Betta Out Of Water

[tttnjfttt]

While i was changing the gravel in my betta's tank, i put him into a plastic cup. At some point, I bumped the cup over. I found him after I had filled his tank, so I quickly scooped him up and put him into the tank. Is there anything I should be doing for him? He seems to be cruzing around his tank right now, but i do have his lights off.

 

[love cichlids]

Add a little aquarium salt and just watch him closely. He should be ok.

 

[Genesis]

i heard that any anabantoid can *theoretically* live out of the water indefinately as long as it is moist

 

[ravekiss]

Add some Stress Coat to replace whatever slime he's lost...along with the little salt.

 

[Alix]

ive also heard that you they can live out of water as long as they are wet. like one web site i went to i looked at the shipping info an it said that they wrap the betta in some sorta wet leaves an ship...not willing to try it with my betta but i guess if some company does it it has to be save.

 

[tttnjfttt]

Two days later he seems to be doing great. I have no clue how long he was out of water for, but he was still obviously wet when I found him. However, he wasn't struggling and flopping around until I tried to pick him up. He even has his usual huge bubble nest going, so i dont think any dammage has been done. Thanks for the responses everyone!

I can't believe a company wrapping their bettas and shipping without water!!! OMG!!! that just sounds like they are waiting to get crushed or injured in shipping.

 

[tttnjfttt]

This fish is gonna kill me one day. I was doing water changes again today, and this time i made sure that when i scooped him out, he was where he wouldn't get knocked over. All goes well until I begin to re-aclimate him to the water (my water has a very low KH and there is a big difference betewen tap water and the tank). I walk out of the room to do another tank. I come back in, ready to put the this betta into the tank and look in the cup, and he's not in the cup! i check the tank, and no betta. I look all around, and figure he has fallen down behind EVERYTHING, about a 5 foot jump He's back in his tank again, this time he is covered with fuzz that hasn't come off yet. I feel so bad for this little guy.

And to add to the irony, his name is crash, because he's got a short nose/mouth and looks like he ran into the wall too many times. Now he's really beginning to live up to that name.

 

[xanthianacid]

that "fuzz" is likely to be fungus. he needs salt baths and preferably some kind of anti-fungal treatment asap
probably stress induced.

yes as they have a labyrinth (breath air) they can live outside of water basically until they dry up. one of my longest living betta girls survived about an hour as it took that long to locate her!!! But she lived until a ripe ol age.

good luck with treatment!
xanthia

 

[Durbkat]

Dang. You should change his name to "suicide" Any chance of a pic? That fuzz could be just dirt and stuff that got caught on him so try some stress coat and salt.

 

[tttnjfttt]

It is definately just fuzz and lint from the floor. He was perfectly healthy when he jumped and went back in looking fuzzy. I don't think columnaris (the bacterial disease that is often called fungus) would grow that fast outside of water, but thanks for the suggestion

Here he is. He's acting normal again, so i went ahead and gave him a mirror. It was quite comical, he kept swimming up to the mirror, flared, then swam away, so it took some timing to get this.

I forgot to add the fuzz is now all washed off, so definately not an illness, though no doubt he has been stressed, he started nibbling on his tail again.

 

[otherworldone]

I've had a bit of experience myself with little jumpers like that. I'm not sure exactly how long bettas can actually survive out of water, but I DO KNOW that they can lay on the floor for hours and still be okay (that one is not from my personal experience).

I have to agree that adding a little aquarium salt is usually the only treatment necessary after an out-of-water experience. It will help prevent bacteria from taking hold, which is really the worst concern in this case other than shock. It will also help with gill function, which in turn helps to calm the fish somewhat.

Sometimes when I have a jumper that hits the carpet, I'll notice 'fuzz' on them as soon as I put them back in their water. It helps to note that fungus doesn't appear quite that fast. Any fuzz that appears spontaneaously immediately following a fall to the floor is simply fuzz or carpet fibers that adhere to the fishes slime coat when it begins to dry and becomes sticky.

I must disagree with the use of stress coat under any circumstances, though. This product is an unnecessary addition to the water that can actually KILL the fish, rather than help it. The ingredients in stress coat that 'improve' the slime coat are an unnatural coating that have been known to coat the gill membranes resulting in suffocation of the fish. Not cool. It's much safer to just add aquarium salt. Or if you must add something to help the slime coat, use something with natural ingredients that stimulate a healthy slime coat naturally. ...just my humble opinion.

 

[tttnjfttt]

I must disagree with the use of stress coat under any circumstances, though. This product is an unnecessary addition to the water that can actually KILL the fish, rather than help it. The ingredients in stress coat that 'improve' the slime coat are an unnatural coating that have been known to coat the gill membranes resulting in suffocation of the fish. Not cool. It's much safer to just add aquarium salt. Or if you must add something to help the slime coat, use something with natural ingredients that stimulate a healthy slime coat naturally. ...just my humble opinion.

Could i see your source on this one? I did some searching on google, and the only info i could find was either on pages trying to sell the product, or this info on http/badmanstropicalfish.com which says it is beneficial to use and gives some facts. I know i have used that site as a resource before and am usually happy with the info that i get on there.

 

[otherworldone]

This information was presented to me a few YEARS ago, so I'll have to find it for you. But I will post it here as SOON as I can find it. ...and if I can't find it...I will say so.

Fair 'nuf?

 

[tttnjfttt]

I'd be very interested in seeing it. I know many people here use it as dechlorinator, and also that article i found did sound very convincing (especially since they aren't getting $$$ from it)

 

[otherworldone]

My choice of water conditioners are NovAqua and Amquel. Of course I am on a private well right now and really don't have to worry too much about chemicals or heavy metals in the water.

But I do keep a bottle of AmQuel Plus on hand. It removes chlorine & chloramines, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. It's non-toxic, will not affect pH or interfere with biological filtration, and can be used in fresh or saltwater.

NovAqua Plus removes chlorine & chloramines, and heavy metals. It also adds electrolytes and vitamins and promotes a healthy slime coat. It's basically an all-purpose buffer/conditioner whereas AmQuel is a more aggressive water conditioner without the extra vitamins and stuff.

Or you might try BIO-COAT, if you're really concerned about the slime coat. It promotes a natural slime coat, rather than providing an artificial one and it also removes chlorine & chloramines, and heavy metals. But I've never used it myself since I generally avoid netting my fish if at all possible and so rarely have need of something that repairs the slime coat.

My main concern with Stress Coat is the use of aloe vera to treat aquatic animals. I also stay away from many of the other similar products that claim to repair the slime coat using artifical polymers. Common sense would dictate that anything that repairs or replaces the slime coat by adhering to the body and fins of the fish would also be drawn into the gills, thereby adhering to and coating the gills. Anyways...I'm trying to find the source on that...