I brought my first beta 5 days ago.
I got a 2.5 Gallon (10 litre tank. The tanks sold as a 15 litre, but with gravel not filling the tank to it’s brim it only holds 10) a 25watt water heater, that heated the tank to 24deg C (75degF) and fed him a variety of pellets and bloodworms.
I had all the water conditioners/agers that I use in my goldfish tank in the water. (I forget exactly what all the stuff does. But basically it’s water ager and conditioner.)
Last night he very active and was making bubble nests around the plant in his tank… this morning he was dead.
When I brought him he was sluggish (but he was in ¼ gallon, 500ml cup) and his lower fins looked a little bit damaged.
When I emptied the tank out, I noticed that the heater and thermometer where very, very slimy. Is it possible that I accidentally put to much water ager in the tank?
2007-02-14 22:17:17 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
I hadn’t done a water change since I had him; I’d only had him for 4 days.
The water ager is a pet shop brand water ager. It’s literally called “Water Ager.”
He wasn’t bloated.
When I took him out of the tank, he had what looked like black mould poking out from inside his gills.
(I got up late, so he could have been dead for upwards of 10 hours. I’m not sure if the black is part of decomposition of what.)
2007-02-14 22:39:54 · update #1
i buy bettas that are sick all the time and pretty much know what i am doing and still have a fairly high mortality rate. mine get salt baths and usually antibiotic treatments when i get them home and its still not 100%. any betta rescuer will tell you the same thing. they get succeptable to all kinds of things in those little cups.
the only advice i can give you is look for a healthy fish. one that will display his fins in a cup is generally doing a lot better in there than one that sits on the bottom.
water ager is probably kind of moot in a small tank. i doubt it had anything to do with the fish dying but you can't really cycle 2 gallons. just use some conditioner, salt, melafix whatever you use and he should be good as long as he is relatively healthy.
2007-02-15 05:19:14 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm so sorry that your fish died. :(
There's a good chance that he was sick when you got him. Did you do some research on these fish before you got him? That really helps especially when the fish is sick.
Were the bloodworms frozen, freeze-dried or live? Live foods are good for carrying bacteria and parasites.
As for the ager, I've never heard of any other betta owners that use this. What most betta owners do(myself included) is we let the water sit out for a day or two then when we clean out the tank, we add the conditioner to the water then add the treated water to the tank.
As for the slimy heater and thermometer, that was probably from his slime coat. When a betta is sick, they produce more slime coat to fight off any infection/disease and it can sometimes stick to the decorations, heaters, etc in the tank.
If you plan on getting another betta, I suggest that you check out www.bettatalk.com. You can learn a lot from that site.
2007-02-15 10:53:45 · answer #2 · answered by Red_Rose 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It really sounds like your fish was sick before you got him. WHile it is possible to use too much of the water ager, it would probably take a massive over use to kill the fish. The slime in the tank was from him being dead in there for a few hours would be my best guess. I would clean out the tank well and get another fish personally
MM
2007-02-15 09:18:23 · answer #3 · answered by magicman116 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is possible that to put to much water Alger in the take and kill the fish that way, but is seems to me that Beta's live best in water 79-82 degrees F. Clean the tank, remove the water auger and try again with the warmer temperature.
2007-02-15 06:28:16 · answer #4 · answered by redhotboxsoxfan 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it could be that your betta was already sick when you got him.
it sounds like you did most things right though. did he have any symptoms on him when you found his body? was the heater working ok? had he pooped while he was with you and did he look fat or bloated at all?
what "ager" did you use? had you done any water changes since you first put him in?
2007-02-15 06:28:55 · answer #5 · answered by catx 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most likely was diseased b4 you bought him, internal parasite maybe
2007-02-15 08:38:07 · answer #6 · answered by Return of the Snatch 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes fish just die. It's sad really but there you go.
2007-02-15 08:43:32 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