What did I do wrong?

[dixaisy930]

I came home from work today and my betta was dead. I'm not sure what I did wrong. I only had him for about a week. He was in a one gallon fish bowl, and I did one partial water change when I had him. I only feed him one or two "balls" of betta food a day.

Did I make a mistake and not cycle his water?

 

[wuvmybetta]

so sorry

a week isn't enough time to cycle unless you used previously cycled water, maybe an ammonia spike (?) but that's slim, I've never lost a betta during cycling so I highly doubt that was it

no signs of illness beforehand?
was he in a cold area?

it's very odd, IME if a betta makes it through the 1st few days he'll last forever (unless uncurable illness strikes) next time try feeding more than 2 bites, mine eat about 7-8 pieces a day and live brine or frozen bloodworms at night which seems to have made them pretty thick & tough, a bettas favorite thing in the world is ...food, and lots of it!

Better luck next time

 

[dixaisy930]

Maybe I didn't feed him enough ...he always seemed like he wanted to eat. But I had read somewhere to feed them very little, because they're stomach was so small. Should I cycle water next time? Well, I did use half a gallon of water from my tank though (eveything was 0...nitrates, ammonia, etc.).

no...it wasn't anyplace cold...*sigh*...I'll sure miss him...he had such personality.

 

[canis_lupus]

i'm really sorry......i lost my betta Steve right after we got him 2 he might have been sick before, i don't think he would have starved. i feed my guys 4 pellets a day. bettas r really tough guys......i don't cycle my little tanks i just do more frequent water changes, so that shouldn't have been a problem......did u dechlorinate? sorry again

 

[dixaisy930]

Yeah, I always dechlorinate...first I'll let the water sit for 24hrs, then add the water treatment stuff...I am just kicking myself because I know I won't find another chocolate one.

 

[White Whale]

Maybe I didn't feed him enough ...he always seemed like he wanted to eat. But I had read somewhere to feed them very little, because they're stomach was so small. Should I cycle water next time? Well, I did use half a gallon of water from my tank though (eveything was 0...nitrates, ammonia, etc.).

no...it wasn't anyplace cold...*sigh*...I'll sure miss him...he had such personality.

Maybe when you got him he was already old?
Yeah, chocolate bettas are very pretty. I'm looking for one myself.
Well, whenever one betta dies, somewhere there are a hundred more that were born at that very same moment.... Think of it as the cycle of life....

 

[dixaisy930]

So true...I might look at bettas tomorrow.

Does the coloring of a betta determine age (or health for that matter)? This betta and the one I had a few years ago didn't have real brilliant colors, and didn't last very long (both were also kept in the one gallon fish bowl). However, many many years ago, I had a very brite, colorful betta that seemed to live forever. He was in one of those flat gold fish bowls. Do you think I should get another one of these type bowls? Would it make a difference?

 

[White Whale]

I keep all my guys in their own 1/4 gl bowl. Bulldog and Telly are still alive after two weeks. Batman has surivived his week.
If you are going to get another betta try to pick a small one. Find out what your next one has been fed at the store and stick with it. I'm sure there's nothing you did wrong for Oscar. You could be anal like me and mix in 30% of his pet store crap water he came with along with 70% Poland Spring water and a pinch or two of rock salt just to get him acclimitized to the tank/bowl. I heard that spring water might be good for them because that water has minerals in it. The rock salt to prevent any freshwater parasites from growing. Then did a 100% water change a couple of days later to complete spring water. That's what I did for each of my babies and now I expect to be smacked upside the head by the veterans after I post this because I think I'm just blabbering on and on......

 

[akhtar]

oh nooo

u really looved him
im so sorry,

sometimes the fish will just die from a disease or sumthin, be warned before u got ur next fish clean the tank thourughly