My dying fish?

one year for bettas isn't old. he might be sick, or just lazy. to fix the sick part, you'll have to improve your water quality. if you have a standard betta tank (less than 1 liter/1 quart of water) there isn't too much you can do as far as medications. you can get a "hospital tank," like a one gallon thing pretty cheap and do the treatment in there.

for the hospital tank, here's what you do. you'll need a 1 gallon (3.78 L) tank, if it has some kind of filtration that is good but if it doesn't, you'll need to clean it more frequently. also get some gravel, some aquarium salt (dehydrated sea salt), and a live aquarium plant (if there are fish with the plants, make sure none of them are obviously sick). hopefully you already have a water-conditioner.

if you notice anything about your fish other than he is lethargic, such as torn fins or white spots on fins/mouth, bloody looking stains, etc, get some over-the-counter fish meds. they can be liquid drops or tablets that dissolve in the tank. describe your pet's symptoms to a fish department employee, they can help you find the right kind. if your fish doesn't have any other symptoms, don't bother with the meds because you won't be able to get a good diagnosis.

if he isn't eating, try buying a few different kinds of food to try and tempt him. they especially like live bloodworms. if your pet store doesn't have live, freeze dried might be attractive enough to him.

rinse out the tank real good with warm water but no soap (if it is a used tank, you might do some dilute liquid soap, then rinse and rerinse a bunch of times). also rinse some gravel so you can cover the bottom at least 1/2 inch. put the gravel in, fill it with room temperature water (tap water, filtered water, bottled water, all fine). treat it with some kind of water conditioner that neutralizes the chlorine and chloramine. rinse the plant in cold water before you put it in your hospital tank. the live plant will use up some of the nitrogenous waste your fish puts out. add half a teaspoon (or follow instructions on package) of aquarium salt and let it dissolve. use fish meds as directed if he needs them.

acclimate your fish to the new tank. you can put him in a cup or bag with water from your current tank and float it on the water of the new tank. when you transfer your fish, cup him in your hand or use a fish net. don't pour old water into the new tank.

if there is a filter on the hospital tank and it seems too powerful for the fish (he has to fight against the current) then turn it off or remove it. it will just stress him out. offer him some food... if he notices it but doesn't take any, remove that food so it doesn't pollute the water, and try with a different kind. he has to eat something in order to recover. if you can get him to eat once a day, that is good. otherwise, don't bother him too much. tapping on the tank and whatnot is good for exercising a lazy fish, but not good for a sick one.

a really sick betta will lie on the floor of the tank, sometimes on its side or back, and come up for air like once a day. if your fish is doing that, you'll probably lose him, especially if he won't eat. a sort of sick fish might do a rolling motion, or not move and then suddenly move as if having a seizure (fast, erratic motion). i recommend hospital tank in these cases.

a lazy fish may lie on the floor or the plant in an upright position, and if you put a mirror to the side of the tank he'll flare at his reflection. he figures there's nothing to do, so why waste energy. he may be lethargic due to low-quality or inadequate food. you can try using different types of food, or just a really premium variety if he likes it. live food is very attractive to these guys. besides using different brands, try different shapes... some float, some sink, some float then sink. he might be picky about the location of the food, not the taste. if he doesn't eat something, remove that type of food and try again. to give him some exercise once in awhile, use the mirror and show him what a pretty fish he is. or you can put the two fish tanks side by side and they will see each other.

for water changes, it's probably a good idea to remove 25% of the water and replace it with new, room temperature, conditioned water or distilled water twice a week. if you are using fish medications, you might have to redose after the water changes. it will tell you how to handle that in the directions. if you change too much of the water, or change it too often, you will reduce the amount of helpful bacteria. don't do it, your fish needs these to survive.

one last note... if you are using tap water, it may be that your city has poor quality water. since both fish are having problems, it might be just that. maybe switch to distilled bottled water and see if it helps. using the dechlorinating treatment is still useful, even though there is no chlorine in distilled water. that treatment also helps the fish keep up their protective slime layer.

It just sounds like you can changed the water. You can change all of the water in a small bowl and not shock your fish into this stupor. What you will need to do however is add aquarium salts to his water. It raises the electrolyte levels and reduces stress. My sister's Betta was the same way and she thought she would die, we've had her longer than a year, and I her to change the water, we added those dechlorinater drops and a pinch or two of aquarium salts and she was more active and ate more. Next I bought new food for her, little granule stuff instead flakes and treat blood worms for every now and then. It was a lot healthier by the time I moved out. Her color was even starting to come back.

