Betta fish and disease treatment options

[Torvik9]

My betta's been acting sluggish lately, fins clamped, not eating much. Water params are good, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10 nitrate. Tank's a 5 gallon with a sponge filter, heated to 78F. Any ideas what's up?

[visorguide]

Sounds like it could be a bacterial thing. I'd try upping the temp to 80F, maybe add some aquarium salt. How often do you do water changes?

[goldenEye]

My fish did that once, turned out he was just bored. Threw in a leaf hammock and he perked right up. Maybe yours needs a vibe check?

[slimfox]

Sounds like it could be a bacterial thing. I'd try upping the temp to 80F, maybe add some aquarium salt. How often do you do water changes?

I agree with the salt idea, but go easy on it. Too much can stress them out. I do 25% changes weekly, seems to keep things stable.

[Torvik9]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try the temp bump and a bit of salt. Water changes are every week, about 20%. Fingers crossed.

[visorguide]

Cool, keep us posted. If it doesn't improve in a few days, might wanna look into meds. I've had luck with kanaplex for weird bacterial stuff.

[goldenEye]

Yeah, or maybe just chill and see? Sometimes they're just having an off day. Mine sulks if I move stuff around too much.

[slimfox]

Yeah, or maybe just chill and see? Sometimes they're just having an off day. Mine sulks if I move stuff around too much.

True, but clamped fins are usually a red flag. I'd monitor closely, maybe skip a feeding day to see if it helps.