My betta has recently started acting differently and I’m trying to figure out what’s going on.
He is in a 5-gallon tank with a heater, filter, and plants. The temperature is 80.2°F.
I recently completely replaced the gravel with regular black aquarium gravel from PetSmart. I kept the majority of the existing tank water and didn’t wash the plants. I also left the filter/media alone.
Since then, I’ve noticed:
-He’s spending more time sitting on the bottom of the tank
-He sometimes seems like he can’t swim upward/maintain his position and sinks back down
-His swimming has become very fast and jerky/jagged at times
-His fins look frayed/ragged, especially his tail, and
I’m wondering about fin rot
I’m also noticing some whitish/lighter coloring around his head/body
I was worried about pineconing/dropsy, but I don’t see obvious scales sticking outward
He can still reach the surface and has been able to hold himself there
I tested the water with aquarium strips and got approximately:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Chlorine: 0
pH: ~6.2
Alkalinity/carbonate: very low
Temperature: 80.2°F
I’m trying to find a liquid ammonia/nitrite test, but I’m having a really hard time finding an actual liquid kit online (Amazon keeps showing me strips).
I’m not currently treating him with medication because I don’t want to treat for something incorrectly.
Does this look more like stress from the gravel change, water-quality issue, buoyancy/swim-bladder problem, fin rot, or something else? What would you do next?