O..k.. Dead Betta.

[thelastbetta]

Just bought her yesterday, for an insane $6. (Yes $6 for a female mutt betta )

Picture of her when she got here.

Her 2 seconds ago, dead.

Looking at the picture above, what happened? I didn't see anything wrong with her, she was healthy, eating, pooping..

 

[WILDER]

Bless her, sorry I can't see anything either, might of been stress, or she was already ill athe the lfs, sorry, R.I.P.

 

[Mr.September15]

wow! 6$ for a female ...I've never heard of that...I paid $2 for my female...But you should go and complain to the Fish store...Ask them for a replacement... ...But may she R.I.P ...

 

[RandomWiktor]

Did you dechlorinate and give her ample time to adjust to the pH and temp? That's really all I can think of. Sorry to hear she's passed; she looked very pretty.

edit: Some more thoughts: did the temp dip last night? I don't know what your gallonage is on that tank, but if it is too small for a heater, a temp dip after a stressful day of being transported and moved to an unfamiliar environment could have done her in. Other than that, did you use any sprays near her tank? Those can kill very rapidly.

 

[jollysue]

Yeah, what RW said.

So sorry. I had a girl from the lfs just die, plop! on me a while back. It happens. She was probably already ill, maybe constipated or some other response to all the stress and changes.

It's distressing. I'm sorry.

 

[thelastbetta]

Yes I dechlorinated, letted the tank sit for a day and let her bag float for two hours. And no the temp didn't go down, my room is usually always the same temp since I have no windows open. And nope, no sprays.

Jollysue she wasn't constipated because I saw her poop twice. She was also eating and swimming around normal.

 

[jollysue]

Like I said, it happens. It's hard to trace when the fish just came in. Chances are it was already not well.

It's nice that you watched her so close and cared for her.

It was Synirr or Wuv posted a loss of a new lfs (I think) fishy a bit of time back. Just suddenly hit the deck and went!

The only thing left on RW's list that you didn't mention was the water parameter adjustments--like the Ph. Really, I think RW is our resident expert on lfs fishy saves.

 

[RandomWiktor]

^ Heh, thanks.

I'm thinking that if your pH is suitable for other bettas, it shouldn't wreak too much havoc on your girl. You did acclimate by slowly adding water from the tank to her bag over those two hours, not just floating, right? Allow little bits of water in slowly allows the fish to adjust to the sudden, dramatic change in water chemistry from one place to another.

Other possible stressors?
- If it was a new tank, was it cleaned first? If not, it is possible some residue from cleaners in the store was the culprit. If yes, and you used soap/ammonia/bleach, inadequate rinsing may have done her in. Soap especially is very toxic to bettas.
- Your hands. While acclimating, I'm guessing you had your hands touching the water periodically. Any chance of soap or other chemicals on your hands?
- I hate to say it, but she may have just been old. Many people think you should go for the biggest fish when buying, and while this does apply to some species, big bettas are usually old bettas (I'd go for small, but healthy-looking). I had a store that always sold nice CTs and Plakats and such for less than VTs. I asked them where they got nice tail types for so cheap, and they said I local breeder sends all of his "retired" males their way, so some die after only a few months of keeping from old age.
- She could have just had a heart condition, just like a human, that was made worse by the stress of transport and environmental change, which may have caused heart failure. I've heard of that happening to males during breeding; the stress and excitement causes defective hearts to give out.

Very sorry again =( If nothing else, I hope your LFS gives you your money back for making you pay that much for a female who died overnight!

 

[thelastbetta]

Yup. I allowed small amounts of water in at a time.

The tank was used before by a betta who got fungus, so I bleached it with a tiny bit of bleach, but that was a month ago after it was rinsed literally a thousand times, then left for a month to air dry. I don't think I had any soap on my hands, I usually do a soapless wash before touching anything in any of my tanks. I don't think she was old. She was tiny compared to my other female. Yeah.. she could have had a heart thing. I don't know. Oh well, doesn't matter now because she's dead. And yes I'll be going back in the morning to get my money back, hopefully. Thanks everyone.

 

[Mr.September15]

Yup. I allowed small amounts of water in at a time.

The tank was used before by a betta who got fungus, so I bleached it with a tiny bit of bleach, but that was a month ago after it was rinsed literally a thousand times, then left for a month to air dry. I don't think I had any soap on my hands, I usually do a soapless wash before touching anything in any of my tanks. I don't think she was old. She was tiny compared to my other female. Yeah.. she could have had a heart thing. I don't know. Oh well, doesn't matter now because she's dead. And yes I'll be going back in the morning to get my money back, hopefully. Thanks everyone.

Yup you should get ur money back...