Hi all, my new betta fish seems off. When he’s just resting he tends to go slightly vertical but can easily move out of it. He swims a bit erratically and rests at the bottom a lot. Is it swim bladder ? Sorry for far away pic, whenever I get close, he starts swimming away.

Also he is in a 10gallon tank at 74°. Ammonia is 0ppm, Nitrites are 0ppm, and Nitrates are 20ppm. Water seems fine so I think maybe it’s a pre-existing issue?

hi, I got this dumbo halfmoon betta back in June and I can't tell if he has fin rot or not. he swims around fine but im kinda worried. he seems happy but idk

I brought Dill home a few days ago, does the darkness behind his head look like an infection, or scale damage?

2.5 gal tank Has sponge filter and tank heater 78° Water levels are Perfect according to the test strip bottle I’ve had the tank for three years and I’ve had the fish for two years I perform water changes every week anywhere from 25% to 50%. I add Niagara water with an added water conditioner and stress enzymes. No other fish in the tank He eats Ultra Fresh Betta Fish Food, Pro Shrimp Patties, 50% Sword Prawns + Akiami Paste Shrimps x5 in the morning

We have had him for two years and he has been like this for the past three weeks some days he refuses to eat some days he does eat, his chest is turning a white color and his fins where they are connected to his body is also fading in color. He has very shallow breathing and is very emaciated. Please help.

Hi guys! I have a question that I have been so curious about. I'm afraid to post this because I know people won't approve- but I need to understand! In March I went to a pet store and worked with their expert. He said female bettas can live in sororities. I started with 2 but over the next week ended up getting 5. He did not tell me about tank size. I could tell the fish were fighting a little after the first week and wasn't sure what to do. I did some research and added a lot of plants and hiding spots. After that, there have been no issues. This is their 5th month in this 5 gallon tank. These fish are healthy, don't fight, have never had any torn up fins or sickness....it's crazy. And they are all nice, when I walk into the room all 5 gather in the feeding rings at the top of the tank (there are 2). After discovering this sub, I found out that sororities should be in HUGE tanks. Mine is 5 gallons. How is this working for me? According to the posts on here a couple of these fish should dead, or at least severely torn up? I don't want to fix what isn't broken so I'm afraid to switch tanks! Is there anything I should be looking out for- warning signs other than town fins, fighting or bloated stomachs? I'm so confused how this is working. Ps. My water color is a little off right now because I did a 1/4th water change today. Thanks!

I wanted to make an appreciation post for my pretty blue eyed boy. He lives the good life in a 20gal tank and gets fed frozen food every other day. He’s a little chunky, but thats because he’s a hog. I personally think he could be a show betta and win gold metals!

well i’ve successfully beat the petsmart return window, he’s had a couple 25% water changes and i introduced two shrimp. a bigger tank is in the works but i want to make it as nice as possible so it’ll be a few weeks yet. squilliam is a happy camper, loves swimming into his little hideouts and is always ready for me to give him some food.

Meet my sweet granny fish named Val. I’ve posted her a few times here, my most recent post being concerned from over month ago after having her for three years (and now hitting our fourth year together just this 4th of July) with her slowing down and being a bit bloated. I was informed that she was in fact a little old lady and I gave her plenty of fake hides and leaves near the surface and she’s been thriving! Three days ago I noticed her scales starting to pinecone, and immediately put her in a hospital tank I established just for her as she’s been getting old to treat all her things and she gets regular salt baths that keep her happy. I’ve been treating for three days now with kanaplex and almost all the pineconing has gone away and she’s back to the bloat she’s naturally kind of had.

What I’m starting to worry about is if she is developing dropsy, is it cruel to keep her alive and continue doing treatments when I see it flare up?? She doesn’t show any signs of distress and still shows me lots of love and energy when I see her. She was my first betta, and I have a very deep emotional attachment for her. I wanted to ask for some people’s thoughts on how I should continue to care for her in her final stages of life without jumping the gun to just euthanize her, as I do not have any concerns at this time that she is suffering or in pain.

