Is He Beyond Help?

[Stangin83]

So I got a male betta from a wedding... they had them as center pieces on the tables and wanted the guests to take one. Bad idea, yes, let's not get into that. Anyway, my girlfriend really wanted one, so somehow I got stuck with it. After we broke up, I grew increasingly tired of it... I am a full time PhD student, work, and have a pet bird, so I gave it to a female friend who LOVED it. I was over at her place this weekend and I don't think she had changed the water in the bowl for over a month. It is in a huge brandy snifter - probably about 1.5 gallons. Over 80% of the water had evaporated, leaving barely anything to swim in, waste all over the bottom. And a rubber plant which I threw out.

Anyway, this little guy is very weak, lost almost all his color, can't flare up like he used to... she's been feeding him nothing but brine shrimp for the past I don't even know how long... probably 4 months. (I had him on Hikari Gold and gave her that with some brine shrimp for a treat.. and very little has been used out since the Hikari probably ran out 3-4 months ago I'm guessing.)

So basically, I have this fish again. I feel terrible for the little thing. I do not have a lot of free time on my hands to care for the fish... so basically I'm wondering would it be more humane to euthanize it, or with proper food will it regain strength and vitality?

I used to keep cichlids before, and I remember a thread where they were talking about a way to euthanize fish... to put a cup of water in a freezer until it ices over, then break the ice, drop the fish in, and freeze. It supposedly will immediately go into shock and die peacefully... I also don't know if this is true.

So should I either get some more Hikari gold and slime coat and see if it gets better or just let it go quickly instead of starving to death. All I had today was brine shrimp and I gave him some and he ate it readily, as I would expect, so he's not THAT weak... but he looks pathetic.

And don't bother flaming me. If you try and attack me, as message board members tend to do, I will just ignore your entire post. I'm trying to determine the what will help the fish the most... and if proper nutrition is the answer I will continue to find a new home for it while I do that.

 

[VaegaVic]

TLC will quite easily bring him back up to spec.
Without seeing him however, I can't see just how bad the damage is.

There's no need to euthanise a fish if it's quite happy and able to eat and what not.

As you're in the US, it should be quite easy to source a small tank with a filter for relatively cheap, even on Ebay for example.

I implore you not to end the poor lil sods life and just take care of him, he needs a friend

Caring for a single Betta should not be hard at all, weekly water changes in a small tank should be quite effortless, if you've got enough time to look after your bird, you should be able to spare an extra 5 mins a week for a water change.
If you can, try and source some mature media to put in the filter to give you a head start and stop the poor thing from suffering.

Hope this helps.

 

[Stangin83]

Thanks... I have an old 10 gallon sitting in my mom's garage... and I think I even have a filter for it still... (I used it to breed guppies at one point). But I think right now that may cause more stress than keeping him where he is, wouldn't you think? Taking him out of this gallon and half bowl he's known for the past year and a half and suddenly throwing him in this big scary territory when he's already malnourished?

For the record, I don't necessarily want to euthanize the fish. But for a comparison, when you're flying a small plane, if you lose altitude due to low air speed, you have to angle the nose down to be able to regain altitude. If you just keep pulling back on your rudder, you will crash. I just wanted to make sure that with the fish I'll be able to re angle him to a recovery so to speak, instead of just pulling back... trying to keep him alive... but end up prolonging a miserable death.

 

[VaegaVic]

Being in a small unfiltered bowl will be stressing him out more than anything as that ammonia will be toxic after a couple of days without a water change.
Not to say the move won't be stressful, but it will at least dilute the ammonia until the tank is cycled properly.

 

[loraxchick]

take him out of the snifter, do a full waterchange and then keep up to at LEAST 2X a week of 50% changes. you will be AMAZED how resilient fish can be with improved environmental conditions. only feed him every other day (less food in=less waste out and fish will be fine with this). keep up on those waterchanges (should take about 3 minutes really). but some cheap real plants (elodea would be ideal for this smaller setup) and at the very least get him a small heater.
my very first betta i acquired just like you-from a wedding as a centerpiece...he lived to 2.5 years in my care. dont know how old he was when i got him but fully grown.
as for the 10 gal, if you set it up with a filter and heater and some plants and other decor, he will definitely appreciate it. dont worry about him only knowing that snifter. before you purchase them, all they know is their little cups...it wil be the absolute best solution for the guy long term.
best of luck!
cheers