We had an accident...

[LizzyP]

Please don't judge me, I'm a new betta owner and this was a total and complete accident. I feel awful.

I was cleaning Dumbledore's tank. Everything was going fine, I had him in a little Tupperware container for the time being and it was time to put him back in his tank. I went to take his container, and I pulled the top off (it was on loose to begin with, I had it on there so he could still get oxygen put not jump out) and as soon as I did that...He jumped out, luckily landed on the table. I went to gently put him back into the container, and he jumped again (at this point I'm freaking out) and he fell off the dresser...into a dusty old box of my boyfriend high-school football memorabilia. He was in the box for probably 15 seconds tops before I got him out and back into his tank. He immediately sank to the bottom, clamped his fins and hid behind the filter. I dropped some food on the top of his tank and he eventually came out and ate. He seems to be fine now, swimming around, digging in the gravel, resurfacing and doesn't seem to be clamping as much. Is there anything I can do for him now? His water is about 78-80 degrees so I know he isn't cold. I just feel awful.

I also have another question, completely unrelated to this. Before I cleaned his tank (just did a 50% change) there were white foamy kind of bubbles sticking to his filter, and the sides of the tank. What is that? Should I be worried? Thanks.

LizzyP

[Oldfishlady]

Usually all that you need to do is provide clean water, proper temp, good nutrition and observe.......These are pretty tough fish and can usually bounce back from minor accidents like this....

Be sure and properly acclimate to the chemistry and temp when you remove him for the water changes-by adding small amounts of the new tank water to the holding container over 5-10min more or less.....Those sudden extreme changes can sometimes cause problems for them more than hitting the floor after a jump.

I just had an accident myself and my Betta was out of the water for 6 hours.....he didn't need a treatment and by looking at him you would never know he had been out of water that long and since I didn't have any tank water left for acclimation-I used water from one of my other tanks-placed him in a small Qt and floated it in another tank for 24h while if got his tank set back up....Eating, swimming and doing well-no fin or scale damage even being covered with hair, dirt and partly dried out.....newly named "Lucky Hairy".....laffs....

The bubbles might be his nest...can you post a pic....

[prodrumernate]

sorry to hear about that.my betta loves to jump out at feeding time.so i have to put my finger over her water to let her bite it a few time to calm her down then feed her..

it sounds like Dumbledore is just stressed..give him some time.im sure he will be back to his old self again..

but to be on the safe side.any pictures of him now?other than staying at the bottom and clamping his fins.any other symptoms or changes in his behavior?torn fins or anything like that?

for the bubbles.i use to have that.could be a bubble nest.a simple way to remove it is to get a clean paper towel.and lay it on top of the water for a few seconds.then pull it out very fast.my fish did the samething.except she was a girl.there should be an oily residue on top of the water,most likely.

[prodrumernate]

id do as Oldfishlady has mentioned..she knows what he is talking about.ive read a lot of her comments on other post.you would think she is a betta whisperer ;)

[LizzyP]

I waited about 2 hours or so before I left the house for a graduation party, and he seemed to be doing fine. I will post a picture when I get home. He did flare once when I put the food container with the picture of the betta down next to his tank and I didn't notice any torn fins, lost scales, or anything like that. I did add Fungus Guard that says to help with clamped fins and has a slight antiseptic just incase there is a slight tear in his fins/lost scales that I didn't see. Crossing my fingers.

[LizzyP]

Originally Posted by Oldfishlady

Usually all that you need to do is provide clean water, proper temp, good nutrition and observe.......These are pretty tough fish and can usually bounce back from minor accidents like this....

Be sure and properly acclimate to the chemistry and temp when you remove him for the water changes-by adding small amounts of the new tank water to the holding container over 5-10min more or less.....Those sudden extreme changes can sometimes cause problems for them more than hitting the floor after a jump.

I just had an accident myself and my Betta was out of the water for 6 hours.....he didn't need a treatment and by looking at him you would never know he had been out of water that long and since I didn't have any tank water left for acclimation-I used water from one of my other tanks-placed him in a small Qt and floated it in another tank for 24h while if got his tank set back up....Eating, swimming and doing well-no fin or scale damage even being covered with hair, dirt and partly dried out.....newly named "Lucky Hairy".....laffs....

The bubbles might be his nest...can you post a pic....

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture before I cleaned his tank...Someone else mentioned a nest and I have a feeling that's what it is. I did notice him spending more time in that area of the tank than any others. I'll snap one next time before I clean them out ;)

[LizzyP]

Originally Posted by prodrumernate

sorry to hear about that.my betta loves to jump out at feeding time.so i have to put my finger over her water to let her bite it a few time to calm her down then feed her..

it sounds like Dumbledore is just stressed..give him some time.im sure he will be back to his old self again..

but to be on the safe side.any pictures of him now?other than staying at the bottom and clamping his fins.any other symptoms or changes in his behavior?torn fins or anything like that?

for the bubbles.i use to have that.could be a bubble nest.a simple way to remove it is to get a clean paper towel.and lay it on top of the water for a few seconds.then pull it out very fast.my fish did the samething.except she was a girl.there should be an oily residue on top of the water,most likely.

This is what he's looking like right now. Much better than he did shortly after his accident. Sorry for the poor quality, he's camera shy and wouldn't stay still long enough for a photo.

[prodrumernate]

he is looking great..kinda wondering what the black area is on the bottom front fin.dont know if thats natural and has been like that or if was just recent.but want to make sure its nothing to be concerned of..could you tell me if its just part of his coloring or did it just appear?

other than that he is looking great.thank you for posting a pic.he is beautiful.im glad to see him :)

[LizzyP]

Originally Posted by prodrumernate

he is looking great..kinda wondering what the black area is on the bottom front fin.dont know if thats natural and has been like that or if was just recent.but want to make sure its nothing to be concerned of..could you tell me if its just part of his coloring or did it just appear?

other than that he is looking great.thank you for posting a pic.he is beautiful.im glad to see him :)

It is part of his coloring, it's a blue color. The picture quality is poor, it was taken with my phone and he wouldn't hold still. And thank you, he definitely has come a long way from when I got him. :)

[prodrumernate]

ok good.i didnt think he was sick but wanted to be safe..i ue my phone and my fish loves swimming around.so i know how hard it is to take pictures of them :) you are very welcome..im glad he is doing great.looks completely healthy to me. :)