# Why is my betta so small?



## FuzzyMuffin (Jan 26, 2015)

I was just curious as to why my female betta is so very small. I've had her for over a year, but she's only 1-1.25 inches long. I'm having a hard time feeding her as the 2mm pellets I have (aquaculture betta pellets) are generally too large for her to eat comfortably. 

She's housed in a 5 gallon tank with two nerite buddies, and it's medium/heavily planted. She was bought from walmart, so maybe it's just bad breeding, but there are a few questions/concerns I have and would really appreciate some insight on.

1) Should I be concerned about her size?
2) Is there any food you guys would recommend? She occasionally gets frozen bloodworms.
3) She's had a really, really hard time overcoming some fin-rot issues. I kept good, weekly maintenance of her tank and still do (sometimes twice weekly), but it doesn't seem to be getting better or worse, and I've tried a variety of things. So, does anybody have advice for these tough cases? I've tried salt, melafix, isolation and salt (my plants didn't appreciate the salt), and frequent water changes. 

Her water parameters are;
Ammonia - 0ppm (used to be ~0.25ppm for some reason when I moved her back from isolation, despite the tank being cycled, but I'm now using Prime for conditioner)
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 0ppm
pH - 8.2
Temp - 75 F

Thanks for any help!


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Can you post a pic of her? And the tank set up if possible?

1) When fish have stunted growth, they don't grow "externally", as in getting longer, but the internal organs continue to grow, which can end up deforming the fish and possibly leading to premature death due to internal organs getting constricted and all. Does she look deformed? Particularly growing wide/bulging or hunched?

2) For food, I would recommend New Life Spectrum small community fish formula (Thera A version is better, but the regular non-Thera-A is still a good food). Get the .5mm pellets, they are light enough to float (can sink as well from filter submerging them or you dunk em under) and are perfectly bite sized. The 2mm pellets you are feeding, are definitely too big. Possibly might be the reason the betta is getting sick, maybe it's just not able to eat enough, resulting in a malnourished fish and weakened immune system.

3) Fin rot is usually caused by poor water quality (maybe a really dirty tank can be a reason as well). Healthy water parameters should have prevented it and even healed/stopped a active infection. If that didn't work, Melafix/Bettafix should have worked. I like Kordon Ich Attack/Rid Fungus (same ingredients) as it works for fin rot, as is very safe for fish, plants and inverts. There are harsher meds that can treat fin rot, but I wouldn't recommend them, especially since it should have been cured already just by simply clean water and Melafix, so I would think maybe the water quality really isn't healthy or maybe your Betta does indeed have poor genetics and/or a weak immune system (just because it's from Petco doesn't have to mean the betta has poor genetics though).

I think people would recommend you keeping the Betta temp around 79*F (which should also help it fight off the fin rot).


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## FuzzyMuffin (Jan 26, 2015)

I've attached a couple of photos of her and the tank, I hope they're adequate, I only had my phone to work with.

1) She has started to look a little deformed, though she looked quite normal when I bought her, I thought her size was due to her age, but that theory has been ruled out.  She seems to be getting a small, kind of inverted hunch in her back, which I think you'll be able to see in the photos. She's always seemed a little miss-proportioned as well, with too skinny of a behind and too large of a head/stomach area when viewed from the top, but this may be a factor because of her food predicament. 

2) Thanks for the recommendation, I really wasn't sure where to start or what to look for. We only have walmart here for pet supplies, so I'll have to order some. I have new life spectrum for my black moors though, it's a great brand.

3) I've been trying to ensure she has good quality water by doing ~50% weekly water changes, with the occasional 25% extra change, but those extra water changes get hard to do since I'm away at college and she's at my parent's house. It's always done weekly though, I'm really not sure why the fin-rot even started and why nothing has helped. I actually happen to have Kordon Ich Attack, does it really work to help with fin-rot?

The only heaters available at walmart were ones that automatically turn on and off. It said it was suppose to keep it consistently at 78*F, but instead it keeps it consistently at 75*F. I suppose I'll have to look into getting an adjustable one. 

I have very hard water, so if some Anubias leaves look a little splotchy, it's actually caused by a calcium build up, I'm pretty sure. Let me know if there's any other info or photos you need me to provide, I really love my betta and want the best for her.


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

She definitely doesn't look so good. She seems awfully pale- is she always that color? 
If you have frozen bloodworms on hand, feed them daily (skip a day once per week) until you get more food in. I use YFS Nano Bites for my bettas and small fish, and she should be able to eat them without any trouble. 
Can you put her tank in a warm room so she'll be at the proper temperature? 75F is bad for bettas. Try Amazon.com for betta tank heaters, and look for something that'll let you keep the tank at 79F, at least.


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## Mattymo92 (Feb 3, 2013)

Betta132 said:


> She definitely doesn't look so good. She seems awfully pale- is she always that color?
> If you have frozen bloodworms on hand, feed them daily (skip a day once per week) until you get more food in. I use YFS Nano Bites for my bettas and small fish, and she should be able to eat them without any trouble.
> Can you put her tank in a warm room so she'll be at the proper temperature? 75F is bad for bettas. Try Amazon.com for betta tank heaters, and look for something that'll let you keep the tank at 79F, at least.


I agree with betta132... I'd like to add though that maybe some live black worms could help entice her to eat and help her get back to proper health... I've heard positive things about using dried banana leaves or almond leaves in the water essentially as a natural antimicrobial aid as well. I don't have any experience with those leaves myself but maybe someone can chime in.

I hope she gets better!

- Matt M.


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## FuzzyMuffin (Jan 26, 2015)

Betta132 said:


> She definitely doesn't look so good. She seems awfully pale- is she always that color?
> If you have frozen bloodworms on hand, feed them daily (skip a day once per week) until you get more food in. I use YFS Nano Bites for my bettas and small fish, and she should be able to eat them without any trouble.
> Can you put her tank in a warm room so she'll be at the proper temperature? 75F is bad for bettas. Try Amazon.com for betta tank heaters, and look for something that'll let you keep the tank at 79F, at least.


She's fairly pale naturally, but she is indeed a bit dull. She's actually colored up quite a bit since when all this first started, and her stress stripes are usually gone for the most part. She's also a bit paler in that picture as I had cleaned her tank not 30 minutes earlier. 

I do have frozen bloodworms on hand, but I'll have to ask my family to feed her, as I'm at college right now. Thankfully they're usually pretty accommodating as they love her too.

As for the temperature, she's in the warmest area of the house right now, but I did buy a Hydor 25w heater along with the NLS pellets that were suggested by WaterLife. They should be here by the 15th, if not earlier. I'm not sure how much more money I can drop though, but I'm definitely willing to listen to any more advice to make her healthy again.

Thanks so much everyone for your helpful input and insight!


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

At that age, I'd take it as a given she was stunted. could have been temperature, nutritional problems, water conditions in early life, genetic etc....

Try and give her a good quality life, but do not expect too much from her. That is the most effed up shape I ever saw on a betta. She would have made a horrible breeder, fry inherit their shape from their mom.


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## Mattymo92 (Feb 3, 2013)

How's this little one doing? Is she doing any better?

- Matt M.


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