Betta Fish almost died?

Question

My Betta Fish almost died. My mom had took him out of his bowl to clean it, we had him sitting in a cool whip bowl, until the other water warmed up a little. Well when it was warm enough I got him and put him in his regular tank. When I put him in there he almost died!! All of his color faded out, and he would float at the bottom, and struggle and stuff. I know something was wrong with him, but I just don't know exactly what would have caused this. He was totally white. But within an hour he recovered and he is fine now. I am wondering what could have caused this????

Answer 1

That was due to stress from the move and change in the water quality and conditions. If the temp was of by a few degrees it probably wouldn't do that, so I would think maybe the pH was off a bit, the disolved oxygen was different... well it could get to be a long list. The main point to remember is the longer you go between water changes the more different the water will be when you change it. Don't go too long between changes and this is less likely to happen. Even when it does happen, they usually recover pretty fast, just like your did. Bettas are rather tough fish and can handle the occasional stress fairly well. Not that you should do it on purpose of course, but it's less to worry about when it does happen.

Best of luck

Answer 2

Don't use distilled water for bettas, they need some of the minerals in water that have been taken out in the distilling process. If you buy water for your betta, get drinking water or spring water. Keep the jug of water sitting near the betta bowl so that it will be the same temp as the water in the bowl. If your bowl is smaller than a gallon, change out some of the water every other day... not all of it, maybe a fourth of it. When you clean the bowl, just use plain got water, no soap at all. Soap poisons fish.

Get a thermometer so you can be sure that when you change the water it's within a degree or two. This is important.

If you use tap water for your betta, be sure to use water conditioner to detoxify the chlorine and chloramine from the water. You have to do this; chlorine will gas off over time, but if your water company uses chloramines to purify the water it won't gas off no mattter how many days you let the water set before using it. You can match the temp of the water coming out of the tap using the thermometer.

(Your description of the problem sounds as though you didn't use water conditioner and he was reacting to chlorine that was still in the water. If the water sat for quite a while when it was warming up, there could have been some chlorine left in it but not as much as when it comes straight out of the tap. And it sounds as though you didn't check the temp with a thermometer.)

The best way to keep your betta is to get a small, heated, filtered tank. Then you only have to change 25% of the water once weekly, and you use a gravel vacuum to do this, cleaning the bottom of the tank at the same time.

Bettas can live for three or four years, in some cases even a bit more, if they're well cared for. Now is the time to read up on betta care so that your fish can have a long, healthy, happy life. I recommend www.bettatalk.com as a good place to start.

Answer 3

allright. maybe you should get a bigger bowl. like a 2 1/2 gallon aquarium. this way you can accuratly take out 25% of the water every 7days. it is dangerous to take all the water out. it has already been established and putting the fish into water that has chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals in it stresses out the fish. go to your local pet store and but some betta water conditioner. putting the right amount in new water or every time you change the water will make the water perfectly safe for bettas. and id use distilled water, not spring water. either way the water is not established for the fish and you should use the betta water treatment.

Answer 4

hi, Fish can lose their colour like that when they have been stressed or are depressed. In the case of your betta it could have been the move from his well adjusted bowl to the other bowl, If I remove my fish from their tank which I rarely do, (I use waterchange method) I would use some water from their tank and fill up the new one with some of the water, It could have been the change in temp of the water, or the quality or even possibly something in the new bowl, maybe reminence of washing up liquid or something, who knows? sometimes even a drop of a degree or a raise in temp can cause a fish to go into stress, Well I am glad he recovered but I think you experienced the full throws of fish shock...

Answer 5

I'm not gonna yell at you because your heart is in the right place. I do need to know the answer to a few questions to help you. How often do you do water changes? How big is the tank? Is it heated? How much water do you change per water change? I say go find a fungas medicine from the pet store, and if the tank is not heated, heat it. If you do not already, do 25% water changes once a week.

Answer 6

you have to havve the same temperature in the tank as the bowl you put the fish in. the temperature of the water can even kill him right away. be more careful next time. oh yeah, i had a betta, but he died. good luck.

Answer 7

maybe the water wasn't warmed up enough. i keep changing water by my betta for a few hours so conditions are the same. water temperatures don't change that quickly.

Answer 8

was the new water dechlorinated?

as others have said, loss of colour is a sign of stress and shock.

ease them into new water very gently!

Answer 9

I HAVE BETTA FISH ALSO. I ALWAYS BUY SPRING WATER FOR THEM. WHEN YOU PUT THEM IN ANOTHER CONTAINER MAKE SURE IT'S THE SAME KIND OF WATER. DON'T PUT THEM IN WARM WATER. I CHANGE MINE EVERY MONTH.ALSO THEY WILL DIE IF IT'S REAL REAL COLD AND YOUR GONE FOR A FEW DAYS AND LEAVE KNOW HEAT ON.