What happened to my betta?

[Mary Mary]

I posted here a month or so ago about my betta. He had holes in his fins, but otherwise seemed pretty healthy. I learned more about how to take care of him and moved him from a 1/2 gallon bowl to a 2 gallon bowl.

He didn't seem to have fin rot, just holes in his lower fin which I was assured would heal up, although they never showed any signs of healing.

He's acted quite healthy to my eyes. He would fan his fins and swim around and was very active.

We've had him for six months.

Today he wouldn't eat, which I thought was unusual, but I went ahead with his partial water change (using conditioned water that's been sitting around for a week.) He did seem to be a little listless.

Well, now he's dead.

What the heck happened? I've read here that most bettas, by the time they get to a pet store are of a fairly advanced age already. Could he have just died of old age suddenly?

I haven't told my three year old daughter yet. It's her fish and she's going to be upset. I feel bad. I thought I was doing things right for this fish (despite keeping him in a bowl) and now he's dead. He lived in a little bowl with improper care for about four months before I learned how to care for him right and once I DO understand more about fish he goes and dies on me!

 

[Devilishturtles]

Sorry to hear about your betta

It's hard to tell why he died. It could have just been his time to go. Do you keep the water you do your pwc with covered? Nothing could have gotten into it, could it? Also, I assume you made sure the temperatures were correct as well?

IME, bettas sometimes get holes in their finnage that never heal up. I doubt they are sick from it, likely just a little something that happens.

 

[Mary Mary]

Thanks for the sympathy. We just got done with the funeral. We buried him under the grapevine.

Yes, I keep the fish water in jugs with lids. And it's sitting out so it's the same temp as the water in the bowl.

I have a thought. I had some blue glass pebbles in with him that I bought in the fish department. I also had some red pebbles with a goldish sheen to them that I got in the flower department in the bowl.

Before I bought the goldish-red pebbles I even posted on here to see if they were okay and was assured that glass pebbles are glass pebbles.

HOWEVER, when I emptied out the bowl and spread all the glass pebbles out to dry I noticed that the goldish sheen seemed to be gone from some, not all, of the glass pebbles. Is it possible that the goldish sheen was comprised in part of some metallic substance and the fish died of metal poisoning?

 

[Menagerie]

Is it possible that the goldish sheen was comprised in part of some metallic substance and the fish died of metal poisoning?

Anything is possible. I have had trouble with tetra cotta pots coming from various sources. Members here and the aquarium society told me it was all in my head, but that didn't stop the fish from dieing. Now, I will not put tetra cotta pots in my tanks.

Back to your late betta; with fish, it is so hard to tell what is wrong after going through water quality issues. Fish cannot tell us that not only is their tail rotting away, but they have a tummy ache too. The one thing I learned about bettas after having many reach the same fate no matter what I do is this: they are not strong fish. Due to the lack of blood vessels in their fancy fins once disease strikes, it's hard to fight it. Also, in an unheated tank, they are more prone to illness. I have found that the females are "stronger" and have behavioral traits of the males, without the plumage.

 

[Mary Mary]

Well, I've removed all the red/gold pebbles and we now have a new dark blue betta named Fishie.

I was impressed at how active and healthy all the bettas looked at our WalMart store. I think they have a real fish nerd working there becuase he's always fussing over the fish.

Thanks for all the advice and thoughts!