Tail Got Eaten...

[LittleL]

ok so i brought a new betta from the LFS... although i didnt plan on buying anything when i went in for just food!

before i brought him, i was chatting to the lady in the fish shop and i explained to the lady that i wanted another betta oneday as there so smart and cool but i needed to get him his own tank, but The lady in the LFS said he would be fine in a community tank with my other fish and that she has kept bettas with other fish all her life...with no problems

thinking id be fine and going from her advice, i brought the betta and added him to my community tank.

when i got home from work today, i looked in the tank and the betta was at the suface of the tank and his lovely, long tail had been munched to shreads.. poor baby.

i have just serparated him and put him in a cooking bowl (only thing i had large enough to hold him!) and he is not looking happy.

What can i do? is there any treatment i can buy to help him recover? will his tail grow back or will it stay chewed up like that forever? is this serious or will he recover to fit form?

im going to get him a tank of his own at the weekend if i have enough cash or i might just have to take him back to LFS....

poor mite, please help..

 

[WILDER]

Bless him, melafix.

 

[liz2]

dont take him back to that silly lady at the lfs! Put him in clean water with melafix and a bit of salt. Keep that bowl covered though. If he is Ok his tail will repair before you can say What a lucky fishie

 

[oneponygirl]

The lady was an idiot if I may say so. Did she even ask you what other fish you had? I've had bettas with other fish but it totally depends on the attitude of the betta (which you wouldn't know having just bought him) and the kind of other fish (most tetras are a BIG no-no). Poor kid. He's lucky you care to take care of the problem and not just leave him in there like some might have. Take heart though, I have one betta who eats his OWN tail when he gets stressed out (usually when I have to do a water change on his tank - now I do lots of tiny water changes with a turkey baster so I don't have to move him and he does fine) and he always recovers and it grows back beautiful.

 

[ElectricMayhem]

Poor baby. His tail will grow back, I'd go with what everyone's said, Melafix, aquarium salt, crystal clean water and some TLC. Maybe you could get him his own 2gal critter keeper type thing? They're easy to maintain and don't take up too much room and I'm sure he'll love it. Hope he feels better soon!

 

[LittleL]

Woke this morning to find the poor thing dead

i guess he was worst off than i thought. I added the salt and changed his water to fresh water and he was fine before i went to bed, but now he is dead.. poor man

i will never listen to that lady in the LFS again... silly woman . I feel bad myself for listening to her though... which in turn, killed that poor fish.... i told her straight up a millon times what fish i had and she said 'no problem, the betta will be absolutly fine with them' so me being a novice, thought, ok if the 'expert' says it will be fine, then ill buy him.... big mistake....

im not a person who will by a fish without thinking about its welfare and care... it such a shame, he was lovely looking and had an amazing tail... thats why i brought him... he gorgeous tail!

 

[jarmado]

i am so sorry..

 

[Rynoah]

I'm so sorry to hear that. I always feel terrible when one of my fish dies. How could that woman be working at a fish store and giving out such bad advice?

 

[catxx]

take him back to the shop and give him back to the lady
so he'll be fine with my community fish will he???
money back please!

 

[ZooKeeper]

take him back to the shop and give him back to the lady
so he'll be fine with my community fish will he???
money back please!

I agree whole-heartedly. She had better refund your money, or replace the fish. (Not that there is a replacement like him.)

 

[kali426]

i use indian almond leaves.you can get them cheap off e-bay.they are good for lots of things,bettas love it.it will make your water look like tea,but trust me,whenever i put them in my tank my bettas repair,start making bubble nest and appear healthier.its used for breeding too.

 

[liz2]

You need to go back to the shop and really complain, say it is not about getting a refund it is about the welfare of the fish. If you dont feel like doing it in person, send a letter to them, saying what happened that is what I do.


Poor little fishie. But, you werent to know.