I'm the first to admit I'm not a fish person, but I've had my Betta, Glub for almost three years and he's obviously having a severe problem the last couple of days.
Background: We're located in Lincoln, NE and about a month and a half ago, on the literally coldest night of the winter (ground temps down to -15F), my husband accidentally turned off our house furnace. I woke up the next morning to a house that was under 50F and an otherwise unresponsive Betta. I was fully and utterly convinced he was dead. For the last 3 years, he's been in a simple 2 gallon tank, no bubbler, no heater and he's been just fine. I did some quick research and found out Bettas become listless and lethargic in "cold" water temps. I went to petco, bought a 2.5 gallon tank with bubbler, and a small tank water heater. Since, his tank has been kept at a constant ~78F and he's been doing fantastically.
The other day, I noticed he wasn't moving as much as he usually does (he's often very active and LOVES the reflective sides of his tank... he loves to show his reflection who's boss ). In fact, he's not eating, doesn't swim and lays, often times on his side or completely upside down, along with bottom of his tank, much as he was behaving after my husband's faux pas. Admittingly, I've been busy with midterms so his water's not been changed in about two weeks. So I immediately changed his water (probably didn't help stressing him out now that I think about it) and there's been no change in his condition.
I ALWAYS use betta water conditioner and, frankly, I don't know what else to do for the little guy. I know it's possible he caught something when his water temp went so low a month and a half ago, but why would his condition better and then worsen seemingly overnight?
Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm worried that if he doesn't start swimming around that he might be smothered (Betta's NEED to breathe surface air occasionally, correct?). He moves around a bit if I move the tank, but as soon as the movement subsides, he floats back down to the bottom of the tank.
HELP HELP HELP! Attached is a picture of Glub. There aren't any visible problems (no lesions, not bumps indicating a swim bladder problem or any tumors) from what I can tell. He's always looked the same and I haven't noticed any physical changes in the three years I've had him.
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) and that should take care both the pH and the alkalinity. Should I bother fixing the hardness? I don't understand how any of these parameters could immediately cause such a negative response overnight. The lady I spoke to at PetCo (has had bettas for a good majority of her life) said most Bettas life expectancy is only 3-4 years. Could it be that Glub's just too old?
