My betta is dying -- help

[An t-iasg]

I posted about a week ago; I thought my betta was getting old. He had trouble eating. Now he can't really swim anymore. I netted him yesterday, but didn't lift him out of the water, because I thought it would help him eat if he didn't have to chase the food. I dropped the food in the net and it floated to him. He ate one little pellet. He ignored the other pellets. I didn't even try to feed him today. I knew he couldn't come up for the food, and I didn't want to stress him with the net again. He has been lying on the bottom all day, kind of on his side. Sometimes I see his gills moving, kind of fast, and sometimes they don't move. I've added BettaMax for the recommended 3 doses. It hasn't helped. I didn't really think it would, but I wanted to try something. There are no visible parasites or disease (he doesn't have dropsy like my other betta did when he died). Sometimes he'll swim very erratically, and then just fall back down, and wherever he lands, he'll just stay there for awhile.

Is there anything else at all that I can do? It's so hard to watch him lie there.

 

[e-cat]

sorry too hear about you betta. if he is really old, then mabey it just his time. if you cant watch him suffer any more then mabey its best too put him out of his missery.

 

[Tigerlily]

Oh An, what a terrible feeling. I am really sorry about your betta. I don't know what to do except to minimize his stress - which you are already doing. It seems like you've done all you can. I'll keep my fingers crossed for your little guy!

 

[Scott1980]

I've heard of a disease common with bettas, I think in old age, that makes it difficult for them to float. And of course Bettas being Surface Breathers that's a problem. The symptons sound like your betta and my very first betta died from the same problem. They need air but can't float, usually get just enough energy to get to the top take a breath, but then falls helplessly back to the bottom. (Frodo, I miss that little guy). I'll search around and see if I can find that for you.

 

[Scott1980]

ok, I found it there's actaully alot of informative info on different types of diseases. http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm Yours sounds like "The Swim Bladder Disorder" or "Depression. Just scroll down the page and you'll see them and it list symptons and possible cures. Best if luck, post your hopefully good results.


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[blueeyes]

An t-iasg- I am sorry to hear about your Betta.
about how old is your Betta?

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi everyone,
Thanks for your nice posts! My betta is probably about 2 years old. I've had him for a year and 9 months. He just started going "downhill" a week or two ago, when he had trouble catching the food. Now, since Saturday, he can't swim. Scott 1980, (sorry to hear about Frodo) I thought of swim bladder disease too. The website said it's from overfeeding, but I feed him once a day and don't give him too much. I try not to feed more than the size of his eye, because I read that's how big their stomachs are. I rarely give him brine shrimp. So, I think it may be old age. The Betta Talk site didn't suggest a med for that particular ailment, but it said they aren't suffering (just the owner suffers ). That's good to know, and maybe he will recover. Tomorrow I'll change the water and start to remove the BettaMax that I have in there. Maybe a water change will perk him up.

 

[PlatyLady]

One thing I did when my betta was dying was to lower the water level of his tank. I thought it might help if he didn't have to go so far up to breathe. Of course, lower water meant I had to keep a closer eye on things, but it was worth it not to have to watch him struggle to the surface.

Good luck!

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi PlatyLady,
I thought of that too. But I have to be careful of the minimum water level of the heater. I don't think I want to turn off the heater now. Did you have a heater? But it's so hard to watch him lay there. He hasn't eaten in two days. That would be ok for a healthy betta, but I don't think he's healthy right now. He's been lying upside down for awhile now. This is so terrible

 

[mother2kamryn]

I'm so sorry to hear about your betta. I to have had my betta for almost 2 years and on 3 occasions this has happened. the last one was a week ago. The only other thing that i can recommend that helped me, which may be a nutrition issue.... is to try live brine shrimp. lfs should have some. it works wonders for my betta. also try putting a mirror infront of him to see if it will help get him off the bottom for defense. it might sound mean...and im not saying to leave it there long but just enough to get him up. they are extremely social fish. changing location might help too in combonation with above if its depression. I put mine on my computer desk as opposed to my room and he did a 360 degree turn around after pampering him. I try to avoid meds in his tank as much as possible. i hope this helps some. Keep us posted!

 

[An t-iasg]

My betta died last night. It was so terrible to watch him lie on the bottom, sometimes on his back, and not move. His name was Little Emmy, named after my husband (my husband's middle name is Emil, so "Emmy" is a derivitive!)

Little Emmy was about 2 years old, and he was very pretty and friendly. He was my first fish ever, so I guess I did okay with him!

Goodbye, Little Emmy

 

[An t-iasg]

We buried Little Emmy today. My husband bought a very small jewelry box and stained it. That was very nice of him.

I took the tank down. For the first Sunday in a few years, I have no tank to clean.

 

[Catalina]

I'm so sorry An t-iasg. You have given me a lot of advice in caring for my own betta, and although I haven't had any of my fish for as long as you had this one, I know how hard it can be when a fish you're attached to dies.

Just know that you gave this fish a better life than most bettas ever know (I'm sure you're already aware of this). He had his own heated tank when the common misperception is that these fish are happy in little bowls. You gave me lots of advice on moving my betta into a 10 gal where he is now thriving. All I can do is hope that he lives to be as old as yours did!

 

[An t-iasg]

Catalina, thanks so much for your nice post! It's surprising (or maybe not really!) how attached we get to our fish!

I'm so glad I could help you with your betta. That's the best legacy that my bettas could leave -- knowing that in caring for them, I have also helped someone else!