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OUT of WAter !!

939 views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  BlackberryBetta 
#1 ·
Tanzinite went down the drain and was unable to breath for about 6 minutes. managed to get him out and back into his bowl. He is breathing, but not swimming. I am freaked out.:cry:
 
#4 ·
Unless you had the water running, he was able to breath the whole time. Bettas don't breath under water at all, or if they do, it is not enough to survive. Just like dolphins, they have to come to the surface for air. They literally breath the same air that we do.
The bigger worry is any trauma to his slime coat, or if there were any toxic chemicals in the drain. Good thing you got him out. Keep the water at 78-80, and keep him dark like Pitluvs said. It is pretty much up to him at this point.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I just wanted to say that they do not breathe like we do, or even like a dolphin. They have a larynx, not lungs. The larynx requires air, but not much. :)
Oh, and he will be fine. Probably just a little frazzled.

Once, when I was younger, I had a Betta named Rainbow, and he was on the floor for over 10 minutes while we were eating dinner. He actually wasn't even all that dried. He lived on just fine.

I would be careful though, you never know what crap was down the drain.
 
#6 ·
You guys sound like nice people! I will take all your advice and thank you so much. I have moved my little guy into the bathroom and have the light off.
The drain he went down had a garbage disposal at the bottom of the chamber. I could not run the water or he would have washed away. All his beautiful fins seem sort of stuck together. I was so afraid of squeezing him when I tried to pick him up. His predecessor died last month. He was old and had severe bug eye. Tanz is small and I suspect quite young. He is indigo with flashes of scarlett. I will keep you guys posted.
 
#15 ·
I had to work today. He slept on his side on the bottom of his 2 gal. bowl. I just got home from work. He came up to the surface, and is floating right side up. I am not going to feed him. He sure looks banged up from flopping around in the disposal grinder chamber. will see how things go. If he has not passed away, I will change him tomorrow.:cry:
 
#11 ·
Victor decided to jump onto the floor unknown to me when I was undertaking a water change.

He might have been there for about a minute or more. I put him back into the water, and just let him relax for an hour. His side fins were stuck to his body it seemed, but eventually they free'd up and he became more active.

I recommended a double dose of Stress Coat when you put him back into the tank, and perhaps a mild dose of AQ salt for stress and any nasties that might have clung to him.

A week later and Victor is back to his normal self :) I'm sure your guy will be ok.
 
#16 ·
Once, with my first betta, he was out of water for 4 1/2 hours... What happend was I left for school (this was like 7 years ago) and forgot to shut my bedroom door and my cat shadow decided he wanted a snack... Mr shadow knocked my tank off my desk onto my bed. When I go home I couldnt find him, he was like wedged in between the foot board and mattress... I got my net got my sister to go dump the rest of the water. So I go to scoop him up and HE STARTED FLIPPING AROUND... I almost crapped my pants and yelled to my sister to bring back the tank and dropped him in the rest of the water till I could get him some nice clean water ready.
 
#17 ·
Wow Amazing how tough these little dudes are. tanz is hanging in there. I did a complete change all new meds and a tiny pinch of Epsom salts. I am getting the feeling he is going to pull through. He sure looks beat up though. he was so symmetrical when he flared. hope it returns
 
#18 ·
Just last week when I doing other things I came back to look at my betta after about 45 minutes and he wasnt in his tank so I started freaking out and looking all over the floor. And he was in my drawer! I had no idea how long he had been out it could have been 40 minutes or 5 Im not sure! But I thought he died and started crying but he started flopping so I put him back in his tank and he was alive! He looked pretty rough and dull for a few days but rapidly bounced back. Just keep his water clean and dont stress him out. Hope yours bounces back too!
 
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