Fish Laying on His Side, Fins Out, Tinted From Blue to Red

[DougLewis]

So I've been posting previously about my fish, Zeke, on this thread. I moved him into a new tank after he took up tailbiting, but he hasn't really been recovering. Mostly been resting on his side at the bottom of the tank, changing places every now and then.

I think he's been eating, but I've only actually seen him flit up to get food once or twice, and not in the past couple weeks.

I've been checking my water chemical balance regularly, and none of the tests have showed any concerning levels.

Now he's at the bottom of the tank, still, on his side with fins extended, making no visible movement, and he didn't react when I moved the decorations around him to get a better look. Stranger yet, he appears to have turned a reddish hue from his original blue. He hasn't moved from that spot in over a day, so I'm worried he may have died. But his condition seems to be critical, and I didn't want to push or stress him any more if he's still there.

There have been a fair deal of cloudy things at the bottom of the tank. I presume from the food he hadn't been eating - though I have been giving him much smaller portions.

I frankly don't know what to do. He might already be gone. If he isn't I don't know what's affecting him...I suppose the best I can hope for is to wait and see, but maybe I can get some more advice on this...

[Colin_T]

Look at his gill covers and see if they are moving up and down (watch him for a minute or so). If not, then see if you can pick him up. If his gill covers don't move and his body doesn't move then he's probably dead.

[DougLewis]

...yeah. He's dead.

I wish I could figure out what happened, what I did wrong...I made some mistakes, but none of them should have been fatal...

I...guess I'll take him to the lake as his final resting place tomorrow. Then...idunno. I'll be out tomorrow. I have all this Betta equipment and no Betta now. But...what if it happens again? I feel kinda crappy now. I'll just head to bed for now...

[Colin_T]

Do not put his body in a river or natural water way. If he has a disease, you can introduce it into the water way and kill all the native fishes.

The best way to dispose of a dead fish is to bury it in the garden.

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He might have died from old age, stress of being moved, water quality issues (ammonia kills fish and does permanent damage to them).

Take a couple of days and think about what you want to do. If you want to keep fish, we are here for you.

[DougLewis]

Thanks, and thanks for bringing that to mind. I'm not sure if he had a disease, but I suppise it's better to play it safe.