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Why won't my betta fish eat?

I have one female beta in a 2 gallon tank. She’s done fine for the 9 months I’ve had her. Sometimes she will go a couple of days without eating, but then decide to eat. Now she’s gone a week! I’ll give her a pellet of food ( I’ve always fed her one pellet at a time), and it’s like she can’t see it and swims past it. There is also a film on top of the water. When noticed it, I changed the water. It’s only been 3 days and the film is back. Beta will get in a corner of the tank at the top of the water and sit there for a while. Then she’ll move to another corner. I know she has to be hungry! Could she be blind?

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Answer #1

Hi,

For the moment an Epsom salt bath wouldn’t hurt or just add some to his water. It is safe and sometimes cures. Some use it as a pre-medication before a stronger treatment. It flushes the fishes system…

Also bettas love plant life and he can nibble on this if nothing else… I notice my fish will not eat pellets but prefers softer foods… did anything change from his eating to not eating? An old remedy for many types of fish ailments was to add salt to the water. (aquarium salt not table salt). Also, try some plant such as anachiris which are easily munched on, and perhaps stick some food there so he can identify it and it won’t float away..

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