My Betta Died, Why?

[MaddieCarrot]

This morning I discovered my betta had died, recently I had a couple of fish die after the tank became over run with a green/velvet type of algae which I later learned was due to too much light. I cleaned the tank out and reduced use of the light and the problem has since gone.

All the other fish are now fine yet the last week or so my betta has been very "mopey" and slow, not moving a great deal. This started to happen after he excreted bubbles for a couple of days? I understand that this is some type of "nest" that they naturally make even when they don't have a partner and that it is normal. So I can't understand what went wrong?, his been living happily for about a year in the tank and I would like to know if anyone has any idea as to why he died?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

We need more information than that.
 
Roughly, how old was he?
How big is his tank?
What are the tank stats?
What are the tank mates?
Did he show any abnormal signs before dieing?
 
Also, to the forum
And, , sorry for your loss.

 

[rikkitiger]

did he turn a bit pale? i am also trying to find out what this is, this is EXACTLY what happened to my betta. i dont even know why the other fish and parameters and everything are fine.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Also, you said you cleaned the tank out, exactly how did you do this?

 

[lepackt]

Is it possible that you have been over feeding lately, bettas will eat until they kill themselves and they will get bloated and sluggish and excrete bubbles to try and release pressure ( burping with an upset stomach) If you didn't have a filter or an airiator your fish could have drowned if he was to bloated

 

[MaddieCarrot]

I don't think overfeeding was a problem, I feed him little floating betta pallets (very small) and I would usually put in about 10 of them knowing that one of the other fish also likes to steal quite a few of them and this has always been the case.

I cleaned the tank with a pressure hose and a removed all the Algue with my tank brush typed thing. Thoroughly cleaned all the sand and the filter pipes as well as replacing the filter sponge, obviously no chemicals were used and the tank water was purified and cycled.

The tank is about 10 gallons, there are 4 zebra danios, a crown loach, couple of guppies and what I believe are yellow an red cichlid's. The fighter is just under a year old

@rikkitiger yeah actually, I suppose he was a bit pale

 

[rikkitiger]

yeah i dont understand it although i can definetly relate with you. what is the water temp i didnt have a heater for a bit but even with one it didnt help much. possibly an internal parasite? i dont know. im just wildly guessing

 

[Blondielovesfish]

I don't think overfeeding was a problem, I feed him little floating betta pallets (very small) and I would usually put in about 10 of them knowing that one of the other fish also likes to steal quite a few of them and this has always been the case.

I cleaned the tank with a pressure hose and a removed all the Algue with my tank brush typed thing. Thoroughly cleaned all the sand and the filter pipes as well as replacing the filter sponge, obviously no chemicals were used and the tank water was purified and cycled.

The tank is about 10 gallons, there are 4 zebra danios, a crown loach, couple of guppies and what I believe are yellow an red cichlid's. The fighter is just under a year old

@rikkitiger yeah actually, I suppose he was a bit pale

 
IMO (depending on the size/quality of the food) 10 is too much.
 
Don't replace the sponge, unless it is literally falling apart, the sponge contains a lot of the beneficial bacteria that breaks the ammonia and nitrite down so they are not harmful to the fish.
 
Zebra Danios, Clown Loaches (I assume that is what you mean) and any cichlids (except some shell dwelling species) do not belong in a 10G
Zebra Danios need a minimum of a 3 foot tank, 4 is preferable. They also do much better in a school of at least 6.
Clown Loaches need a minimum of 100G for a tank, they can reach over a foot long and are schooling fish that prefer to be in numbers of at least 6.
Cichlids don't belong in a 10G.
I think it would be best if you rehome the unsuitable fish and rethink your stocking.
Sorry if this seems harsh, but its whats best for the fish
 
The Betta may have been bloated or it could have simply died from old age (Bettas can sometimes be up to a year old when bought from a LFS).

 

[tunagirll]

Sorry to hear about your fish

 
Do you happen to have the water parameters? ie ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?
Does the tank have a heater?
 
From your cleaning it sounds like you possibly have cleaned off all the beneficial bacteria and need to recycle the tank.

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

Zebra danios are active fish and need a dour foot long tank. They also needs shoals of at least 6.
Crown loaches get too big for a ten gallon, and Im not sure what size they need.
Yellow lab cichlids cant be with red devil cichlids and yellow labs needs a 55 gallon tank and red devils need a 75 gallon. They also have special pH requirements.

A bettas stomach is the size of his eye, you should only be feeding him 2-3 pellets a day or so.

Your tank was way over stocked and I would not do this again. A betta can live happily alone in a ten gallon. Please ask for stocking questions when you start it back up!

Also, read the cycling tab at the top of the page to learn about good bacteria living in your filters and how to cycle a fishless tank. This is the key to providing low levels of ammonia and nitrites in the water. Please please please read this.

As for any other questions, feel free to ask!

 

[MaddieCarrot]

Thanks a heap for the replies,

I had no idea it was so small for them! The fish shop always asks my size and what else I have in it and they seemed to think it wa fine, now I think yet were just glad to sell me more fish. I will defiantly re think what fish I have in here

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Thank you for taking it on board
 
Unfortunately, a lot of shops give bad advice to make a sale
Which, is why it is always best to do your research before buying fish