My Betta Is Dead And I Don'T Know What I Did Wrong

[wdicwg]

I came on about 2 months to get advice about my first betta. He had been doing well for the last two months and I thought I was doing everything right, and then suddenly this morning he was dead. I had a 2.5 gallon tank with filter and heater for him.

Here is the best timeline i know. Saturday he was kinda off balance like he was when I got him, so i feed him some of the little green broccoli tops and sun he wasnt better so i feed him part of a pea, and the power was out for about an 1 1/2 hours. I tested the water monday and the amonia was up, it had stayed down for about two weeks, so prior to that i thought the tank was cycled, i changed half of the water.

Tuesday I feed him as usual and he seemed to have a usual appetite but was moving kinda slow. Wednesday he seemed to be moving normally and also had a normal appetite, I left after I feed him on Wednesday and got back late late thurday night, so I didnt even turn his light on, so i dont know how he was thursday.

Yesterday I added a new plant to his tank, and he stayed in the corner, but he has done that before when i had changed something in the tank, so i didnt think much about it, he at normally yesteday, and seemed fine when i turned off his light. He just seemed fine yesterday, but i guess i must have missed something.

Then this morning when i woke up and turned on his light he was laying on the bottom with his fins clamped together and very pale. I knew something was wrong and i tried to get him to move and then knew he was dead. I tested the water and the ammonia was high again but i dont know if that was due to him being dead or if it had spiked before, all the other parameters were normal.

I know i deafinatly wont get a new betta untill at least after thanksgiving break maybe not for a few more weeks, but can anyone help me figure out what i did wrong so it wont happen again? What do i need to do with the tank before i get a new betta. im sorry this is so long, I just dont want to same thing to happen to my another betta as what happened to my little storm.

 

[Neesmo]

thats sad to hear about your little betta. i hope you can get some answers here from one of the other more experienced members. Did you have a filter on the tank and when was the last water change?

Kyle

 

[aly_starh]

I suspect it was ammonia poisening. Much to contrary belief bettas aren't hardy to poor water conditions. Did he have red speckles on his face and gills?

Sorry for your loss

 

[Honeythorn]

If he was "off balance" when you bought him and had trouble swimming upright then it was probably swimbladder. This is usually incurable but peas and so on do help for a while.

If your ammonia was going up and down then chances are your filter can't cope ( and since it's running a 2.5 gal I presume it's small? ) or you aren't doing enough water changes.

If you cycled the tank with the fish in it, espescially in such a small space, then this may have been a contributing factor. Exposing him to his own waste before you do a water change will not have helped his possible swimbladder disease at all. He may also have already contracted an illness at the store you bought him from. Not all places quarrantine their fish.

Having a 2.5 gallon tank doesn't help. You really need a 5 gallon. A bigger amount of water is vastly easier to keep stable and you can get a decent filter to fit them much easier than a 2.5.

Ammonia will build very quickly even in a filtered tank if it is too small.
I'd say upgrade to a 5 gallon tank, get a sponge filter and either put it in another stocked tank for just over a month to cycle, or fishless cycle it using the pure ammonia method before even considering buying another fish.

 

[Amberleaf]

Well, the ammonia was spiking, right? well, ammonia is Thee Number One killer of fish everywhere. Sorry about your loss. hmm.... Now, you have a chance to do a fishless cycle and make sure the filter can handle all the ammonia! ^^; ready set go! :3

 

[BlackWidow]

Betta fish have very weak immune systems because they are inbred for their beautiful colours / Large fins. In the wild Male bettas do not look so beautiful and have strong immune systems. Any spike in ammonia , nitrite levels can lead to outbreaks of disease in your tanks of which most tropical fish will survive unlike bettas that once get sick usually die. the Fact you said his fins were clumped tells me it must have been fungal / bacterial infection. I would say in future if you want bettas get wild bettas from petshop they are more hardy and natural unlike GM Bettas GL.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

Sorry about your betta.

