Betta fish and health recovery tips

[Hawaiiano]

My betta's been acting sluggish lately, fins clamped most of the day. Water params are good, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10 nitrate, temp at 78. Tank's a 5 gallon with a sponge filter, no tankmates. Been feeding him fluval bug bites twice a day. Any ideas what's up?

[Aurorix]

Sounds like stress or maybe early signs of fin rot. How often you doing water changes? Even with good params, buildup can mess with them. I'd bump temp to 80, add some indian almond leaves if you got 'em. Also, cut feeding to once a day for a bit, see if he perks up.

[lightrun]

My betta's been acting sluggish lately, fins clamped most of the day. Water params are good, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10 nitrate, temp at 78. Tank's a 5 gallon with a sponge filter, no tankmates. Been feeding him fluval bug bites twice a day. Any ideas what's up?

Clamped fins plus sluggishness could be bacterial. I'd do a 30% water change, add aquarium salt (1 tsp per gallon), and monitor. If no improvement in 3 days, consider erythromycin. Also, check for any sharp decor—sometimes they get microtears we miss.

[noviceguy]

My fish did this last month! Turned out the filter flow was too strong. I stuffed extra sponge in the output, and he chilled out in a day. Maybe try that?