EMERGENCY - Betta fish jumped out of tank!!

[BettaFishGirl]

My males veiltail Betta fish Cinnamon, who is in a 1 gallon hospital tank was doing great this morning, he was happy, fed him some frozen brine shrimp, and all was good. The lid he has covers the whole top of the tank except a hole about 2 inches by 2 inches. I left for 15 minuted, came back and he was no where in the tank. Checked on the shelf, nope, checked on the floor...he was there. I immediately picked him up and put him back into the tank. When I picked him up he wasn't dry, but definitely not wet. Slightly slimy, maybe. He also wiggled around a lot when I touched him on the ground. Now he is back into the tank, but not looking good. He is moving around a little bit his fins are kind of clamped. He also has dust and fur on him. fixed the hole in the lid too. pics attached.

 

[Fishies4Ever]

When fish jump out of there tanks they are usually stressed, or the water quality is bad. I would do a water change and see if he starts to look any better. I know you said it is just a hospital tank so I guess what is he going to go into in the future and how soon because he is not enjoying his time in the tank he is in currently.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

There was just an unknown nitrite spike in the tank which is currently being taken care of and getting better. When I got him he was dying in a tiny cup, so I know this is certainly better than that. Once he is all better there he will go into a more suitable tank.Ive heard Betta fish are strong jumpers though, so could he have just jumped out for no reason?

 

[Back in the fold]

That’s always a scary experience but being an anabantid air breather he should be okay in a couple hours . He’s a nice looking Cambodian Betta . I’ve always liked them best .
ALL fish are jumpers . Even the ones you don’t think are will jump if the mood strikes them .

 

[BettaFishGirl]

He's still just sitting in the back. I think he's breathing heavier too. Before the jump he was out, fins flared and making a bubble nest. Maybe he's just shocked.

 

[Colin_T]

Give him a couple of days to recover.
If he looks like he is getting white fluffy stuff on him, post a picture asap and maybe add some salt.

Use 1 heaped tablespoon of salt per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. Keep salt in tank for 1-2 weeks.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

It seems to be gone now. He didn't have it at all before so maybe it was just dust, as he jumped to under my shelf where it doesn't get vacuumed that often. Still lethargic and heavy breathing, not at all like before he jumped.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

UPDATE:

Cinnamon (or, Cinna-fin) seems to be doing slightly better. He wouldn't eat flakes or bloodworms, but ate some frozen brine shrimp. He's still in the back pretty much all the time, but I just did a water change with some cycled tank water and I checked on him 5 mins later, which was just now and he was at the top (still in the back) , and his top fin stretched out, not drooping down like before. He's still not doing great though. Do you think he's just shocked? Or injured from the jump? It was a pretty high fall.

I also put some Betta bowl plus (I just had it laying around, it's not my main water conditioner) in because I heard it can help with stress.

 

[powerdyne6]

I would assume he would be fairly stressed from the jump (and maybe hurting a bit). Not sure if fish feel pain like humans.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

He seems to be better, he was out and about when I shut the light off. I agree, it would be pretty shocking and stressful, and I don't know how long he was on the floor for. Less than 10 mins but still.

 

[Colin_T]

The fish is shocked and injured and needs rest and time to recover. It's like a person who has been hit by a car, they need time to recover. Keep the tank clean and offer him food at the normal times you feed him and let him recover.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

He seems a lot better this morning + eating flakes too. Still not like he was but looks less traumatized.

 

[TNG]

Several decades ago, I couldn't find my betta in my (small) tank. I couldn’t find it anywhere on the floor so I gave up. Over an hour later I saw it covered in dust. I put it back in the tank and it lived. I haven’t had a fish jumping out of my tank since, and I learnt to give it a good environment to live to reduce the temptation to jump out.