Betta Fish Swimming Erratically

Apr 27, 2021

iCrowdMarketing powered by iCrowdNewswire

If you own a betta fish, you should see this little friend of yours happily swimming and playing around in the water. But It’s not uncommon if betta fish swim erratically.

You should be worried when you see him swimming frantically upside down. Most of the time, their swimming pattern changes from bad water conditions or sickness.

However, it could be a bad or good sign, so you need to observe your betta for a while to know exactly what happened. Try not to be worried too much, because this problem can be fixed easily.

4 Common Signs Your Betta Fish Swimming Erratically


If you notice your betta fish swimming erratically, it is playing or exercising. But doing it consistently seems unhealthy. So there are a few common causes you should keep in mind if your betta is swimming erratically. If you want to know more about healthy betta fish, visit this website.

Nutrition Level


Betta loves to eat small and meaty foods (bloodworms, daphnia, mosquito larvae, brine shrimp, and smaller fish species). Those give them enough protein to stay strong and swim well.

If your betta faces a deficiency of proper nutrition, it will soon be affected by swimming disorder.

Water Parameter


Most of the time-poor water conditions are the main problem for different types of diseases, including swimming erratically. But ensuring a healthy water condition for your betta fish isn’t a big challenge.

If you notice betta swimming erratically, test the water with a kit to know about pH level, the ammonia level, and temperatures. And take action depending on the kit result.

Swim Bladder


In reality, the swim bladder isn’t a disease. It’s some kind of issue that happens due to high nitrate, bacterial infections, congenital disabilities, and many other reasons. So you need to inspect betta fish closely to know if it is affected by swim bladder or not. If your betta fish is affected by the swim bladder, don’t worry too much because it’s easily curable.

Neurological Disorder


Swimming like circling or whirling means your betta is suffering from nervous system disorder or neurological damage. This mostly happens when betta has a congenital disability. This can also occur if parasites or bacterias attack your betta.

Do I Think Serious Erratic Swimming Is Negative?


Swimming erratically doesn’t always mean your betta has diseases. Sometimes betta can do that for being so happy or doing exercise. If you see it only doing that when it sees you, that means it needs food to eat.

Moreover, monitor him carefully to know if that is how it usually acts or he’s acting strangely. If you feel anything wrong, take the time to treat your fish.

Final Words


Sometimes betta fish swim erratically from being lonely. So it’s your duty to add suitable tank mates for your beautiful betta fish. But continuing to do it in front of the tank might be a worrying sign.

We already know it can happen for different diseases. If you find the right reason on time, then this swimming erratically can be cured. And if you test in the right way and ensure everything is good, then it might be his natural behavior.

Tags: English