Yesterday I bought him as a rescue and he wasn't in a good keeping conditions but he is energetic and eats like there is no tomorrow.
I'm still confused why is he only swimming on the top since yesterday.
He is moved into a 35 gal (135l) wide tank. The tankmates are a bunch of tiny neon tetras and 3 cory catfish.
Filter size is 1200l/h and I attached a flow restrictor in order to not make everyone in the tank get yeeted around.
Water parameters are line in line perfect for a betta (I've read the instructions) and tank is cycled.
Does anyone have a suggestion?
https://i.redd.it/xw4u43xbg5nd1.jpeg
Posted by Comrade_Kot
3 Comments
he’s just shy, give him some time and he’ll be okay, meanwhile if you can, add some floaters so that he can rest while being at the top of the water column
What are the parameters exactly? Also is the tank long or tall? 30 gallons for a long fin might be stressful if the tank is more tall than it is long. It’s harder for the longer fins to swim up from the bottom to get air in taller tanks. Id add a sponge filter or air stone for better oxygen. Also seems like your tank doesn’t have any rest spots at the very top so he might be lingering there because it’s just easier for him to get air that way.
How long have you had the tank cycling for?
Is the tank sufficiently planted for him to have a reason to go out and explore? Or is it just big and mostly empty? Lots of people think that just giving a fish a big tank is enough to have them happy and thriving, but it’s really not and can in fact be stressful and scary if they aren’t provided with enough cover. Bettas especially really do best in heavily planted tanks with lots of resting and hiding places at different depth levels.
Edit: from the previous posts I can see that the tank is indeed very empty and not really suitable for a betta. On top of that there’s neon tetras in there who can also be quite nippy and stressful for bettas. They also look quite pale and stressed…