hi , not to hijack your blog with my problems , but i was wondering if you could help me with something ? im not going to ask for money i promise
my family recently got a beta . weve had betas several times before , this isnt a first time thing . but this one just kind of …. floats at the top of the tank .
hes not dead , hes never gone belly up , and he moves around the rest of the tank sometimes . we got him a heater and food that he could fit in his mouth and everything - he still liked floating at the top of the tank , like hes sleeping . is this normal ? or is there something we should do ?
this is him btw
sorry again and thank you so much for listening to me
Hi there! Floating near the top of the water can mean a few things- the first is that the water could be poorly oxygenated, and so he stays near the surface to more easily "gulp" more air. Hopefully you have a filter? Bettas generally do not lead good lives in conditions without one. The second is it could be a swim bladder issue, which should be fairly easy to confirm or rule out. When your fish swims lower into the middle of the water, does it seem like it is fighting to get away from the surface, and is it "buoyed" back up like it has on a life jacket? If this is the case you must treat it using additives to the water - there are few different methods and I encourage you to research those on your own, but I will say do NOT trust Bettafix (I've had terrible experiences in the past and in general the fish keeping community seems to agree using it is not worth the risk. Usually more of a skin/fin treatment anyway but it is still sometimes touted to fix swim bladder issues).
The third is simply that your betta could be bored - betta like to rest on things or wedge themselves in places where they'll be held still. If your tank is a little sparse, it could be that it's just easiest to "rest" against the surface. Betta come from crowded environments teeming with plant life, so I say to the best of your ability, pack in the plants or add driftwood that is arched that gives your betta something to swim beneath (just make sure any rough areas he could tear his fins on are trimmed or sanded away).
Really hope this helps! Best of luck :)
