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What can be done about a betta that won't eat?... I changed water - I move him to more light, then to less light. . . It's like he's depressd or something.

I have never encountered this before. I even tried a few flakes as opposed to normal betta food but, he didn't even look at them.

Just wondering if anyone has ever had this problem. He mush be eating something... he's still alive and it's been a couple of weeks.

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"it's the neck, it creaks under the weight of too much heavy thinking."

Have you tried live or frozen foods?

Also, I've seen these supposed appetite stimulators in the stores... I believe they're made out of garlic or something. I haven't tried them so I don't really have anything to say about them, but they might be worth a try.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

My betta wont even look at the flakes or any prepared food even if its been starved for a couple of days. Only eats FD bloodworms...FD blodworms are not a good regular diet but my betta seems to enjoy it.

It can often be a sign of illness, so if his fins start to thicken, or he starts to mope or an oily residue builds up quickly on the surface, be prepared to treat.

Hit him with the big guns, live blackworms, mozzie larvae or blood worms. If you can't get those, try frozen bloodworms. It'd be a rare betta that would turn them down.



For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I believe it's maracyn 2 that's an appetite stimulator, and it's a good anitbiotic for fungus and bacteria. Don't follow the package directions. As soon as I stopped following the package directions, my fish stopped dying and the meds starting working. They say 1 tablet per 10 gallons I believe, So, if he is in a five gallon you should give him half a tablet, right? Don't. Give him the whole tablet if he is in a five gallon. If he is in a 2.5, give half a tablet. If he is in a tank smaller than a 2.5g, Move him to a 2.5. He may just perk up because of having more room, but still give the half tablet. And keep giving it until he starts to eat. Also, put some pimafix in the water too. But, follow those directions. I also put Maracyn tablet in the water as well. This is my method. This is how I stopped Dropsy in it's tracks and brought my little guy back to being healthy.

Also, if his water isn't heated, that may be why he's stopped eating. The colder weather means colder water. And these fish NEED water to be between 74 - 81 degrees.

HTH...

-Pamela

I have some FD bloodworms here ... i'll try that.

This is still a new Betta though ... he doesn't look upset, no change in fins (yet), and no oily resedue.. there is airbubbles though.. more than I remember with any other fish but I think it's just my imagination.


**insert large confused sigh here**

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"it's the neck, it creaks under the weight of too much heavy thinking."

Air bubbles on the surface or somewhere else?


He's probably just being difficult if he's new, its a big adjustment for them to change environment, water type and food all at once.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Mainly on the surface. There was just A LOT of them. I did a water change today and moved him into the living room. I am thinking the air in there might not be as stale as it's a bigger space than my room. (The door to my room is always closed because I am allergic to my roommates cat and it likes to lay on my bed.)

We'll see if that makes a difference.

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"it's the neck, it creaks under the weight of too much heavy thinking."

It sounds to me like he built himself a bubble nest - a sign he is happy!
When my new bettas won't eat, I just add some melafix and/or primafix to the water. They are not as strong as other medications, but are good for fungal infections caused by poor contitions (from the store he was purchased - more likely).
It does not sound like he is doing to badly, if he built a bubble nest.