My betta tanks range from 3-gallons to 10-gallons and from my experience, ammonia levels go up quickly in all three sizes. If/when you do get another betta, regardless if you go up in size or not, the tank should be cycled. That is the one thing I'll do if I ever have another empty/available tank.

 

[Honeythorn]

I find that odd considering I don't get such a thing in my tanks.

 

[wdicwg]

my school has a limit of the size of the tank, but i think five should be acceptable. He didn't have any color to him at all, when if found him this morning he was white and pink, from silver-blue and red. The filter came with the tank so i assumed it would be enough. How do I do a fish less cycle? Is there any additional ways to filter the tank besides a completely new filter or tank, like something that can be added, i have limited finances to work with. If he was sick when i got him would he have been able to survive two months? Thanks for all your help.

 

[Honeythorn]

If he was having trouble swimming when you got him and was sick then yes he could survive with a filter, heater and water changes even in such a small tank. But the amount of swimming room is too small, and despite water changes and a little filter, the ammonia will till build up very quickly, espescially if the tank is left at the school over the weekend with no one to do a water change.

Here is a link to the thread on fishless cycling CLICK ME

There is a way to speed up fishless cycling, and that is to squeeze out a used ( dirty) sponge from a filter that's been running another tank, over the new sponge to put some bacteria in it. This gives the new filter a sort of kick start and the fishless cycle proceeds a little faster.

You can avoid fishless cycling altogether by putting your new filter straight into another tank with fish in it that's been running for some time ( at least 3 months) and leave the filter in there for 1 month to cycle. It takes just as long as a fishless cycle, but it is a lot less time consuming and fiddly.



5 gallons is still a small tank as we look at it, but to a betta will make the world of difference. The more water you have, the more his waste will be diluted, and if you have a good filter rated for that tank then the bacteria in it will easily be able to deal with the waste of a single male betta.

Your school shouldn't have any trouble with a 5 gallon, if cost is an issue then you can easily find a 5 gal second hand on ebay, Craigslist, free ads, newspaper classifieds, garage sales, all sorts of places. All my own tanks, even the 30 gallon are second hand and cost a fraction of the price of a brand new shop bought setup.

12-14 square inches of space on a strong desk or worktop is all you need for a cube or hexagonal tank ( a rectangular one will take up more room lengthise but if you have the space then go for it )

A good filter to use that's safe for bettas is a sponge filter. You can get them cheap on ebay, or get them in most fish stores. You will also need an air pump to run it, and these also do not cost too much.

A 25 watt heater will be needed if you don't have one already.

When it's time to get your new fish, really take a good look at the stock. Make sure the betta is swimming normally, not rolling about like he's unbalanced, or sitting listlessly on the bottom. Ideally he should look alert, be interested in his tank, maybe flaring at his reflection of the fish in the next tank, and some also come up to the glass to see what's going on if you put a finger there.

Check his skin is free from fluffy cotton wool patches (fungus) , or any white spots ( white spot disease) or what looks like gold dust ( velvet disease) . And also check there are no red patches or ulcers.

For hsi fins, check they are not too ragged if he's being kept in a tank with other fish in the store, and if not, check they are not raggedy and looking blackened at the tips, as this could indicate fin rot.

His gills and breathing should not be gasping or very quick, just normal breathing and no signs of over redness in the gills.

 

[loraxchick]

if you are using a cycled filter, no matter WHAT size tank youre running it on there will be no ammonia. the problem with small tanks as honeythorn points out is that most small commercial filters are pretty much useless. they dont hold enough media for the bacteria to properly colonize. make your own sponge filter. the same size "gadget" as compared to a commercial filter holds MUCH more media and can be made to fit in even the smallest of tanks. some of you are aware that i am a HUGE proponent for DIY sponge filters, and for reasons stated above. they simply hold more media and do a superior job to small commercial filters that will cost you about 2X as much as it would to make your own, better filter.
so sorry about your fish. chances are he was ill when you got him. from the discription he probably had either internal parasites or dropsy poor boy...better luck with your next fish. to be sure, i would sterialize the tank before getting a new guy. and try to use some mature media to cycle the filter before you get another.
all the best!

