I got a betta fish yesterday, and I was told to prepare for it by filling the tank with tap water and putting water conditioner in. I did, I brought the fish home, and I put him in the tank. The water temperature was 78 degrees, the tank is 2.5 gallons, and I gave him 3 pellets - I planned on feeding him once in the morning and once in the evening. He seemed content at first, swimming around a lot. However, a couple of hours later I saw him laying on top of the filter (which was underwater) and saw that his tailfin was inside of a hole at the top. It didn't seem stuck.
Does anyone know why he was just lying there?
I wanted to make sure he wasn't stuck so I gently pushed him with the edge of my fishnet, and the tail came out effortlessly.
After that, he layed on the bottom of the tank for hours, barely moving, and when he swam it was lopsided. He died later. When I checked him out, nothing seemed wrong, but checking for red streaks or spots would be hard (he was a handsome deep red and purple), but I did check for tail rips or tangles and I didn't find any.
Can anyone tell me what really happened?
Does anyone know why he was just lying there?
I wanted to make sure he wasn't stuck so I gently pushed him with the edge of my fishnet, and the tail came out effortlessly.
After that, he layed on the bottom of the tank for hours, barely moving, and when he swam it was lopsided. He died later. When I checked him out, nothing seemed wrong, but checking for red streaks or spots would be hard (he was a handsome deep red and purple), but I did check for tail rips or tangles and I didn't find any.
Can anyone tell me what really happened?