sudden betta death

[shawmutt]

Hi all. Got bad news. The betta my fiance just got croaked. She doesn't know it yet, and I hate that I have to tell her. I don't understand. I just checked the water, ammonia was measurable but I was expecting that in a little tank with new fish--everything else was perfect. There was no warning, he was fine this morning, eating and everything. Well, now that I think of it, he did seem to be breathing a little heavier, and he was a little listless--the listlessness I attributed to being a betta. Do fish just off and die like that? The two cories in the tank are acting normal...should I move them into my big tank just in case? Wait, that's a terrible idea, nevermind. OK, back to the original question:

Do fish just suddenly die like that after two days?

 

[mendhigirl]

Personally,I have had 3 bettas do that in one week.I kept replacing them,and they kept dying.So I stopped buying bettas.
I did have one about 10 years ago,lived in a goldfish bowl,hanging from the ceiling in one of those old macrame plant hangers from the 70's.Lived for over a year.Then when I got fish tanks and tried to keep them in there,they just kept droppin' off.I figured my tank had to be better than those awful cups the lfs keeps them in.Apparently not.
Sorry for your loss,man.

 

[reberly]

Maybe it's just me, but the bettas I see are all like half-dead already. Are they supposed to be a fairly active fish? When you see them at stores they seem to be barely moving. I was at a Jack's Aquarium here in Ohio a couple days ago and they were selling them in little jars only about the size of the fish themselves. Needless to say, many of them were face down in the gravel. Seems like they get abused as pet fish. Sad.

 

[Chrismac]

What other fish do you have in there with the Betta and Corys?
I have three corys with my male betta.
Chris.

 

[shawmutt]

none...it's only a 5 1/2 gallon...plus it's the first fish

 

[bettacove]

How do you put him in the tank? Bettas are very hardy active fish, so if your tank was ok then he must have been not healthy already. Bettas do get treated badly in petstores, so if you buy another one get one from a good petstore and make sure he is healthy.
sorry about your fishy
ash;ey

 

[zephyr]

He might of just been old. You never can guess the actual age of fish. And the stress of the move just made him cark it. Merely a theory to his death.

 

[shawmutt]

Cool. I think I'll try to talk her into a different fish in the future, one that preferably isn't housed in a tiny bubble of blue water.