My betta fish is acting kinda weird since i changed his water for th first time!! HELP!!?

Question

I got my betta 2 days ago and 4 some reason his water is already dirty!!! (i think it might be because I poured in the petstore water too, which was really filthy) actually the dirty water didn't seem 2 bother him, he was happily making bubble nests, but i thought it would be healthier to take out the extremely dirty (and foggy!) water. So today i took him out with a net and poured out HALF of the old water (I've heard that you should always leave some of the old water the first time u change ur fish's water) and poured in declorinated water( i let the water sit out for about almost half a day, and then added the declorinator and then waited 8 hours and then poured it in). The water is still really dirty and my betta isn't making bubble nests or anything, he's just kinda sitting at the bottom and only coming up 2 breathe. Do u think the that there night still be chlorine in the water? Do u think the shock of the net was really bad? Do u think there is even anyhting wrong? Please help!

Answer 1

Your fish is fine, he's just in shock because of a sudden  change in water temperature. Give him time to adjust himself to the temp.  Netting doesn't hurt fish if you do it carefully.  

when changing water, always do a 100% water change.  Put your fish in a cup with a little of his old water(enough to cover his back side). clean the tank and fill it with new clean water.  You can use tap water right away if you have Betta Plus Bowl Conditioner, makes tap water safe for bettas(make sure the temperature is between 60-80 degree).

when time to put your fish back into his tank, don't just drop him in there, float the cup with him in it for at least five minutes(to get the temp. of water even up) then you can pour him in.  He should be happy with a cleaner home.

Answer 2

If he's in a small tank, then your tank will get dirty quickly.  Also Bettas don't always make nests when they're happy. When you first put them into a new enviroment they'll make bubble nests because they think you're prepping them to mate. So don't expect it every time he's happy. And the stress of moving plus a water change would put him in a bit of shock.

Double check your water parameters, and give him a few days to relax.



If in a couple days he doesn't improve move him into a holding tank, do a complete cleaning of the tank and start from scratch.

Answer 3

He might have gone into shock. You have to let him get used to the new water before you just stick him in there. Go to a pet store and you should find something to put in the water that will keep him from going into shock.

Answer 4

I'm not so sure, maybe it's because the fish is getting used to the water, idk?

Answer 5

When you change a tanks water, you must leave 1/3 of the original water in. And you ahve to let it get used to the water, and warm it before putting it in. Fish need bacterial the water builds up, thats why you need to keep 1/3 of the water in

Answer 6

if your fish is coming up to the air to breathe then something in the water is burning it's gills! It's trying to suffocate!

Answer 7

ok lets help you do the right things and not the stupid things that people are telling you since you didn't say the size of tank I am going to assume he is in a bowl but the info I am going to give you applies to both

a bowl like a tank needs to cycle it is a very delicate procees to deal with in a bowl cycling is the process the bowl or tank goes thru to build up good bacteria the bacteria will break down excess food and fish waste so that it doesn't harm the fish and in general it takes about a month in a tank the bacteria is easy to maintain since you do not tear down a tank once established to clean it with a bowl this really isn't the case but can be

the bacteria you need is in the gravel so the secret to keeping it in a bowl is to not wash or rince the gravel you pour it into a strainer shack it a couple of times and put it back into the bowl .

the water you going to put back into the bowl should be aged

ageing water is simply filling a jug like a gallon milk jug and let it sit open for a few days you do not have to add any water conditioner in most cases but I recommend that you go ahead and put some conditoner into the jug as a part of the ageing process leave the jug in the same room as the bowl and the fish this way it should be the same temp as the bowl

you can wipe the bowl out with a paper towl before putting the gravel back into it then fill it with the aged water it is also good to have an instante meat thermoter to test the bowl water temp and the aged water temp to make sure they are the same temp.

the dirty/cloudness is more than likley ammonia build up do to the cycle process you need to keep it very low since it can kill the fish you need to get an ammonia test kit to make sure it stays very low

by doing the gravel they way I stated you will maintain most of the bacteria you need and soon the tank will stay clear from one change to the next

also untill you have the needed bacteria try feeding every other day if you can get some water from and exesting tank you can seed the bowl so that it completes the cycle in a couple of days keeping it cycled is the hard part with a bowl

if there was any shock it would have been from change of temp I do not think that is the case

think how you would feel if a tornado grabbed you up held your for a while then placed you back where you were and everything is the same but smells or feels different would you be a little scared ??

that is kind of what happened to him

Answer 8

Pour half cap of Tap water conditional to the tank and see if that helps...

Answer 9

Ok I have a Betta as well and I clean his bowl twice a week. I take him out and put him in a bowl with some of the water that came from his bowl, I then clean the bowl with just water and a cloth. I also rince out the rocks with just water from the tap. I refill his bowl with not hot or cold water but comfortable temp right out of the tap and put him back in with a net so the old water doesnt go back into the tank. My betta water gets cloudy but its from the food thats why I change his water twice a week. I have never had any problems doing it this way. Good Luck hope I helped!

Answer 10

You shouldn't take him take him out of the water, just change the water while he is in there, take out a 1/3 of water and replace it with a 1/3 water that has been declorinated and is the same temperature.

It hurts the fish to be out of the water even a little bit.

Answer 11

Did he flop around the net? My betta did this last time I changed his water, I thought he hurt his fin a bit, and in a few days he was fine.

How long have you had this tank? If you just got it brand new, it has to cycle for 24 hours before you put ANY kind of fish inside it, if it's a glass bowl then the water temperatures may be too cool, if it's cool to your touch, put him under a lamp or something to that degree for a few hours.

Next time, do a 100% water change, scrub that tank or bowl with dish soap and rinse with cold water, then rinse with hot water.

Add new rock, and scrub the decorations too. Add HALF the tanks gallon capcaity with Distilled Water. Distilled is boiled water that has no harsh chemicals in it. Add the rest with Tap Water, there are some chemicals in tap water fish need so do not use all distilled water. Add your dechlorinator (AquaSafe is great for bettas)

Wait an hour and let the water's temperature equalize.

After an hour put your betta in a ziplock bag with his old water in it, and put him in the new water so he can get used to it from the bag.

After 45 mins, if the water temperatures are about the same, put him in the tank/bowl.

Watch him closely, if he shows signs of sickness then take him out and put him in a hospital tank/bowl.

You may want to look into some Aquarium Salts, they take care of any fungal and bacterial disease, promote a slime coating to protect your fish from nasty diseases, and help gill function.

Hope that helps.

Answer 12

A betta should be housed in a 5 gallon heated filtered tank.  Those small containers will not cycle and require 100% water changes every couple days which is very stressful on your fish.  

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Answer 13

The first thing you do when you buy a fish is let it get used to the water. If you dump it directly in the tank full of a fresh water, the fish goes into shock and can die pretty quickly. But beta fish usually sit at the bottom of the tank. They're not very active fish. I don't think that anything is wrong with him...

Answer 14

It doesn't sound like anything weird to me. I have owned and bred Bettas for years and I was actually kind of shocked to hear he was making bubble nests. They usually only do this when there is a female present in an attempt to lure her to breed with him :)

Sounds fine!