My betta fish died. Why?

Question

My betta fish died. When i bought him he was the livliest of the bunch. Beautiful blue colour energetic. The next day he stopped eating, stopped swimming, only moved occasionaley. He had white stuff coming off him like fur and lost his colour quickley. I kept him warm with good food, light and a little plant for him to swim around. I used the water conditioner aswel. He died 3 days later and was lying on the bottom of the tank. I want him back..I dont want to kill my next one. what do i do????

Answer 1

it is definitely not ick/ich. ich is an external parasite that looks like little white dots and make fish scratch on rocks.
he had a fungus. if it was white and cottony that means it's a true fungus. if it was grey-white stringy, that's a bacteria called columnaris that can kinda resemble fungus.

for next time: Jungle makes a good fungus medication called Fungus Clear that will treat a true fungus. fungus is contagious, so if your betta's been in with another fish, treat them all. you may want to start with a complete water change then begin treatment. do water changes every 3 or so days; after a water change add another dose of the medication. it's normal for the water will turn yellowish during treatment.
I've never dealt with columnaris, but I do know that it is a gram-positive bacteria, and can be treated with any med that treat such bacterias (like Mardel's Maracyn).

Next time you have a fish problem post up immediately with symptoms and such, and get some opinions early from people who seem to know what they're talking about.

Some people who know what they're talking about:
http://groups.msn.com/TheBettaObsession/bettaillnessandtreatment.msnw
http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm

Answer 2

When you changed the water, was the new water from your parent's house? It's possible that that water had completely different parameters, and even with the conditioner, might not have been good. You also have to make sure that the temperature is around 76-80 F since bettas are tropical fish. And as people have been saying, the bettas will live longer in a larger tank instead of a small bowl.

Answer 3

Oh dear I'm sorry but It's worst to have a tumor, believe me. Your fish probably had velvet disease or Ich (White spots). Both are a bacterial infections and you can treat both with raising the temp of your tank (80-86 degrees) and provide a antibiotic/antibacterial medication (Follow the instructions). For Ich the medication wont work until the white spot falls from the fish and breaks out (The cyst protects the parasites) after it fall from the fish and breaks out to infect more is when the bacteria is vulnerable to the medication, the temperature is to keep the disease from reproducing and attaching to the host. The treatment for velvet is almost the same procedure. Probably your fish died not because of the disease but because of the wounds caused by the disease which are very very likely to become infected by other bacteria.

Just keep the temp always between 75 and 85 degrees and do water changes once a week if you dont have a filter.

Answer 4

It sounds like he died of a fungal infection. (Or possible ich, or velvet your description is a little vague.) Given it happened soon after buy the fish he most likely was sick already. An antifungal treatment might have saved him, but given the stresss of a new bowl his odds weren't great even with treatment.

You should clean the bowl, gravel and everything with beach, or an antibacterial soap. Then rinse it throughly with warm water 3 times, fill it up with water and let soak, rinse, soak, rinse. Otherwise your next betta may get the same diease.


PS- You can read up on betta care on betta talk.

Answer 5

Your beta either had a fungus (cotton like growth on the body) or a parasite called Ick. Ick are little white dots that look like sugar crystals. Next time you need to go to your pet store and buy some medication. Ick and fungus can be treated with fish medication. Disease can be caused by stress or bad water quality. Make sure the water is good (no chlorine) and it is properly conditioned. Water quality is key to keep a healthy fish. Good luck with your next beta!

Answer 6

It sounds like he got ick maybe from the stress of the move to his new tank. Make sure you float the bag he comes in in the tank for a while so the temperature of the water in th bag gets the same temperature as in his new tank. You should add about a cup of water from his new tank into the bag about every 10 minutes. This will also help him to get used to the new tank. There are medicines you can also buy for ick such as maracide.

Answer 7

He was probably ill when you bought him, and the stress of being moved made it worse.

Most pet stores (like Petsmart) have a 14 day guarantee policy...take the fish back to the store and get a refund or another fish for free.

Answer 8

he had ick he was just stressed and that can cause ick they have ick treatment you can put in the water he probally already had the start of it though before you buy another fish make sure you see no white stuff on him and if you already have him and see white treat it as soon as possible.

Answer 9

take him in for an exchange, he had a case of ick when you bought him, it just doesn't develop that quickly.
Make sure you float the next one for a good hour before loosing him into his container.
Also, betas are not good candidates for community tanks.
give him his own bowl or tank, or put a separator in your tank to give him his territory.

Answer 10

where ever u bought the fish from, dont buy another fish from there again. it means that the store sold u a sick fish. if see thiung like that go to a local fish store they have medicine you can put in the water to cure the fishes.