help sick betta?

[Bettanole]

Hello,
I'm glad I found this place, I'm really worried about my betta.I have had him for about a month and everthing seemed fine. I changed his water 2 days ago and now he is acting crazy! I used the same water conditioner. The only thing i changed was that I replaced his gravel with some marbles from Petsmart. I hand washed them with no soap. He is still eating, I'm giving him 4 pellets of Hakira bettabio twice a day and eats as soon as it hits the bowl. He is bouncing around like he is trying to find his way out of the bowl and I don't know what to do for him. The water change was 100% change,I did the same thing last time. I feel like he is in shock but he doesn't look sick, he looks pissed....except when I feed him. Is there anything I can do to calm him down? He has always been a little active and i'm also wondering if the water temp is agitating him. He does still rest but when even he moves now he seems to be in a panic.

Any help would be appreciated

 

[kjf91004]

I think you did what I did a few years ago when I was a newbie too. You got the bowl "TOO CLEAN!" Fish need bacteria to survive. Or rather, there is a bacteria cycle that the fish tank goes through in which wastes are broken down and ... rather just search 'cycling a tank.' I can't explain it well. Do you have any other fish tanks available that you can take some "bacteria" from? (gravel or filter media?)

 

[plah831]

it could also be a case of old tank syndrome. if you hadn't done a water change in a long time, the sudden change to clean water stresses the fish because they've gotten used to dirty water.

but the changing of all the gravel will definitely send you into at least a mini-cycle. keep track of ammonia and nitrites and change water accordingly. for the future, frequent water changes are preferable because they keep your tank water closer to tap water, so no old tank syndrome stress.

 

[Bettanole]

Unfortunately this is the only tank that I have. Is there anything else I can do to "dirty" the tank. I think you might be right about me making the tank to clean..... He doesn't look like he is sick but he def looks like he wants out. I'm afraid that if i try to change the water again i'll only make things worse. Is there a chance that he can create new bacteria to get his envir. back to something he is happy with?

Thanks

 

[plah831]

well, making it dirty again isn't the solution. just keep up with current water changes to remove ammonia and nitrites that are the result of removing the gravel.
if you really want to jump the cycle, get a pouch of Bio-Spira because it contains all the bacteria necessary to mature the tank. However, the stuff is hard to find and expensive ($20 to treat 15-30 gals).

 

[Bettanole]

Ok thank you I'll pick up the Bio-Spira.... and go with the regular water changes. It seems like that is his best hope.

 

[yourchoice]

how big of tank.if there is no plant a plant would calm him down.if the water temp was colder than usual that would make him act this way.