Peachy died today

[dbockrath]

I noticed last night she was kind of hovering at the top of the tank and today she was gone. I tried so hard to take good care of her. I don't know if I want another betta.

[iloveengl]

:( I'm very sorry.

It can be very, very hard to lose a fish friend, especially after a long fight for survival. Sometimes it helps to grieve, and then breathe for a little before letting a new friend back into one's life.

I hope you don't give up on it forever, though.

R.I.P. Peachy.

[dbockrath]

Thank you. I just don't know what I did wrong. I cleaned the aquarium every week, I didn't think I was overfeeding her, I know the tank was cycled and the test kit didn't show anything wrong with the water. I feel like a fish murderer. I only had her for about 2 months.

[iloveengl]

Something to keep in mind is that we have no idea where the pet store bettas come from or the conditions they are bred and raised in. You may have done everything right, and still may not have been able to save her. But you did give her a warm, secure, and healthy home that she may not have had otherwise.

Sometimes, something as simple as a bit of cleaner, hairspray, perfume, deoderizer, etc. can float into the water and that's all it takes. Sometimes it's a heater spike. Sometimes, we never know.

I've been in your situation and I agree that it 100% sucks. But the fact that you did your best means a lot.

[dbockrath]

The aquarium is on top of the divider between the kitchen and the living room in our mobile home. I used to love the way she'd come romping up to the front when she saw me standing there, and when I was working in the kitchen she'd swim back and forth with her little eyes watching me.

Something else I'm afraid of is I have 3 snails still in there. If I do put another betta in, I hope it doesn't try to hurt the snails.

[freeflow246]

I think that if you introduce the betta into the snail's territory, it will be fine.
And I know how you feel. The pet store near me used to take awful care of their bettas, and most of the ones I got from there mysteriously died within a month or two. Now they have much better stock, and they live much longer.
Like iloveenegl said, you have no idea what conditions she came from, so she could have had something wrong with her for a while. Maybe she came from an unhealthy line, or maybe she was raised in a bad environment.
In any case, I'm sorry for your loss. :(

[dramaqueen]

I'm sorry about Peachy. Maybe it was something internal that killed her.