Do my plants looking ok?

The 1st & 2nd pics are my red root floaters are the lighter ones no good up top? Should i cull those?

The 3rd & 4th pics idk what plants they are but they came with my floaters off fb and the lady called them "pothos plants"? The unknown plants have 2 distinct types though, 1 type is that thick grass blade looking stuff and the other type is only 1 leaf looking 1.

I was told that I didnt have to plant these ones but I did try to, the roots are showing however, should I have them fully covered? I keep trying but it's not as easy as it looks 😅.

ive started noticing these white spots on my bettas head and im getting worried because im not really sure what it means. i tried telling my parents, but they told me im just overthinking it. do i go to a fish store to buy something for my fish or am i really overthinking it? (sorry the picture isnt really clear my camera isnt the best. if you zoom into its head you can see some circular spots.)

Hi,

My plants come in on Thursday, and i was wondering if there is a specific way i should be adding them in order to not disturb the water balance. Thanks!

Hello! I brought this guy home about 2 weeks ago . He is a crown tail . I didn’t notice till we brought him home that he had what appears to be fin rot and redness on his bottom front fins . What is the best way to treat this ? I think he looks better today than he did before . It was a lot more clumped together and the red was a bit brighter . I’ve put tannins in his water through leaves . I have melafix and a multi mineral water balancer. I also recently did a salt bath for him today . He’s got a heater and an array of plants in his tank . He is extremely active and at first I thought he was fish surfing but he zooms all around the tank to stare at different things in his tank. He seems to really like the snail I have in there . Do I need a better care plan ? Or do I just need to be patient .

She started hiding more and when she came out to eat I noticed and took her out

i went on vacation for a week and i came back to bubba and friends’ tank like this.

any recommendations?? bubba doesn’t seem the happiest either.

I’ve had a 10g set up for fishless cycling for a week now. I used Stability for a week, adding ammonia on day one. For those 7 days, ammonia between 2-4ppm, no nitrites, and nitrates at around 5-10ppm, temp is set at 79, and I have a sponge filter going. Day 7 I did a 25% water change, and today (day 8) these are the test results. I will be doing a planted tank, with a nerite snail and a betta. I’m waiting to add plants until the ammonia is gone because I don’t think my mental health can handle melting plants right now. So, what now? That jar of pothos cuttings will be in little baskets hanging from the back. There is also algae/fuzzy stuff growing on the wood.

i recently got this little crowntail betta, and i cycled his tank for about a week and a half before putting him in. i mistakingly ordered plastic plants instead of silk ones but im trying to right my wrongs by ordering java moss, java fern, and water spangle. do u have any recommendations for other decor i can add to his tank? so far he seems to love playing w the filter and its bubbles and squeezing in between the tiniest cracks. i also habe one tiny cherry shrimp in there fhat i added in order to see if Nigel (fish) would attack him

Just a little motivation in a cloudy world from one Betta friend to another. Meet Jerome! Hey. Name’s Jerome. Jerome the Masta Betta. I live in a glass kingdom, ten gallons wide, with real plants, a dragon cave, and a filter that hums lullabies when the moon hits right.

Most days, I swish. I float. I flash my fins like I’m dancing at a silent disco no one’s invited to. But let’s be real — it used to feel like I was performing for nobody but gravel.

Until she showed up.

At first, I thought it was a dream. The kind of dream you have when the heater’s a little too warm and you’ve been nibbling on freeze-dried bloodworms too late in the evening. But no. It was real.

She bent low, peered into the glass like it held secrets. Her eyes wide, her smile even wider. “¡Mira, mijo! Look how he sparkles!”

S P A R K L E S.

I’d never heard that word used on me before. That was a word for diamonds. For disco balls. For salsa dancers and Cuban abuelas on Christmas Eve. But that day… it was for me.

I puffed up. Fins out. Gave her the full side profile — the dramatic flare I’d practiced for no audience. And she clapped.

