Sickly Betta, Please help!

[BarbaraB]

We brought our little betta from Southern California to our summer home in Lake Tahoe, California two months ago and he is doing very poorly. We are at six thousand feet of elevation here. I use a good betta water conditioner. He has hardly eaten in two weeks and had begun shedding. I have been using bettafix for three days and the shedding has stopped but he just stays in one corner blowing bubbles with his nose in the air and won't eat. He is about two years old. Do you have any suggestions? Do you think it could be the altitude? We are afraid we are losing him. We love this little guy because he has such a personality, like a little puppy. He usually loves his betta bio gold and mealworms. It really upsets us to see him suffer...Thank you, Barbara

[Loachlvr]

I believe you betta is beginning to show the signs of old age. 2 years is old for a betta the normal life span of a betta from a petstore is 2-3years if you aquired it from a breeder directly it may be a little longer for some reason. The not eating and lying around is a sign of old age. If this is old age he is not suffering he is just slowing down.

-QotL

[BarbaraB]

Thank you for your kind reply. It is so sad they can't live longer. He is such a neat pet, we really enjoy having him. We just try to keep him as comfortable as possible. Take care, Barbara