I was sitting in my room listening to music and I decided to check on my little girl. I was looking and looking for her in her tank and couldn't find her anywhere. I thought she was just being a really good hider. I took a glance at the ground and noticed a small slimy blue object and lo and behold, it was her. She had jumped out of her tank and she was motionless :( I don't know how long she had been out of water, so I quickly picked her up and put her back in her tank. She is staying very close to the bottom, her fins are laid almost completely flat along her body, she's swimming with her nose pointed down which I hear isn't a good thing, and she looks like she's having a hard time moving :( She is completely uninterested in food, which is very strange for her because usually when she sees me just just pick up her back of food she starts going crazy. What should I do?
EDIT: If it's needed, here are my tank's specs:
5.5 gallon tank, filtered, no live plants, heater keeps the water anywhere from 74-80 degrees.
EDIT2: I have this Chinese-looking house thing in the tank that she can go inside of and she's just laying at the bottom of it, not moving much..
Last edited by cjschmelzer909; 08-15-2012 at 11:10 AM.
I was sitting in my room listening to music and I decided to check on my little girl. I was looking and looking for her in her tank and couldn't find her anywhere. I thought she was just being a really good hider. I took a glance at the ground and noticed a small slimy blue object and lo and behold, it was her. She had jumped out of her tank and she was motionless :( I don't know how long she had been out of water, so I quickly picked her up and put her back in her tank. She is staying very close to the bottom, her fins are laid almost completely flat along her body, she's swimming with her nose pointed down which I hear isn't a good thing, and she looks like she's having a hard time moving :( She is completely uninterested in food, which is very strange for her because usually when she sees me just just pick up her back of food she starts going crazy. What should I do?
EDIT: If it's needed, here are my tank's specs:
5.5 gallon tank, filtered, no live plants, heater keeps the water anywhere from 74-80 degrees.
Awww, so sorry. Unfortunately I don't think there is much you can do other than make sure she has clean warm water. That's quite a fall for a fish so she may have some things wrong with her you can't fix & she may just need a couple of days to get over the shock of her adventure. I would maybe with hold food for a day & then see if she'll eat, keep her in as calm & quiet of a space as you can. Watch for any other signs there's something more serious wrong with her & since you now know she's a jumper you may want to get some kind of a top for the tank.
Awww, so sorry. Unfortunately I don't think there is much you can do other than make sure she has clean warm water. That's quite a fall for a fish so she may have some things wrong with her you can't fix & she may just need a couple of days to get over the shock of her adventure. I would maybe with hold food for a day & then see if she'll eat, keep her in as calm & quiet of a space as you can. Watch for any other signs there's something more serious wrong with her & since you now know she's a jumper you may want to get some kind of a top for the tank.
thank you. I hope she gets better.
If she's still unhealthy after more than a few days, then what should I do?
If she's still unhealthy after more than a few days, then what should I do?
It depends on what you're seeing. If she unfortunately has internal injuries you can't see those & I don't know of anything that can be done. If you see open wounds or fin rot or something like that, then the best treatment is going to be what you're already do - CLEAN WARM WATER. You said this just happened last night? If she's resting in the deco & doesn't seem to be gasping or struggling, let her be. Fish can be pretty tough so let's see how she is later tonight & tomorrow.
It depends on what you're seeing. If she unfortunately has internal injuries you can't see those & I don't know of anything that can be done. If you see open wounds or fin rot or something like that, then the best treatment is going to be what you're already do - CLEAN WARM WATER. You said this just happened last night? If she's resting in the deco & doesn't seem to be gasping or struggling, let her be. Fish can be pretty tough so let's see how she is later tonight & tomorrow.
No, it just happened about a half an hour ago... She came out and swam a little bit, I gave her a little bit to eat which she reluctantly ate, and then she went back inside her little house.
She's swimming a little more but she really looks like she's struggling... The movement of the water caused by the filter (which is a very slight movement) is even a little too much for her and it didn't used to bother her.
Sounds like she is still in shock. Let her rest and hopefully you will see a change in a few days. One of my betta's is now jumping out of the water like nobody's business when I go to feed him. So now I always make sure I have a lid on his tank.
She will be fine in a few days, my sorority girls are jumpers and a few jumped out and fell 3 feet to the ground. If there is a light on your tank, shut it off and use stress coat if you have it
She will be fine in a few days, my sorority girls are jumpers and a few jumped out and fell 3 feet to the ground. If there is a light on your tank, shut it off and use stress coat if you have it
Yeah, I'd say that's about the height she fell from. I was just extra worried about her because she's still very small, I got her as a baby betta from PetCo about 3 or 4 weeks ago, so at this point she's only about half the size of a full-grown female, maybe a little smaller.
I noticed she started shedding her slime coat again, but my conditioner replaces slime coat so it should be fine soon.
She seems to be getting better already. Her fins got a little torn and her stress stripes are very visible but I'm sure everything will clear up soon.
Last edited by cjschmelzer909; 08-15-2012 at 03:25 PM.
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