sinking betta

[newfishies]

as i went to feed the guys this morning, i noticed merlin laying on the ground in his tank, i though he was diggin for food in the rocks, but he didn't come up for food.

He swims up quickly for a breath of air, then sinks right back down. no other signs of illness, he does appear to be "gasping" a little as he lays on the bottom.

i added a floating plant but he isn't resting in that. his buddy dave (on the other side of the divider appears fine!

any ideas/suggestions?

 

[black angel]

the same happened to my female betta, she died though. to me it seemed like a bacterial infection as her scales pineconed at the end.

try the temperature, maybe hes feeling a bit cold.

 

[newfishies]

temp is 78-79F

 

[BettaMomma]

Do you see anything unusual on him?
White spots, fungusy stuff, other spots? Swollen belly? Anything?

Try a flashlight - shine it down on him from above and see if you see any gold stuff on him. Hmm...

 

[newfishies]

no spots, fungus or swollen belly, i didn't get a chance to check for velvet, but i am wondering what i'll be able to see, b/c he is a mustard gas and has a lot of gold on his body already!

 

[Kiarra]

The Mustard Gas is typically a different color from Velvet, but it can be hard to tell. Velvet will often appear on the body, however, meaning you don't always have to look at the fins. More specifically, look near the gill area and then search outward.

 

[bettaboi]

sounds like swim bladder to me he meets the qualification from this website the reason i know is because mine has it to but they say its not fatal if you do somthing about it

oh the website would help i guess swim bladder

 

[newfishies]

well, sad day, now that i am home

i came home from dinner after work, and merlin was dead. i really don't know what was wrong. dave matthews is bubblenesting away on his side of the tank, and other than his odd behavior this morning, merlin seemed and looked fine. i have fish that looked like they were on death's door, and they are still with me.

i am about to clean the whole tank, but i am very sad that he is gone, and that i wasn't here to see him go or help him in his last hours (stupid work!)

merlin

 

[bettaboi]

sry about you loss
R.I.P. merlin

 

[fishmom]

Sorry about Merlin. I know how you feel. We had "William the Bloody" he was named after Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for about 8 months and he got really sick and died two weeks ago. I still miss him a lot. Now Apollo--the new guy on the block is sick with tail rot. We are having a bad time of it here. Oh well.