should not have been a problem for him. I thought that was strange so freed him from them and discovered that he seemed kind of stunned and was unbalanced. he has been in a smallish container with low water since as he seems to struggle to get to the top. Most times he lays on the bottom or sits upright on his tail. he does come for food still but seems to be gradually getting weaker. Today his colors are somewhat faded. i wonder if he has come to the end of his life?
Last month I lost his brother and last week another of his sibs jumped out of a very small space in the tank hood and i found him dried on the carpet.
This has not been my month for bettas!
mousey

[Nippyfish]

Originally Posted by mousey

About 4 weeks ago my 1 1/2 year old betta got tangled up in a couple of bits of duckweed. there was only one or 2 bits in the tank and it should not have been a problem for him. I thought that was strange so freed him from them and discovered that he seemed kind of stunned and was unbalanced. he has been in a smallish container with low water since as he seems to struggle to get to the top. Most times he lays on the bottom or sits upright on his tail. he does come for food still but seems to be gradually getting weaker. Today his colors are somewhat faded. i wonder if he has come to the end of his life?
Last month I lost his brother and last week another of his sibs jumped out of a very small space in the tank hood and i found him dried on the carpet.
This has not been my month for bettas!
mousey

Mousey, I'm sorry to hear about this. It always seems that betta problems come in threes. It happens that way for me too.

Not being able to right ones self sounds much like a swim bladder problem. It can be caused by pressure on the swim bladder (often caused by overfeeding or constipation) or by a swim bladder infection. The color loss, other death and the betta jumping out of the tank make me wonder if there is a water quality issue that is leading to the problem. Some bettas are jumpers but they can also be forced to jump if there are toxins present in the water. Can you explain more about your set up and cleaning regemin? Have you tested for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

[mousey]

yup. everything tests out fine in the 5 gal tank and it is cleaned alternate weeks and has been fully cycled since january.
Each fish was in a separate tank/container so I don't think it is related. it could be an age thing. I have had them all for just over a year.
i also have 5 tanks running and have had only 2 other problems-- all in separate tanks.
One sword got in to a fight with her sib and must have caught herself on a piece of mopani and layed the top of her back open and today I found my otto dying. Different tanks again.

[FishGuy1564]

i dont think the duckweed had anything to do with it. I think it is because it is probably his time. All you can do is hope for the best and I wish you and your betta the best of luck.

[Nippyfish]

Originally Posted by mousey

yup. everything tests out fine in the 5 gal tank and it is cleaned alternate weeks and has been fully cycled since january.
Each fish was in a separate tank/container so I don't think it is related. it could be an age thing. I have had them all for just over a year.
i also have 5 tanks running and have had only 2 other problems-- all in separate tanks.
One sword got in to a fight with her sib and must have caught herself on a piece of mopani and layed the top of her back open and today I found my otto dying. Different tanks again.

Hmm. Old age tends to present itself slowly and even if they were a year when you bought them (they usually range from 3 month to a year old at purchase) that would still only put them a little over 2 years old. I think I would turn my focus toward environmental causes.

When you said you were having problems in several tanks and lost an Oto that set off a red flag for me that it could be a pH issue. Are you using tap water? If you have city water a lot of water treatment plants flush their systems in the spring/early summer and there could be a shift in pH and chlorine levels. That could affect all your tanks. Any chance you tested the pH before and after the problems started?

I'm kinda brainstorming here and can't say for sure. I know that my pH just went from 7.2 to 7.8 in the last two weeks here in D.C.