Betta info please

Hiya all! I have been given a male betta in a tank about 20litres in size with a small internal filter.
y mate doesnt want it any more and so I got it all free. have it all set up now but he is just sitting at the bottom of the tank. I have checked the water and that is ok so what could be wrong. he does sometimes have a swim round but not for long and then stops. I have put some extra air bubbles in there and moved the filter nearer to the top of the tank so the water is getting disturbed, so I know its getting oxygenated ok.

Also do they eat normal fish food or something special?

Hiya Ant, congratulations on your new fish .

Does your mate live near? It could be that the fish is still a bit shocked after all the disturbance it has gone through. Did you put it in fresh water when it got to yours, and if so how did you acclimatise it?

The only other thing I wonder is whether all the water disturbance is a bit too much for it - they dont do well with that I dont think.

Try just rippling the surface of the water, make sure he can get to the surface for air (the top of the tank is not too near the surface of the water), and leave the lights off for today and let him settle.

As for food, I dont think there is any special food for bettas, but I am sure that some of the betta owners will correst me on that.

there is specific food designed for bettas but a waste of money IMO. When I feed my other tanks with frozen bloodworm i scoop a few up and put it into my male betta tank, he loves them.

Bettas dont like fast flowing water so ensure your pumps not overly powerful.

Also bettas do like lots of plants to swim and rest in, also a little hidey hole i find they like too. Bettas to sometimes rest and sit still, my male sometimes sits on the gravel, until i go up to the tank, then he comes to show off his colours!!

Hope that helped

It's quite normal for Bettas to "rest" on the bottom of the tank so don't worry. As Diana said, he could be just adjusting to the move. I feed my Betta a mixture of Tetra Betta Flakes (bought from here - dirt cheap and will last for yonks as far as I can see!), Betta pellets and live foods (brine shrimp, bloodworm, daphnia, artemia etc.) - they eat everything and a varied diet will help keep him healthy.