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My new betta fish is lethargic and at the bottom. Is he dying?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Fish | Betta | Male | unneutered | 1 day old

I just got a betta fish yesterday. He was fine and swimming an hour ago but now he is at the bottom of the tank just kinda laying there and Hindi g in his cave. He is still alive just lathergic. I think he is dying. We put 8 drops of water conditioner in a two gallon tank. We fed him 2 pellets and 2 blood worms. What’s wrong?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Published on July 22nd, 2018

Check the water chemistry and temperature. Use a home test kit or submit a water sample for testing. Most pet stores will do this for free or for a small fee. Aim for 0 ppm ammonia and nitrites with nitrates at 20 ppm or less. Perform partial water changes, no more than 30% total volume at a time, to stabilize chemistry and improve water quality. Use only aged or conditioned water that is temperature matched to prevent stress or shock. Bettas are tropical fish and do best between 78 F and 80 F. You may need a small, submersible water heater to maintain temperature. Feed either the pellets or the bloodworms at one meal. Offering both is too much and he likely won't eat it all. Any uneaten food will rot in the tank and foul the water.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 2nd, 2019

    These are quite concerning signs. The tank where you place Ale is absolutely inadequate and will soon cause serious consequences. Water Quality and Temperature: Make sure your tank has a filter and especially a heater, room temperature is too cool. They are better off at about 78-82 degrees. If kept too cool, they get lethargic and refuse to eat. Bottled spring or drinking water seems to work out well. Never use distilled water. If kept in dirty and unfiltered water they are prone to fin and tail rot and other bacterial infections. Tank Size and Habitat: Some reccommend a five gallon tank with light filter and heater is perfect They do not like strong water current and should be provided a place near the surface to 'take a load off'.' Petco sells the betta hammocks. Also keep your Betta happy by providing artificial or live floating plants for them to swim around. Feeding Your Betta a Well-Balanced Diet: Betta pellets or high quality flake food. They can be fed every other day without harm. They also do well on the commercially prepared Betta pellets or high quality flake food. 2-3 pellets a day, freeze dried tubifex or blood worms 2-3 times a week, and 3-4 live brine shrimp once weekly (frozen brine shrimp are ok too). A small snail like a tiger or zebra snail can help with the leftovers, but partial water exchanges are imperative to keep them healthy and happy. Any further questions please feel free to ask!

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