What was my Betta thinking?!

[hisc1ay]

I was putting my shoes on to go to work this morning, and I noticed my Betta tank was empty. "Curious...," I thought. Perhaps he had died last night while the roomie was still up, and he took the liberty of disposing of him. But what could make him die?

I don't remember if I just happened to glance at the floor, or if I thought maybe he had bailed, but I saw a strange thing on the floor. Sure enough, there he was, just laying on the floor. Figuring he was all dried out, I tried to gently loosen his body from the wood. As soon as I touched him, he flopped around and sat up. I picked him up and placed him back in his tank, and he just sunk to the bottom. Suddenly he darted to and fro, but his fins were still a bit stuck. When I left the house he was alive, but I'll find out how alive he was when I get home. It was odd because his body wasn't wet when I picked him up. It was just clammy. I wonder how long he was out of his tank.

I wonder if it were any other fish how long they would have remained alive. Isn't it true that Bettas breathe air often? I think I read somewhere that their gills are different, such that they prefer breathing air as well as water. I'm just amazed he is still alive.

-j

 

[Bearfan]

I have had this happen to fish previously, especially mature Bala Sharks when I just had a plastic lid and they could knock it open. Usually, they recovered just fine, but once in a while they don't.

 

[loganj]

betta

Bettas belong to a group of fish called Anabantoids. These fish have a labyrinth organ that allows them to breathe atmospheric air. Actually, if you put a Betta where it can't get to air, it will drown as it's gills do not extract enough oxygen to sustain it. They are suprisingly resistant to the "carpet surfing" episodes. Your's will probably be OK...might want to watch for ich and other stress related problems for a few days. Might want to invest in a screened top or something similar that will keep his jumping in check.
Logan J

 

[Thaiboxer]

Silly betta, what was he thinking?

Glad he seems to be okay - keep us posted on his status when you get home!

 

[Grant R]

An alarming number of fish can actually survive for anything up to an hour out of water ! Even if the fish seems dead due to lifelessness, there is always a good chance it's alive.

A good thing to do as a revival technique is to hold the victim gently above an airstone or similar. This revives gills gills quicker and also pumps small amounts of oxygen from the bubbles to the fish and generally gets the life flow going again.

 

[hisc1ay]

Yeah, when I put him in water, he went immediately to where the water came in from the filter. After a little while, he moved.

-j

 

[stingrayfever63]

betta

He should be fine. Bettas are tough ones I was transfering mine into a hex tank and didn't see the lid. Whoops he hit the lid and bounced off onto the carpet. I quickly and carefully retrived him from the carpet and place him back in the tank. He lived for about another year but he was already quite old. Now ceaser is in a better place. You never told me if you named this fish Borace or not???

 

[hisc1ay]

Yeah, I told you that the fish's name was Boris, but not this one. The one who is blue and purple. This one is red. He doesn't have a name, but I'm going to find one. Perhaps Boromir. From LoTR. This guy was shot with an arrow 3 times before he died. The first two times knocked him down, but he got some surge of energy and got back up and started hackin more Orc heads. That's it...his name is Boromir.

-j

 

[Guest]

Great name, very fitting!

Yeah, in LOTR, Boromir messes up, but regains his honor. Took out a whole load of Urak-Hai to kill him. Always one of my fav. charachters.

 

[hisc1ay]

Heh...I wish I had read the Hobbit in school. It took me 23 years to find the genius that is Tolkein. And it took the movies to generate the hype to get me to want to read them from the beginning.

-j

 

[SW Beginner]

Don't feel bad. It took me 27 years. (And I'm still only about halfway through ROTK. )

 

[hisc1ay]

Well, I'm flying out to phoenix this week, so I'll have a good 12 hours on the plane / in airports to read, and that's exactly what I plan on doing. I hope to be almost done with Fellowship by the end of the week (next).

-j