 

[wdicwg]

I have looked into a five gallon tank and fish-less cycling. It will be about a month until i can get a 5 gallon tank, unless one pops up on craigs list. is it possible during that month to cycle the smaller tank and then use the filtered media in the larger tank, would it shorten the time required to cycle the 5 gallon? Also how can i make a sponge filter? I wan to do my best from looseing another betta. Thank you all for helping.

 

[llamalord305]

Yes, thats called seeding a filter. Just fishless cycle it normally, but you are going to have to add ammonia daily once you complete the cycle or else the bacteria will starve.

Heres a good topic on making a sponge filter.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=85297

 

[loraxchick]

here is a less-compicated sponge filter...eliminates the lift tube if you can handle the bubbling noise in the tank (i find it rather soothing...ive made about a dozen or so of these and they work amazingly. if the bubbling bothers you, then use the lift tube in the link above in your build, but it adds a secondary complication. they are soooooooooo easy to make and work way better than any other small commercial filter. here's the instructions...feel free (anyone at all!!!) to message me if you have any questions whatsoever. happy building.

hi
if you have an established tank, use some media and MAKE your own filter. heres how to make one. ive given advice to a few members so ignore any info that doesnt pertain to you. any more questios feel FREE to ask!

here's how to make one. it is reallllly simple.

list of things you will need:
- an old fish food tub or any other container with a lid depending on the size of the tank to house it (like an old peanutbutter jar (plastic of course), big yogurt container, sour cream container, etc.,).
-something to poke holes in the plastic- a nail and hammer or a drill with a small. sized bit
-gravel or some other material to weight it down
-filter media (sponges work best)
-air pump
-airline tubing


now to build it:
-take the clean container and poke some holes in the bottom. like 8 or so.
-poke a hole in the lid of the container that will accommodate the airtube and be just a BIT wider than the tubing(so the air can get out as it bubbles)
-take an amount of gravel and put it in the bottom (a small handful will be enough)
-put the airline tubing thru the hole in the lid and then run it in the container right down into the gravel
-pack the filter material nice and tight around the airline tubing. you can cut sponges to fit. just make sure its packed well. if not, the airbubbles will have lots of "options" to escape. the idea is to get it so that there is good suction thru the filter as the bubbles rise. if there is lots of airspace in there, the bubbles take the path of least resistance and suction will not be as good thru the media as it should be, and the filter will not work as well.
- put the lid on the container that now is weighted with gravel and packed with media.
-turn on the airpump and viola- nearly instant and cheap filter!!!

some troubleshooting advice:
-if it seems to float, add more gravel to weight it down
-test your water daily and do appropriate waterchanges until it cycles.
-if using mature media, ive found that they usually cycle within a week or so (or sometimes instantly if the bio load is low).
- if you dont notice reduction of ammonia within a week or two, try packing with more media...or if it was REALLY jam packed, maybe take a bit out.


these filters require VERY little maintenance. they are NOT mechanical filters (do not remove the solid waste in the tank) so they dont get all gunked up with waste. i have not touched my filter media in months!!!! although this means that with water changes, you will have to syphon out the solid waste- these filters do not do that for you. they just take care of the chemical filtration (turning ammonia into nitrites into nitrates). they do circulate water quite well tho.

good luck and feel FREE to ask if you need any further instruction or clarification. they truley are very very simple to make. once you make one, you might not buy a filter ever again. i know i wont smile.gif its a little extra work to clean the solid waste up, but if you regularly do partial water changes anyway, it is not a big deal as you should be syphoning up the poo anyway.

good luck and have fun making your filter!
cheers