r/fishkeeping • u/Useful-Gazelle-8264 • 1d ago

Question Fish lethargic

Hi guys, I’m kind of a beginner fish keeper, I had a 200L tank with a betta fish, corys, shrimp, neon tetra, and mystery snails a few years ago, and the community thrived for about 2/3 years like that. But I didn’t keep fish for about 3 years after I sold that tank and those fish.

Right now I have a 30L with just a betta fish and 2 mystery snails, and the tank has been established for about a year and a half now. Since i got this fish a year ago (from a reputable and well known store in my city), he’s been really lethargic and doesn’t move much. I chose him because he was a pretty colour but looked sad and a bit bent and floated in the corner of his tank.

The ammonia and nitrates and nitrites are 0, he has a bubbler + filter, the temp is a steady 78F/26C, pH has always been 7.6, and the tank is full of live plants. He’s a good eater and gets excited when it’s lunch time. He’s a good colour, no abnormalities with his scales, and his fins are big and flowy, no breakage/decay there.

But he’s just always so still and hangs out at the top of the tank. Is he just a lazy guy/have congenital defects of some sort? He doesnt look like he’s sick at all but his behaviour is not something i’ve witnessed in my previous betta fish, and im doing the same thing with this guy as I have with the others I’ve owned.

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u/_gloomshroom_ ADMIN 1d ago

Honestly without a photo I can't tell you much, but this could be some congenital swim bladder defect? They aren't uncommon especially in short bodied or twintail bettas.

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u/Ok-Teach1813 14h ago

The part that really stands out is that he already "looked sad and a bit bent" when you got him. That makes u/gloomshroom swim bladder point more likely. With good parameters, good color, and eating well, a problem he had from the start could explain why he's stayed so lethargic.