Is my betta fish dying?

jprager

I have had my betta fish for about 2 years and have always maintained the same care and feeding routine. I change his water about every 2-3 weeks, and feed him 4 wardley pellets once a day. He has alwys been very active and has gone after his food very agressively. For the past couple of weeks he seems to have trouble getting the pellet into his mouth. He lunges at the pellet, but seems to miss it a couple of times before he finnally gets it into his mouth. Once he gets it he seems to chew it a bit, and then spits it out. This is very unusual behavior and I'm worried that he may be very sick or dying. I've read all the posts about bowl size, water temputure and changing, bacteria, food etc, but in this case I have maintained the same routine for 2 years and "Jack" has always thrived and maintained a good appetite. Does any one have any thoughts?

southafrica1001

i have read that when a betta spits out a pellet it is trying to soften it, he could also be getting old so things arent as easy as they were back in his youth. However wait for someone elses advice this is just what i now and some other people can give much better advice. hope everything is ok

blueblue48

ill second southafrica1001, my betta is 4-5 years old now ( if where i got them sells them at 1-2 years old) and he is a little less active, "chews" his food better and has harder times getting it.

Lindsey88

I tried wardleys for my bettas and it was way too big for their mouths. I have switched to Aqua culture which I found at walmart and it is tiny little pellets which fit easily into thier mouths and mine go after their food right away and seem to love it.

MattD

I pity your betta if you've been feeding him the same food everyday for two years. It is very likely he has grown tired of the food. I would suggest trying some freeze-dried bloodworms (readily available at any lfs), I'll bet he eats that stuff before it even hits the water.

Falina

Try chaging 20% of the water twice a week rather than every 2-3 weels. Changing 100% of the water every 2-3 weeks will kill off all the beneficial bacteria, and changing only a portion of the water every 2-3 weeks will make the tank very dirty.

As for the food. Try what Matt suggested. For optimum health bettas need a variety off oods. Try some bloodworm as suggested, or some brine shrimp. Both are usually readily accepted by bettas.

blueblue48

yeah i use that same stuff, small little brown pellets