# something wrong with betta



## sharkettelaw (Aug 30, 2011)

i bought a purple and red double tail siamese fighter, and its been a few hours since i put him in the tank and he freaks out each time i go to the tank and when he doesnt, he's breathing rapidly, but extends his gills wider than the others do. it cant be the water cause the tank is 100% clean, there's a small amount of methylene blue inside for fin rot, what else can i do?


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## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

A few things we need to know before we can fully help!

What size tank is he in? Do you have a filter or heater in the tank? Did you cycle the tank before you put him in? Did you acclimate him or just put him in the water? Do you have a test kit for the water?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Jared nailed all the questions. A pic would help as well


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## sharkettelaw (Aug 30, 2011)

the males are in those things that stick to the side of the glass. instead of four separate spaces, i halved them so they have a little more space ( 6 males btw) while one male roams the tank. i plan to swop them around each week to give each of them exercise
the sixth male currently resides in his own tank. the females live in a 50 litre. reason for this: 2 of them are the ''giant'' species. all tanks except for 110 litre are 100% clean. all the tanks are heated, the males tank has a hint of methylene blue because the black male (the most valuable) had fin rot as did another. i was told i might have put them in too early and they're in shock so i shouldnt disturb them for awhile?


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## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

Each betta should really have its own tank of AT LEAST 5 gallons a piece. They should be in tanks that are heated to about 76F.

When you say they are 100% clean...what do you mean? What are your nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia levels at? 

Did you do a fishless cycle on the tank or did you just put all 6 of them in at one time right off the bat?

Like Bev said, a picture would help as well.


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## chipmunk1210 (Jul 3, 2012)

The situation that you described is not the best for the males. I know it has been shown a couple of times on youtube and people think it works but it is very stressful for all the males. The ones in the container can see their neighbor and the one male that is loose in the bigger section of the tank and have no room to hide or get away from them. They all need a decent amount of space all the time, not just shuffled about for one of them to have the run of the tank. If you do not have the space for multiple tanks of at least 5 gallons (20L) then buying a tank of at least 20 gallons (79L) and dividing it into 5 separate sections will work better than what you are doing now. It would give each male a big deal of space to call his own and be able to get away from the other males when they want which leads to much less stress. It sounds like your new male is very stressed from the situation you have put him in with how you keep your tanks.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

1^ with chipmunk!Sounds a little let pet stores that let the pupie out of their cage to run for 10 minutes!They can't stay in the cage forever!


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