Old Betta. Really Old. @_@

[steppy104]

First off, how old are walmart betta's when they're sold? Scraggle was full size when I bough him. I don't remember the exact date, but sometime in december of 2003 I wrote a reminder that I had bought him and Dragon(RIP). But I had bought them about a month or two before the entry. I think I'll search through some of my first posts to see if I can find specific dates there.

How will he start acting near his dying days? I don't want to wake up unprepared. And the way he's acting right now, I don't expect him to pass soon..

It's going to hurt alot when he goes. =( I just want to know when to expect it. Every day I see him swimming around staring at the gals next door, I'm so proud of him and myself for him being around this long.

I just came into a 50gal recently, and in order to get it I had to make a deal with my dad to get rid of all the tanks in my room. So now I'm making dividers to put the fish in my room all into the 50gal. They will all have a couple more gallons of room than they had before. The thing is, is I'm very afraid that transfering scraggle could kill him at his age, and I don't want to put him through that. So I'm hoping that my dad will understand the situation of me having to leave scraggle in his tank in my room until he passes. And that's why I'm wondering, how long I'll have with him.

He eats fine, but is very twitchy while swimming. He mostly lays around on the bottom or sleeps at the top, but gets very excited when he see's movement around his cage, expecting it to be feeding time. He is definelty not the gorgeous walmart betta I bought, he's fins have drawn tight, his spine has bent slightly, and his scales....Well, I don't know how to describe it. Dulling in color...They're just not the same as some of my newer betta's.

Thanks.

 

[Mugen]

Aww.. It sounds like you really care about Scraggle.. and that he has a lot of personality!

I'm not one to say when to expect Scraggle to go, but what I can say about the water cleaning is just to take your time. Maybe see if your dad will let you keep him in a separate tank for a little while as the water conditions with the other fish? Obviously you'll cycle the tank, but sometimes it's less of a blow if you put them into "aged" water. If his breathing is normal and if he still eats, then he probably still has a while yet, and I doubt that a water change will kill him As for the color dulling and sleeping, I have a Petco fish named Aristotle who does much of the same thing. It's just a sign of an old codger!

 

[Taridan]

Aww.. It sounds like you really care about Scraggle.. and that he has a lot of personality!

I'm not one to say when to expect Scraggle to go, but what I can say about the water cleaning is just to take your time. Maybe see if your dad will let you keep him in a separate tank for a little while as the water conditions with the other fish? Obviously you'll cycle the tank, but sometimes it's less of a blow if you put them into "aged" water. If his breathing is normal and if he still eats, then he probably still has a while yet, and I doubt that a water change will kill him As for the color dulling and sleeping, I have a Petco fish named Aristotle who does much of the same thing. It's just a sign of an old codger!

Thats good to hear... finally, finally I can have a fish tank, and as my fiance has shifted his interests to Oscars, I get to take care of George, his 2 1/2 year old red. George is now faded to a light pink on his body, with black spots, but his fins are still vibrant red, so I'm hoping moving him to a 30 gallon tank won't be too much of a shock for him.

 

[steppy104]

Oh yeah, the tank will definetly be cycled with feeders for a little while before anyone goes in. But it's a 17" high 50gal, which is about 5 inches more of a swim to get air....I don't think he'd appreciate me doing that to him.

If I can keep him in my bedroom, then that means his space will double. Right now he shares a 10gal with silk, split in half.

 

[juliehainsworth]

I think you should just explain to your parents that you don't want to stress him out and risk losing him! I'm sure they will understand!

 

[happyannie]

The fading color is when I noticed my guy was getting older and then he wasn't as frisky. He's gone on for quite awhile after that so not to worry. You must be taking good care of him to have him this long and have him in good health! I've heard of Wal-Mart bettas only lasting a year or less...so good going!! My old guy has had to have special accomodations in 4 inches of water so hope your parents will understand if yours needs specical dispensation as well..?? You've done so good thus far and Im sure they'd be happy about that if they knew the track record. Like a previous poster said, be careful of water quality and don't shock him. Some of these guys are soo sturdy and can bounce back from alot. You're the greatest for worrying about him and wanting the best.