help me please

[ttubbs]

i just came home to find a female betta i bought 7 days ago dead she was a young one i had rocks spring water and a live peace lily in the bowl what did i do wrong i only had her in the bowl because i was suppose to get a 20 gall 5 days ago and i only had her in the bowl while i waited and so icould quarintine her DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG

[Sena Hansler]

Wow hold on there

Spring water isn't the best... Sometimes people have to use half tap wate and half spring water because something in their water is too high. However, spring water needs to have suppliments for the stuff taken out. I know very little on this, but someone else might chime in.

As for the lily, did it cover the WHOLE surface? If it did she could've found it hard to find an opening to breathe.

The bowl is FINE!!! Don't need to defend yourself at all! How big is the bowl?16 cups per gallon. You can measure it that way.

How often did you clean it?

Did she show any other signs of illness? were her fins stuck together? was she really pale with stress lines?


Andlastly, sometimes bettas just come sick.

[thekinetic]

You need to be real careful about using spring water as sometimes it isn't true spring water and is just filtered water. I really wish they'd start labeling the difference!

[Cargo]

You most likely cannot fit a heater in a bowl. The water was too cold, and she probably died of shock. A betta doesn't need a 20 gallon tank. Five gallons is plenty, and ten gallons is if you're getting tank mates like ghost shrimp or african dwarf frogs.

[Sena Hansler]

I don't think the water temperature would have been shock considering the poor thing was on a shelf in a cup :( But it CAN definitely be a factor.

[ttubbs]

it wasnt cold water i bought spring water from a gracery store i never put in the fridge

[Twilight Storm]

Sometimes they can add sodium to the bottled water you have to be careful of that. I've also found fluoride in some of the bottled waters out there. I'm pretty sure the fluoride would not be healthy for fish. It's not particularly healthy for us.... It's really hard to find a brand with plain water out in the grocery store.

If this was your first betta it can be pretty hard to know if your fish was acting sick.

Was the female you got labeled as a Baby? or labeled as a specific type of female? Baby bettas take a little bit more specialized care then the bettas sold at normal ages.

The poster who thinks your water may have been too cold meant, I think, that they should be kept in water 78-80 degrees F. If your water was below that it may have been too cold for your fish, especially is it came from the pet store sick.

You can probably still return your fish for a refund/replacement to the store you got it from. Petsmart and other stores will often test your water for free too if you bring in a sample.

You should pick up a small bottle of tap water dechlorinator that removes Chlorine, Chlorimine, and Heavy metals. This will make your tap water safe for fish. A small bottle is only a few dollars and lasts a LONG time. (If you don't have some already)

Can you tell us how she might have been acting before she died? Were her fins clamped to her body? What food were you feeding her?

[ttubbs]

this isnt my first betta fish i have a male and another young female veiltail (thats what the container was labeled) i got them from petco i had them in the same tank for about 6 hours before i found out that people dont reccomend 2 females together i actually bought a 3rd betta yesterday had her in her own bowl because i was waiting for the tank to cycle and be perfect and when i brought the third one home i did notice that my female crowntail that died was swimming weird she was swimming at a slant like this \ with her tail up towards the top and her face toward the bottom i called petco today and they said maybe it was sick when i got it i really liked that fish i thought it was so pretty what do u think about that behavior though

[Sena Hansler]

When fish are losing control, or have gotten terribly severe in their ailments, they tend to slant like "\" or sometimes lay "L" or for the common one, spiral like a football which that is a sign of organ failure. She could've come to you sick already, on her last fins for her life.

For that reason of fish coming sick, that is why quarantine is always the best because it lowers the 50/50 chance of spreading illness to almost nothing.