New betta seems a bit upset...

[organometallica]

Hey guys,

I just set up a new 5 gal tank with a single, lone male betta that I recently fell in love with and am really concerned about his behavior. He's been in the tank for ~72 hours, and he rarely swims, his fins are clamped more than I've ever seen a betta's fins clamp, and he seems to breathe very quickly for short bursts. His tank is at 80˚F all the time (+/- 1˚F as the heater turns on/off) though is still cycling. I know it interrupts the cycling process, but I did a 25% water change today to see if it would help him perk up at all.

I guess I'm asking if I should be too worried at this point; he was super active and showy in the LFS, and the other bettas I've had acclimated much faster than this. Is there anything I can do to bring his stress levels down? He's such a gorgeous fish when he flares up, I'd hate to see him succomb to New Tank Syndrome...

Thanks for all your help!

[weedkiller]

could be because the tank is still cycling, how long has it been cycling? how was you cycling it? what are your ammo/nitrite/nitrate/ph levels?
it has taken me near 2 months to cycle a tank properly but is worth the wait as the water should be in a ready/health state and once the initial stress levels of the fish have dropped for being in a new enviroment the fish should be truely happy.
i cant agree with torturing any fish by putting them in a tank to help it cycle.
imaging being put in a room where the air burns your throat... would you like it?

[FRIENDLYFISHIES]

My tanks wont cycle quickly with a betta, It's too slow of a process, the amount of time it would take for ammonia to build in order to cycle would probably do a lot of damage to a betta...some bettas can't handle it....there also a possibility that he was Ill prior even though his behavior in the cup showed otherwise while in the cup. Id lean towards shock of of the new tank & I'd get the ammonia out/down and wouldn't bother cycling with the betta. give it a few days with clean water.

[lohachata]

keep the temp at 80...do the water changes every 3-4 days..this may slow the cycle a bit but will help keep the ammonia and nitrite down..

[Betta man]

Test the water. It could be too high of ammonia nitrates and nitrites. Or he could just be stressed. Is there too much water current? That'll stress a betta out. I had a betta that all of a sudden got clamped up and it was because of velvet. Try shining a light on his scales and if you see stuff that looks like gold dust, he probably has velvet which is deadly to bettas. Another reason he could be clamped up is that he could be starting out with dropsy which is extremely deadly. Look for bloating and pineconing which is when his scales stick out around his abdomen. Most of the cases of dropsy that I've treated started out barely noticeable and slowly got larger until they killed the fish. Clean and warm water is your best bet for most disease. Looks like your betta has a good home. He's very pretty. It's not common to see dragon veiltails. Most don't see it worth while to breed nice veils. I hope your fish gets better! If you have any questions, please feel free to pm me, or check out my website http://bettacare.webs.com/. Sadly, I have lots of experience with diseases.

[organometallica]

So tested his water today at the LFS, no ammonia, <0.5 NO2-. Opted to get some bloodworms and live plants (anacharis, hornwort) to see how he fares. His fins are still clamped and he hasn't yet nibbled at the bloodworms, but he's swimming around the anacharis more than he has in days. His tank is unfiltered, if the doesn't improve his case, I may borrow the whisper filter from my barb tank and see if that improves his mood at all.

[Betta man]

Freeze dried bloodworms are easy to bloat with. I would be careful. You don't want any more stress on the fish.