Crown Fin Bettas

I've had, over the years, lots of regular bettas. Never tried to breed them buy have always kept at least 1 or 2 at any given time. One in my office and one at home. I recently came across a 5 gallon old fashioned flat sided aquarium. Put about 2" of brown aquarium gravel in the bottom, an asian house, bridge, tall column with holes (all aquarium accessories). On the top I'm floating some spider plant start with the roots starting to grow down. I filled it with water that sat for about a week PRIOR to my buying a Crown Fin Betta and putting him into this. I floated him in his container and released him.

What I'm noticing is that he isn't eating as aggressively as my regular betta (other end of my desk), basically ignores food, floats around but doesn't really 'explore' like my red one (who is probably at least 2 yrs old). My question is: Are crown fin bettas 'different' than the regular ones? This one just seems lethargic and just sort of 'hangs there' without moving, exploring etc. unlike the regular finned Betta. Is this normal and what they're supposed to do? This one doesn't look sick but just not nearly as interesting or lively as my others. Any thoughts or opinions please?

Different colors or fin types don't have different behaviors from other bettas. Some are just less active if they can't see another fish. Some are also very picky eaters. I have a halfmoon male that wasn't very active til I put a female nearby. He will only eat a couple granules of food at a time but won't take frozen food or anything with legs or wings (very annoying). My female is a crowntail and is very active and curious. She refuses to eat the granules, but will eat anything that moves and LOVES the frozen brine shrimp. She would overeat on it, if I let her. She actually runs up and tries to eat it straight out of the syringe before I can push the plunger. lol

Have you tried him on a different food or tried placing another betta near his tank?

Really interesting. I've never had a really lethargic Betta, most all have been curious and explore and eat most anything. This guy isn't too interested in the pellets or dried brine shrimp thingies. I've been trying to figure out why the difference and only thought that maybe the large fins were stopping him from swimming too much but that didn't seem to be a valid reason......soooo maybe this guy is just not ever gonna be that active. Interesting.

I also have a Crowntail and he used to be super active like pace his tank but tht was when he had zebra danios and a albino cory in the tank.. now he just chills in the live water bamboo and eats alot.. but mainly just chills watching the world go about its business in my room... (hes in a 10 gallon) my Crowntail female cant sit still... eats like a pig on anything.. flake pellet ghost shrimp whole(takes her a few min but she pulls it off) and smaller fish...

If you've only tried him on dry foods, that might be the problem with feeding. He may be from stock that was fed on live foods up til transport. I'd recommend getting a cheap package of frozen food to try him on. And if you really don't want to place another fish near his tank, you can try puting a mirror against the glass. That usually works as well since they can't tell the difference between that and another fish. lol

I know you said you let the water sit out for about a week... but with fresh gravel and stuff in it, could be cycling... bettas tend to handle ammonia and nitrite pretty well... but sometimes get lathargic in the process... trying doin a big water change... or swith tanks, let him have the other tank, and the other fish use his tank...see what happens?

When I do regular water changes on my smaller betta containers, I usually let the water sit overnight with the conditioner added before using it. But I do about a 80% to 90% water change on them and have never had a problem with lethargic fish due to the changes. :/

When I do a water change, always add a dechlorinator with the tap water. Works everytime.

I was watching him today. Fed his the dried brine shrimp this morning but he didn't even look at it. Gave him a couple of pellets but he also let them just sit and float. I'm going to take my net to work tomorrow and switch him and my other guy. Water might be cycling...

OR this guy might just be a really lethargic type guy......time will tell if he perks up or not and maybe he'll always just chill, hang and float

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions, really appreciated!! If any more thoughts or ideas please let me know.

Technically, Bettas come from mud puddles in Thailand and surrounding areas. Some can do without food for up to a month without harming them. A mirror usually perks them up, or other fish nearby. I have my Delta tail male in a 2 gallon hex near my 37 gallon & whenever the others in the 37 gallon come to his little corner of their tank, he flares at them. I've had Crown tails & they each had different personalities. You may just have to interact with him in order to cultivate a personality in him. He may just be a mellow fellow & may never really be perky. But usually a mirror helps, they flare and all that, displaying and then build a nest to prove they are ready to defend their territory.

Flake foods are good for them too, but frozen Blood Worms are a real treat they love. I fed my Bettas frozen Blood Worms & frozen Brine Shrimp as soon as they came home from the pet store & they grew up to huge proportions for being PetCo fish...which just goes to show you that good food can do wonders for a fish. My female veil tail was even huge, some thought she was a male...except for the egg spot!

You definitely want to treat the water with conditioner though, otherwise he will be poisoned with the chlorine in the tap water. Another trick you could use is getting Black Water, which is what is usually in their water in the wild. It doesn't have to be *black* water, but the liquid in the bottle puts elements in the water that makes it more like home. And for the size tank you have him in, a little cory & otocynclus wouldn't hurt for company. If anything, that may make him be the dominant fish they tend to be & react to something in his environment.

Hope this helps...

I house a betta in a community tank. Pretty much treat it with as much care as my arowana.
Could be the betta's general health, that's questionable, not how you are treating it.

Bettas dont come directly out of mud puddles either, pet sores will tell you that sure, so you can feel fine keeping them crammed into a tiny 1 gal tank. In the wild they live in shallow water sources like slow moving streams and rice patties and usually have 10 gallons to themselves. I have found with my bettas when I would put them in a bowl while I was setting up the other tank they would be lethargic and just float at the top or sit on the bottom, when I put them into 2-50 gallon tanks they take off and explore to their little hearts content, I also keep all my bettas community, my male betta is in with 12 neons, 4 opaline gourami, 4 rosy barbs, and a bosemani, and they all get along

Like jackie said the black water can also be made by adding a certain dried leaf from thailand, almond leaf maybe? I cant remember, but I know they also like to eat mosquito larve, maybe experiment with his food, or try live food to entice him.

Maybe try a bubble wand or a filter without a cartridge just for water movement, might perk him up a little

know Im a little late to the topic, but hope hes better and good luck!

Um...what are your water parameters? 1 week is not enough to cycle a tank, so are you doing regular water changes? If you're not going to cycle, then you need to do 100% water changes weekly, as a general rule.

With 1 gal tanks I'll WC and let it ride. 5 and up and I'm cycling the thing, which genrally takes a month.

What I'm getting at is that your fish could be having ammonia/nitrite/nitrate problems.

My suggestions:
1) Get your water parms. If good, then I don't know why CT guy isn't eating.

2) If not good, I would put him in something smaller for a few weeks and cycle your tank in the mean time.

What is your water temp?