You could also have some fun and get them larger tanks so they have more to swim in. Just cause they are sold in those little cups doesn't mean you have to keep them in a small bowl. If you do get a larger tank then you don't have to clean all the water but leave 1/4 the old water and add new water along with a teaspoon for the salt. It also promotes the slime growth on your fish's skin so it can remain healthy.

That's not old for a betta. They can live a very long time. It sounds like you just need a little help taking care of them.

First off, if they're just sitting around, it might not mean anything. If there's nobody to attack, bettas will just sit there and chill for a while.

They need purified water. If you're using straight tap water, it won't do, and you need to get a product like chlor out to treat it first. It needs to be cleaned often, though if it's a big bowl, once a week will do. You might have overfed them. if you have betta pellets, they only need three of those a day. More than that will cause excess fish waste, high ammonia levels, and fat fish.

If you should realise that there is nothing you can do for a dying fish, (although I think with a little TLC you can revive these guys) the proper response is not to starve them. Freeze them instead. that's much more humane.

Sorry he is not doing so good.

Start with a water change, even though they can breathe a little air they still need clean water for their gills. I think you can get at least 3 years out of a healthy Betta if I recall correctly.

As for one of the previous comments about them being peaceful, ignore it. They can and will usually beat the hell out of each other. Female Bettas raised together and kept together will often get along fine but once they are seperated even they can get aggressive toward each other.

Something a majority of Betta keepers do not know is that they do need to be kept at a warmer temperature than room temp unless your living room is 78-80 degrees. They also either need a large container or a container with filtration with frequent water changes with water that has been treated for chlorine and chloramine that is in most domestic water supplies.

Keep them out of direct sunlight as they can cook in the heat.

In addition to frequent water changes try changing the food around a little bit, see if you can get some live brine shrimp or some frozen brine shrimp. Only feed him a little bit and if it is forzen make sure it thaws a bit before you give it to him. If he is on pellets try flake, and if he is on flake try pellets.

How often do you feed him? If it is constantly he may not be inclined to eat when you are watching. I skip a day or two a week with the two I have.

If you can keep him in a 5 to 10 gallon tank it would be better for him as a larger tank is usually more stable. A small heater rated for that size tank is a good idea as well as a small filter like a hang on back filter or the small whisper hang in tank filter, or a sponge filter driven by an air pump. You can get a thermometer for $2.00 or less.

(Walmart has all of this stuff as well as most chain stores)

Not sure where you live but ten gallon tanks go for $8.00 to $11.00 USD and the heater is arond $8.00, the filter around the same price. Don't forget water conditioner.

Good luck and consider joining a fish list on Yahogroups. They have Betta groups and general fish groups, all free.

I belong to Uniquaria@yahoogroups.com and it has hundreds od helpful members.

Give it a try.

a yr old betta is not old. It still could have a long life. You need to take better care of it. Betta's are pretty lazy, and they enjoy sitting in the tank and resting on plants. I had mine for 6 yrs and it LOVED to do those things. Your killing the fish by not feeding it... and you need to keep the water quality up. Change the water twice a week at least. The tank is probably very high in ammonia and nitrites due to fish waste. Take better care of your fish and they wont die!

My Betas did the same thing after a year and right after I cleaned their bowls and changed their water. I think they went into some kind of shock or something. Its not old age but I don't know what it is. It didn't happen the other times I cleaned their bowls and I didn't do anything different.I hope someone has the answer I am interested in knowing too.

please don't ever be a fish owner again. bettas can live to at least 5 years. you must be mutilating the poor thing. always feed it, but never too much. overfeeding can kill fish easier than underfeeding. keep your tank clean. aeration and filters are necessary. have foliage and a hiding place. if you dont want to do all this, dont own fish :)

four gallon of water per inch of fish is the rule for setting up a tank this allows space for them to find there own territory and room to grow also en ought oxygen as they ex hail carbon witch stays in the water for along time also have an under gravel filter this makes friendly bacteria to digest waste you should start with a twenty gallon tank if you want to keep fish don't be fobbed off with cheep novelty tanks you should have a heater this keeps the water constant tropicals like 80 to 83 degrees & gold fish dont mind

ur fish is not dying betta fish r jus lazy and like 2 sit around all day.and if a fish doesn't swim around jus like a human body fat builds up.it will eat wen it gets hungry but it's prolly living off body fat.

so yeah... sadly i don't think there is much you can do.. maybe purchase something at a pet store like vitamin drops or they may just need an additive to their water, again check around at the pet store