Jewel found dead this morning - please help Emerald

[sunnydawnie]

Jewel had such a lovely personality. She will be greatly missed although I only knew her for about 1.5 weeks. I need to find out what happened so it does not happen to my other fish. I believe she may have had a parasite ?

I noticed the first day I got her her poo was red and hanging from her. I should have taken her back right then and there, but I'm brand-new to betta ownership and didn't know any better. She was still swimming and eating as if nothing was awry. A few days later she had white poo hanging from her. She still ate. Then a couple days after that she stopped eating and was just hanging out in her cabomba plant. I noticed Thursday she had stress stripes but she was still swimming around, just a bit more slowly. Not realizing anything was serious - just thought she was adjusting to her new home, I took her cabomba plant out of her bowl and put it in to decorate my new 16G that has my male betta Emerald in it. I went to bed at 2am last night. This morning at 8am she was dead. So, now I'm VERY concerned that I've contaminated Emerald's home with this plant I stuck in there from Jewel's home.

I spoke with someone I know that has general fish knowledge (but not much betta knowledge). She thought perhaps from what I described that Jewel likely had a parasite ??? She suggested that I get fish parasite tabs and put in the 16G in case I did infect his tank and take a couple drops of bleach and fill Jewel's old bowl with water to sterilize it so that I can reuse.

Anyone have any advice ? I don't want to lose Emerald too. Not to mention, I had originally planned to make this 16G into a community tank (I was ordering some barbs or tetras in 2 weeks to join Emerald.) If he does get infected, how long does it take for a parasite to show up ?

[Sakura8]

Aww, sunnydawnie, I'm so sorry you lost Jewel! I know how much you loved her and how proud of her you were. Your friend with the fish knowledge is right, it sounds like Jewel had an internal parasite. Red poo doesn't necessarily mean a problem - my bettas sometimes have red poo after eating a bloodworm. But white poo is always a warning flag.

I don't know how long it takes parasites to show up so I can't say if Emerald is likely to be infected or not. Take him out of his tank and do a complete water change, rinsing the sides and decorations with very warm to hot water. Go ahead and get some parasite tabs and keep on hand but I would wait to see if he develops any signs first; someone with more experience may have better advice. If he starts to lose his appetite, become lethargic, have white poo, or bloat, then start treating him. Remove any carbon from your filter first.

When your tetras and barbs arrive, you might want to quarantine them for at least a week to make sure they are healthy and are not bringing any parasites in with them. They will be stressed from their journey so their susceptibility to illness will be greater. Also, that gives you time to see if Emerald is sick and to treat him.

I personally never use anything but warm water and vinegar to sterilize a tank or bowl. The risk of any bleach being leftover is too great and it could kill or harm a new fish. If you're absolutely certain you got all the bleach out then that's great.

What kind of barbs are they? Tiger barbs need to be in large groups or they will be relentless nippers. And by large, usually 8 or more. You might get away with 6 but the more the better for tiger barbs.

[sunnydawnie]

I was thinking to get black ruby barbs. My fish friend has some in her tank and I liked them.

[fishman12]

Awww sorry about Jewel. Yeah, no bleach.... How many barbs?

[Sakura8]

How big is the tank again? Black Ruby barbs get to be about 2.5" and you'll need a school of at least six to keep the nipping down.

Tips: fish book says that when stressed, they are susceptible to Ich and that they are also prone to shock when being transferred to new water or conditions, so acclimate well. Says the fish book.

[Sakura8]

I always wanted cherry barbs but my 10g is too small and I have no room for a bigger one. Cherry barbs are less nippy and a little calmer. Also always wanted tiger barbs. They're so cool looking. And always wanted convict cichlids. And an oscar. And arrowanas are so cool. Gagh. I'd have to build another house just to keep the arrowana. Oh looky, when faced with the reality of limited space, I guess I have pretty good self-control after all.

[sunnydawnie]

Not sure how long they take to grow, but I do have a 75G I will eventually set up - project is currently stalled, but when they outgrown the 16G... I could move all to the 75G.

I purchased some parasite tabs yesterday to go ahead and fizz the 16G tank before anything gets started on Emerald. Should I do that before or after I take everything out and clean it in hot water?

The 1G bowl, I think I'll go with the little bit of bleach and rinse really, really well - maybe even do a water-only cycle in the dishwasher. Anyone done that ? I want whatever was in there DEAD !

[Tisia]

yeah, make sure you rinse it until you can't smell even the tiniest hint of bleach, then fill it up and overdose water conditioner and let it set for a while. if it's glass you can set it outside to let it dry (sun will help kill bacteria too), I think acrylic can get damaged from sitting in the sun, but I'd still let it air dry completely before using it again

[Sakura8]

Might as well do the parasite fizz BEFORE taking the decor out. Then you can rinse it all in hot water after to make sure all the meds are off.

[sunnydawnie]

Thanks - it's glass, not acrylic. I like the idea of sitting it in the sun.
DEAD, DEAD, DEAD to whatever was in there.