Expert: Richard Hight - 2/26/2009

Question
Here's the story of Ozzie the sinking betta.

I got Ozzie in San Diego, put him in a 2-3 gallon bowl with cuttings from a pothos plant.  He did great for approximately 6 months.  I moved to Chandler, Az, February 2nd and it's been downhill for Ozzie ever since.  When I first got here I left him in his small travel bowl for 2 days and then I put him back in his original bowl with Az water (I was told by a Petco fish guy that Az water is better than San Diego and he would be fine in it).  He didn't seem himself after that.  He seemed sluggish and not eating very much.  I got water test strips and the Nitrites are perfect.  It shows the water is 'very hard' 300 or more. The Alkalinity is 'high' 300 or more.  The pH is 8.4 or higher.  I got some pH down and added a couple drops...no change in levels.  Added more 2 days later...no change.  Added more 2 days later...no change.  Poor Ozzie just tangled himself up into the roots at the top of the bowl and stayed there.  So at my boyfriends urging I removed some of the plants and removed some of the water and added water from the other established betta (it is an Arizona native and is thriving) it's water levels are good.  It seemed to have helped Ozzies water levels, however he seems to lay at the bottom of bowl now.  I'm thinking not enough roots to hold him up anymore and the roots are no longer at the top of bowl.  He struggles to get to the top for air...and then sinks back to bottom.  Please help me help Ozzie.  He seems so miserable and it's making me very sad to see him suffer.

Answer
Hi Janine

I pulled your question from our question pool. I apologize for the delay in getting an answer to you.

First, I don't think the twit at Petco can even spell San Diego, let alone know what the water chemistry is there. Feel free to tell him I think he's an idiot.

Even if it is true that the Arizona water is better than San Diego's, fish still have to be acclimated to new water. Anytime you move fish from one city to another, they must be acclimated to the new water chemistry correctly.

To acclimate them.....
Fill the tank with water and add your water conditioner, StressCoat or Aquasafe are recommended. Place the fish and their old water in a plastic bag. I used Ziploc bags when I moved. Float the bag in the tank for 30 minutes to equalize the temperature. Then, take a ¼ cup of the tank water and add it to the bag. Repeat this step every 10-15 minutes for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the amount of old water in the bag. Finally, catch the fish with a net and carefully place him in the tank. Discard the water in the bag, do NOT add it to the tank.

What I recommend you do for Ozzie is this....
He really needs to be in a small 5 gallon heated, filtered and covered aquarium. Bettas are jumpers and will often jump out of uncovered tanks. Take water out of his bowl and place him in another temporary container. Whether you get a new tank or keep him in his current one, dump all water out of it and refill using bottled drinking water or spring water. Don't use distilled water as it has no minerals and nutrients that fish need. Acclimate him to the new water using the process above.

Raise the temperature gradually (1° every few hours)to 78-80° with a small aquarium heater. Add 1tsp of Aquarium Salt per gallon of water. Aquarium Salt, not table salt. The salt and warmer temps will relieve his stress.

Hope this helps both you and Ozzie, good luck!

Richard