[SondersVeil]

I just got my pretty new betta today, Sonder! He's a crowntail, and I got him around five and a half, six hours ago... And I think he's dying.

When I first brought him home, he seemed happy enough; he was swimming around, but he was mostly staying near the top. His coloring looks normal for the most part; a little dull, but I thought it was just a silvery accent to him.

Now, I keep looking over at my tank, and he's very lethargic. The water is at about 80-81 degrees, and the water conditions are perfect. I have the gentlest filter, and he keeps getting dragged into the current and shoved away. .He can't swim downwards; he can barely swim at all. He keeps trying to swim down and he keeps floating all the way back up to the surface, where the filter pushes him into the corner. This is a ten gallon tank with a small filter; it's nowhere near fast enough to push him that far away. He twitches for a couple seconds, and then goes still and immediately floats onto his side and towards the back of the tank.

This is the only picture I have of him whee the lighting doesn't make him look black. Right now, he's floating on his side again in the back corner of the tank. What do I do? I'm really upset, because I love this fish so much already and I think he's dying.

 

[AllBettasRule13]

It may be that you should try to take the filter out for a little and see how he does, is he eating? He may just be getting used to the new surroundings I wouldn't be to worried.

 

[SondersVeil]

He hasn't ate. I tried giving him some food but he wouldn't even look at it.

I'm scared to take the filter out because the tank is filled with half bottled water, half tap water; I put the right amounts of conditioner and everything in, because I live in a small town with very... Really very gross tap water. Everybody in town has large water coolers rather than drinking or cooking with tap water.

He's still just floating there; he's trying to move occasionally, but he can't even turn around. He's face-first in the upper corner of the tank and he can't swim downwards, because he keeps getting dragged up, almost like when you try to make an ice cube stay underwater. He can barely swim forward, either.

EDIT: I just noticed that his belly looks a little bit swollen, but I'm not sure. This is my first betta.

 

[SondersVeil]

Alright, he's definitely dying. I'm probably going to take him back to the pet store tomorrow, or at least call them in the morning.

He's still floating there, he stops breathing every now and then, he can't come down from the surface or swim, and he just died on me for about 2 minutes just now. .He suddenly dropped to the bottom, including brushing off of the castle and the plants, and laid at the bottom and didn't move, his gills didn't move either, and when I went to go nudge him he slowly dragged himself back up to the surface, and it took him about 3 minutes.

 

[SondersVeil]

Sonder just died.

 

[meowrisa]

aww im sorry for your loss

when you added him to his tank did you acclimate him?

 

[Soriel]

 

[SondersVeil]

I made sure to acclimate him. I left him in the little pet store tub for over half an hour before I let him out, and I made sure to put him in gently and not bother him after that. He didn't get shaken up in the truck on the way home; we went a little slower than usual on the highway to ensure it.

He was half-flaring at me on the way back.

 

[meowrisa]

I made sure to acclimate him. I left him in the little pet store tub for over half an hour before I let him out, and I made sure to put him in gently and not bother him after that. He didn't get shaken up in the truck on the way home; we went a little slower than usual on the highway to ensure it.

He was half-flaring at me on the way back.

Did you periodically add little bits of his new water to the water he came in? The water he came in and the water you put in his tank could have had different ph and hardness so adding a little bit of new water into their cup is super important for acclimating

 

[SondersVeil]

Yeah, I did. Maybe I didn't add enough of the new water? I thought I did. I have someone in my house who's owned fish tanks for 30+ years and she helped me with it, so I was sure we did well with it.

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

I am so sorry about Sonder. When you go back to the pet store take a sample of the tank water and have them check it. Insist on the actual numbers; don't take "it's safe" or "it's fine." And have them test the water in the cup of your new Betta. That way you can compare parameters. If the Nitrates and pH are close then floating the cup should be enough.

What water conditioner are you using? Seachem Prime, if you can get it, is the absolute best. If that's what you have then add a drop to the cup as soon as you get the new boy home. Prime locks/neutralizes Ammonia and renders the water safer for fish.

I am sure you acclimated Soner just fine and nothing you did contributed to his demise.

Sorry your welcome to the Forum comes on such a sad note.

 

[meowrisa]

Yeah, I did. Maybe I didn't add enough of the new water? I thought I did. I have someone in my house who's owned fish tanks for 30+ years and she helped me with it, so I was sure we did well with it.

Pet store bettas are always sort of a hit or miss cuz you never really know if they have any underlying issues that just havent surfaced, maybe he was sick and the new tank and open space stressed him to the point of dying. It could possibly be something in the water that bypassed the conditioners? Maybe investing in one of those tap water filter jugs or only using bottled water (since you said your towns tap water is kinda gross) would be best if you try again with a new betta.

Best of luck to you though I hope you do figure out what the problem was.

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

Using straight bottled water is not an option as it does not contain the minerals, etc., that fish need to maintain long-term good health. The only way straight bottled water is ever okay is if you add some sort of remineralizer.

 

[SondersVeil]

I used half bottled water, half tap water, because all of the tap water here is, yes, really gross and disgusting to humans so I tried to balance it out. I used Nutrafin AquaPlus and Nutrafin Cycle; they came with the tank.

I just feel so bad because he seemed happier in the little dish than he did in the tank; he looked like he was suffering horribly for a bit. He was floating around the top and then suddenly he nosedived, flopped around in the gravel for a few seconds, and then died.

I phoned the pet store to tell them what happened, and they feel incredibly bad, but it's against their policy to replace fish (which I didn't ask about, because I know they can't). When I went to that pet store yesterday, all of the water was crystal clear, save for a few bits of food in every other betta bin, and the little bins had just enough room for them to swim around in and he was half-flaring at me.

I picked him because he seemed very healthy (and he was cheaper and I'm rather financially challenged) and he had a nice color scheme, in my opinion; it was either him or the $40 pure red halfmoon... But as soon as he was in the tank, he got sick and then died a few hours later.