I used to think my beta was "playing dead" on the bottom of the bowl for quite a while, and he'd be laying on his side, and look dead, and I'd get very nervous. But when I shook the bowl a little bit, he swap back up but went back down.
I was very nervous until just last week I heard why the betas do this. It's because they cant close their eyes when they are tired, so that's how they go to sleep.

I hope you are right :) ... but my betta has been "sleeping" for three days straight so I'm still nervous... also his breathing seems exaggerated

Any other suspicions?

Thanks!

Egbert, what are the test results? What is the water temperature? Is the tank heated? What size tank? Filtered or non-filtered? What type of ammonia test do you have? Is the test a dip strip or a reagent type? If reagent 1 or 2 bottles of test solution? Ammonia tests ( strip or 1 part reagent) can be skewed by water conditioners. This time of year is usually when people that have had bettas start getting sick or lathargic. The temps start to drop as the days get shorter. Betta's need heat, they are indeed tropical fish. Room temp. can be 5-10 degrees warmer then tank water temp. Think about a glass of water, in the winter I have one on the nightstand because the heat makes it dry. The room is comfortable but the water is still cool. I would suspect it is a temperature issue, but answer as many of the ???s as you can to give more info for a better resolution. Good Luck.

Test Results: Normal, except water is a little hard
Water Temperature: 78 degrees (heated)
12 gallon tank -- filtered
Four cory catfish tankmates
Dip test-- may skew results I guess

I am getting worried because he is still "breathing" but has been laying on his side on the bottom for a week. I just hope he isn't hurting.. It's painful to just watch him lie there. Any suggestion or thoughts are appreciated! Thanks

I guess he can surface to take air? Any other symtoms? The one thing that skews the strip tests is water conditioners. Most likely there is no ammonia and your bio-filter is in tact. Sometimes fish have short lives, part of the hobby unfortunately. I hope he pulls through. If you can think of any other symtom maybe that will help.

I have seen him surface for air once, should i put him in shallower water? But what about keeping it heated and would that stress him out? New symptom: belly looks bloated, definitely a change. Is there any thing I can do to make him more comfortable? Because at this point I am pretty sure he won't pull through. :(

Mine does the same thing except his back is turning peach and his top fin is getting black gunk. I put him in a 3.5 pint vase. I also added bettafix remedy to soothe him and heal him. He is usually in a 10 gallon tank with a tetra and a albino frog. This morning he started to discolor now it's spreading. I hope he's not dieing....... HELP!

I have had my betta for 8 months and he was always energetic. This week he has been lethargic and lays in his flower or at the bottom of the bowl on his side and seems to be grasping for a breath. I am new to the Betta world, and I don't want to lose him. Any suggestions?

Hi, I just bought my first 1 gallon fish tank, and i bought a Male betta fish right after. The fish was fine the first hours i introduced him to the tank but now he is a little lazy at the bottom, why is that? its day 2 though, should i be worried or is he a lil stressed into his new environment?