[Galaxy The Betta Fish]

My Betta always stays at the the top of the tank. There is never one moment where he is at the bottom. I keep him in a long, tall 5 gallon. He will always lies motion less (gills not moving a tiny bit at all) and just stay there. He is also always near the glass of the tank. At first, I thought this was the water conditions. I did a water test, Nitrate: 20 Nitrite: 0 Water Hardness: 150 Chroline Levels: 0 Alkalinity: 120 pH: 7.8 The water seemed fine. The pH was a bit off, but other than that it was fine. He has a cave, and many plants at the bottom of his tank, yet he never uses them. There is also lots of bubbles that are not from meant for bubbles nests. He has completley stopped making bubble nests, and he is way less protective. Any ideas?

 

[Plinkploop]

Do you feed him a lot?

 

[Galaxy The Betta Fish]

Do you feed him a lot?

I feed him 2-3 very small pellets every day. He is fairly young, though. He also gets floats up to the surface. Also, here is the information I forgot to put in:

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 5
Does it have a filter? yes
Does it have a heater? no
What temperature is your tank? 75
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? yes
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? no

Food:
What food brand do you use? Omega One
Do you feed flakes or pellets? pellets
Freeze-dried? yes
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? once everyday 2 pellets, 1 bloodworm

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? 2 weeks
What percentage of water did you change? 45%
What is the source of your water? tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? vacuum
What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner? Imagitarium Betta Water Condiontoner

Water Parameters:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: basically 0
Nitrate: 0 ppm
pH: 7.8
Hardness (GH): 150ppm
Alkalinity (KH): 180ppm

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? 2 months ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Odd behavior, floating to the top of the tank, clumsiness
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Odd behavior
Is your Betta still eating? yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? no
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? no
How long have you owned your Betta? 3 months
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? no

 

[Plinkploop]

Try raising the temperature slowly to around 78° it might help. I initially thought bloat or obesity but you're not over feeding. You could still try daphnia or mushed peas or beans, it's not going to hurt him and if it's bloat it might help. I wouldn't be super concerned about him not interacting with things at the bottom of the tank- I've had plenty of betta that haven't had any interest in the bottom third of their tank. What is concerning is you said he lays on his side at the top. That sounds like it might be a swim bladder issue which is fairly common with betta. Does he seem like he's having swimming issues other than laying on his side- does he have a hard time holding himself upright?

 

[Galaxy The Betta Fish]

Try raising the temperature slowly to around 78° it might help. I initially thought bloat or obesity but you're not over feeding. You could still try daphnia or mushed peas or beans, it's not going to hurt him and if it's bloat it might help. I wouldn't be super concerned about him not interacting with things at the bottom of the tank- I've had plenty of betta that haven't had any interest in the bottom third of their tank. What is concerning is you said he lays on his side at the top. That sounds like it might be a swim bladder issue which is fairly common with betta. Does he seem like he's having swimming issues other than laying on his side- does he have a hard time holding himself upright?

Everytime he see's food, he does a clumsy looking somersault hitting the glass. It's really hard for him to get to the food.

 

[Plinkploop]

If sounds like a swim bladder issue.

Swim Bladder Disease In Bettas (3 Best Cures) - Betta Care Fish Guide

Did you know that swim bladder disease is extremely common in bettas? There are a lot of causes, so read this article to help prevent your betta suffering!

www.bettacarefishguide.com

This might help a little.

 

[Galaxy The Betta Fish]

If sounds like a swim bladder issue.

Swim Bladder Disease In Bettas (3 Best Cures) - Betta Care Fish Guide

Did you know that swim bladder disease is extremely common in bettas? There are a lot of causes, so read this article to help prevent your betta suffering!

www.bettacarefishguide.com

This might help a little.

Thank you. Should I put Bacterial Infection Treatment into the water?

 

[Plinkploop]

Do you have a hospital tank? Do you have a way of setting one up? I'm, honestly, a wuss when it comes to dosing display tanks. If you don't have a way of setting up one then I'd reluctantly say yes, dose the column.