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Sad day for Bijou....He's gone :-(

944 views 6 replies 2 participants last post by  Rainbo 
#1 ·
Hi all, I know I am new here and don't post much. As some of you may remember, I was given an adorable half moon betta fish (male) and I calleld him Bijou (French for Jewel). I got him July 31st and then about a week later, I added a tiny mystery snail.

I noticed lately that the snail (Goldie) was able to eat the large cucumbers I had blanched. I would throw on in every other day or every few days. I watched the mystery snail devouring the cucumber. And I also noticed that Bijou would swim downwards to watch and even get in there when I dropped the algae pellet. They always were so peaceful and loveable and since I am retired, I pretty much saw them interacting so sweetly and peacefully. I took some videos of them together and never once did Bijou show ANY single sign of aggression....They were both babies that grew up together.

This morning I took the cover off the tank and I couldn't see him. Every single morning, he's always awake and at the top and ready to get his morning going. Instead i only saw the snail in one of the houses. I assumed they were together.

In a panic, my husband and I took the three houses out and the gravel etc and i even checked behind the filter region, underneath the table as i thought maybe he jumped. But in my heart, I knew that i said goodnight and i love you to him as I do every night.

So as rare as i think it is, the snail must have realized he can eat larger things like the almond leaves he was chomping on and the blanched veggies. Maybe Bijou got in his way and he just ate him? There's no other explanation.

We completely cleaned out the tank and the snail is being rehomed to my best friend who was just about to get a baby mystery snail after all the videos I had sent to her. She has a 5 gallon tank with heater and i am giving her all the houses and food/treats etc.

I am in shock as I spent a good two months getting his fins to grow back after being ripped by a stupid plastic ornament that Petsmart said was perfectly safe. I did everything in my power to make him happy including playing his favourite music that he began to recognise each night before bed.

So I have decided to part with Goldie as I feel too sad to look at him and he will get a lot of attention with my friend and her younger children. Since my husband and I booked off a months holiday in December to January, I will hold off and purchase a new betta fish when I am ready. It's a really terrible and hard lesson to learn. I can honestly say that I felt like a little part of me is gone too. I know you guys will all understand how sad it can be and how the tears just fall for such a tiny little betta fish.

So i must now say R.I.P. my sweetest baby boy, Bijou. You will live forever in my heart.....:crying:
 
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#2 ·
I'm so sorry for our loss!

I can assure you that Goldie is incapable of killing a full grown, healthy, betta. It just is not possible. Bijou would have easily been able to get away from him, even if he was sleeping the snail would have woken him up when he touched him.
 
#3 ·
Bijou was only 3 months old, in fact a baby and Goldie tripled in size. If something did happen to him overnight, his body would be in the tank. But the snail is acting strange, not moving around and we just don't understand how the heck this could have happened. I cannot stop crying...Wow 4.5 months of owning my very docile little guy and I am a mess....So do you think happened then? If he died overnight for some reason, would a snail then eat the dead fish? Bijou lately had been bothering him so much with the food. I mean he seemed to be jealous if an algae pellet dropped down or curious maybe. Also he would watch Goldie devour a very large blanched cucumber and there was never any leftovers. So yeah it's a mystery as to what happened. I searched everywhere despite the fact that my tank has a lid on it. At night I would cover it up with a towel to keep them in the dark as I stay up late. They knew their bedtime schedule cuz i did the same rituals each and every night. Bijou was very healthy, eating well, not too much. Like 3 pellets a day and i dunno if this has anything to do with it, but could an almond leaf contaminate the water? I read that the tannins in the almond leaf which i bought for Bijou to sleep on, were supposed to condition his fins etc and he really loved it.
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
There are sites that say, basically it has happened (very rarely) to other ppl. They are saying if the fish was dying or died during the night, the snail would eat the dead fish but not a live one, as you say it's virtually impossible to catch them. Bijou as of last night was acting totally normal and happy. So i guess he died overnight and then yes the snail ate his remains. We've looked all over the floor and underneath with a flashnight and no body. So that's my only conclusion. I mean he didn't show signs of illness and his fins were improving and i was not over feeding him. But it's done now...There's nothing i can do.
 
#5 ·
If Bijou died, then yes Goldie would view him as food.
Is there anywhere Bijou could have gotten stuck? I've heard of betta getting stuck in the most unbelievable, never thought they'd ever try to fit there, places. One lady I know had her betta manage to get stuck between the clear acrylic cover and the waterfall of an aquarium decoration. This is the ornament https://www.petsmart.com/fish/decor...liff-waterfall-aquarium-ornament-5071398.html

Again, I'm so sorry for your loss. I know you loved him, and took excellent care of him.
 
#6 ·
Hi Rainbo, wow that is quite the decoration. I had nothing like that. Actually I just had a coconut shell which they both used to go into and also two grey caves (one large) and one tiny. (I did not have any real plants except for two moss balls which bijou was afraid of but that Goldie basically ripped apart and ate)...

My friend was not able to take Goldie, so i am going to keep the mystery snail as I did buy him and he was only doing what comes natural to him. Personally I don't think bettas are the ideal beginner's fish as some books say due to their water needs, not overfeedings and trying to keep the PH levels correctly. I was treating the water with the Fluval softener but yet when i tested the water, Petsmart said it was too hard. I bought him an almond leaf which made the water turn brown but I read that the leaf also conditions the fish's scales etc. I took it out and ran it under water and put it back. I hope that was not the culprit. So for the rest of Goldie's life with us, I won't try any other fish because yes the mystery snail's waste output is much higher than I ever managed.

I only had Bijou for 3.5 months but I am still crying every day. I guess I feel really really guilty. :-( :-( Thanks for replying...
 
#7 ·
Don't feel guilty! I'm willing to bet that you didn't do anything wrong. I think all of us who keep betta have had them die, very suddenly, for no apparent reason. I know I have.

IAL are supposed to turn the water a light tea color, it's the tannins being released into the water, driftwood does the same thing but on a much larger scale. The tannins will help the fish.

Best rule of thumb I can give you about PH is to not mess with it. Betta can adjust to a wide range of PH and it's a lot more important to keep the PH stable then have it fluctuating as you try to get it to an ideal level. My water is hard but it has not harmed my boys.

Yep, snails are poop machines, and the larger the snail the more noticeable it is. So long as you are doing weekly water changes, vacuuming the substrate when you do the change, and your tank is cycled it won't hurt to get another betta if you want one.
 
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