Female Betta Passed Away. Help.

[kelseyspinn]

I just found my female betta, Millie, passed away in her 5 gallon heated, filtered tank this morning. Yesterday she had what looked like a fungus patch on her head so I did a 100% water change, cleaned all the rocks, filter and heater off really good because I've been having algae problems really bad (I only keep the tank light on around 8 hours a day). When I placed her back in the tank last night she was swimming around like crazy acting normal. She was taking a lot of breaths though at the surface. And this morning I found her wedged between the filter and heater. The fungus patch is gone, but one of her gills is really inflamed and red. Does anybody have any opinions on how she died? Was it my fault? I'm really upset. =(

 

[BettaGal]

Inflamed red gills is usually a sign of ammonia poisoning. Have you been changing out your filter cartridges? How often did you do water changes? What water conditioner did you use?

 

[kelseyspinn]

I did weekly water changes. I'd suck out a gallon and put a gallon back in. I used Aqueon Betta Bowl Plus water conditioner. And I put a new filter in yesterday when I did all that cleaning. I'm pretty good about changing them out. I have a Marina i25 filter. I also use Jungle Correct pH fizz tabs too if that helps any. I had never seen the inflamed gill until this morning when I found her dead. She was really going crazy last night when I released her back into the tank. She went up to the surface a lot more than usual for air, but I wasn't sure if it was just her being her usual crazy self or if something was wrong with the water and I didn't know how to fix the problem. I let her sit in the water for a long time to get acclimated back to it too. I don't know if it was the 100% water change or she just got stuck in between the filter and heater and couldn't get out. Sometimes she would get up in there and just sit, but she would always squeeze her way back out.

 

[brennae]

Sorry to hear. I just lost a female Betta too.

 

[CinnamonPearl]

Sorry about your betta.

Doing 100% water changes are extremely stressful for fish. Did you change the filter pad completely? Doing those things can kill off your benificial bacteria and cause an ammonia spike. Ammonia + already present illness could've killed your fish.

 

[kelseyspinn]

Yes, I changed it completely and wiped out the inside of the filter and everything. I think I just over reacted when I saw that she had a white fuzzy patch on her head and took it too far. =( It's probably my own fault that she passed. I wasn't sure of what to do. I did some research on the fuzzy patch and all the websites were all over the place with solutions. I had her for almost 7 months so I'm sure me changing out everything is what did her in. I will most definitely never be doing a 100% water change ever again if I end up getting another betta. Thanks for all your help everyone. I really appreciate it.

I do have one more question though. Since I just wiped everything down and cleaned all the water should I dump it again and clean it again before getting another fish? Or should I just let it recycle before adding another betta?

 

[BettaGal]

I would do a fishless cycle and for the future never change your filter pads/cartridges out. That's what keeps your water parameters in check. When you change the media, you lose all the bacteria you need for clean water.

Don't feel bad about making a mistake. We all do it, and probably most of us on the forum learned the same lesson the same way. Even the ones that seem like they've been keeping fish for the past thousand years made these mistakes.

 

[kelseyspinn]

Alright, I'll get that cycle going tomorrow. I can't bring myself to do it today. I need to pay homage to my little feisty gal! Thanks again everyone for your help! I really do appreciate it! =)

 

[CinnamonPearl]

I would do a fishless cycle and for the future never change your filter pads/cartridges out. That's what keeps your water parameters in check. When you change the media, you lose all the bacteria you need for clean water.

Don't feel bad about making a mistake. We all do it, and probably most of us on the forum learned the same lesson the same way. Even the ones that seem like they've been keeping fish for the past thousand years made these mistakes.

+1. We all make mistakes. I've certainly made about a million. But it's the best way to learn. I'll admit, years ago I did 100% water changes every week on my first betta. We both went through identical situations. Good luck with your cycle.

 

[BettaGal]

+1. We all make mistakes. I've certainly made about a million. But it's the best way to learn. I'll admit, years ago I did 100% water changes every week on my first betta. We both went through identical situations. Good luck with your cycle.

I think I win this time. I did 100% water changes 2-3 times a week with my first betta. We all learn from our mistakes. No need to feel bad.

 

[kelseyspinn]

Thanks again guys! You all made me feel much better knowing I'm not the only one who went through the same situation.

 

[BettaGal]

No problem. We're here to help out.