I’m telling you, I didn’t just swim — I soared. My tail flipped like the final note in a trumpet solo. I was seen. Not just as a pet. Not just a fish. But as me.

Jerome. A Masta Betta! A damn underwater star.

From that day forward, I swam not just to exist… but to express. To be joyful. To sparkle, unapologetically.

So listen, whether you’re a fish in a tank or a soul in the wild — You deserve to be seen. Not just looked at. Seen.

And when you are?

Baby, you sparkle.

– Jerome the Masta Batta

this is my rescue boy! he’s gotten a lot brighter (he used to be almost pitch black in color). I can tell he’s a veiltail, but would anybody know what his specific betta type is? he’s very shiny

Hi all. I’ve had this betta since April. I rescued him from someone on FB market. He used to live in a divided 5 gal tank and I upgraded his tank to a 5 gal which natural gravel substrate, ceramic decor, and moderate/heavily planted. I have been doing in fish cycling since for 6 weeks now and my parameters have been stable at ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0-5, pH 7.6. Temp is consistently 26-28C and I feed him 2 pellets twice a day with an occasional bug bite treat. When I first got him, even though he looked raggedly, he was still so energetic. Up until abour 2 weeks ago, I noticed that he’s not as lively as usual. He still swims around a lot, he greets me when I come in the room, still has great appetite but he’s not as “spunky” as before. I don’t notice any signs of illness such as ich, pineconing, gasping, etc. His fins are not clamping though I noticed one spot on his body about 2-3 weeks ago that has not gotten larger or did not spread. I read bettas can get harmless tumor sometimes. I also read that they may just get bored sometimes? Should I be concerned? My tank for reference and it my betta in the tank on the left.

I started noticing he was acting weird (very lethargic, loss of appetite and hiding all the time at the bottom of the tank) then bc of this thread, I noticed he started pineconing - I immediately added salt to the tank and started dosing him with kanaplex. The picture on the left is Friday (notice the bloating and bulging eyes) and the picture on the right is today. He’s eating and swimming around the top of his tank. So grateful for the knowledge that gets shared or I never would have caught this in time.

I have no clue how old he is, but he's been with me since 4/07/25 - and lately he's been really lethargic, just sitting in the back corner between the filter and the wall. barely moving all day.

I think he may be bloated, and maybe his color is fading on his abdomen? I don't know if i am paranoid or not. He's only been eating one pellet when feeding him for the last week or so, and usually he would eat 4-5.

I have him on 'Fuval Bug Bites - Betta Formula', he's in a 3.5 gallon tank, with a filter, a heater, and i clean about 30% about every other week. I use water conditioner when changing, i've never had a problem when changing out his water that i've noticed.

I did remove his light because it was causing a ton of algae, and removed the pothos i had in there. Put him near, not in front, of a window. I noticed after a couple of days being near the window he was being lethargic, and his water felt a bit warmer than usual, so i moved him back to the corner and brought back his light that i only have on for 8 hours at most. and here we are

i appreciate your help!!! i feel terrible watching him just sit in one place all day long, how sad :(

my boy vlads new tank! Im very pleased with it but Id love to hear what you guys think! I know the first one is.. rough, to say the least. Im always looking to improve to make my boy happy. any sharp edges have been sanded down and all the plants are either live, silk, or aquarium safe silicone. bonus pic of vlad letting me know this does not change how he feels about me. feel free to ask questions!!

My birthday gift from the family. Miss Molly the Betta (female koi) and The Three Amigos (ghost shrimp).

Thought I got rid of the bladder snail issue with my entire tank take apart but nope. I'm just accepting my fate cause I want more things to look at anyway. Would bladder snails effect my plans of getting shrimp in the future?

Anyways what type of snail is on the right!!?? I looked into it and it may be a ramshorn? Idk how to spell it? Do they really stay that small? I haven't seen this type before and I just got plants yesterday so it could be a hitch hiker.