My fish is dying

[Supermassive]

For about the last week my betta has been sitting in a corner at the top of the water doing nothing. I've been treating him with salt, (a tbsp per 3 gallons) stress guard, and betafix. I'm in Canada so my options are limited. Water parameters are 7.6-7.8ph 78-79temp ammonia and nitrite always 0, nitrate 5-10ppm. He is in a 5 gallon tank and there was live plants. I removed them to add the salt. I woke up this morning and he was on the bottom of the tank gasping hard. He swims up for air but sinks like a rock. I'm almost certain its his swim bladder. I just drained the tank to 1-2 inches. I don't know what else I can do and I think he is going to die.

 

I'm just a beginner. He's my first fish. I've only had him since April. I tried to everything right to the best I could. I feel terrible. I feel like its my fault. 😭

[Supermassive]

He died.😭

[Colu]

Sometimes fish die for no apparent reason unfortunately it's a part of fish keeping Betta's are prone to poor health because of low genetic diversity though  inbreeding to the get  desirable trait's breeder are looking for what I would do is give your tank a good clean with 3% hydrogen peroxide solution then fill it back up leave it for 24hr and then put your plants back in and leave it a month without any fish just in case there's a bacterial component to his death you will have to recycle your tank if you use hydrogen peroxide to sterilise your tank @Supermassive

Edited August 7, 2023 by Colu

[nabokovfan87]

I am sorry for your loss. 😞

There are a lot of great Betta keepers here. Maybe in another thread you want to review your setup just to make sure there wasn't something overlooked.

Unfortunately Betta fish can be some of the most fragile in the hobby depending on what the fish went through prior to your own care, genetics, food, etc.

"It happens," but I am right there with you in the mindset of it's very unfortunate that it does. My condolences and keep your head up. All you can do is the things in your own control.

 

Maybe April's aquarium has some things you can have on hand for future use.

[Supermassive]

Thanks for the kind words.

I basically didn't do any research before I got him. As I look back he was not the most healthy fish. His ventral fins were completely clamped like a straw and he had about a 1cm ring around the edge of his fins and tail with no color. The longer I had him the more his ventral fins would spread out and he was getting color in the area around his tail and fins so I figured he was in a healthy environment and I was doing good. He was very active and always eager to eat. He had a varied diet, bug bites, northfin betta bits, omega one betta flakes, and about once a week he would get frozen bloodworms.

 

I read through The Most Effective Treatments of Commonly-Posted Diseases and if there is one thing I might be able to blame on my part its overfeeding and constipation leading to swim bladder disease. I would give him 3-5 bug bites, 3-5 betta bits, and 2 small flakes twice a day.

[Supermassive]

@Colu What should I do with the substrate? Its full of snails that are too small to remove and I don't really want to commit snail genocide but I don't want to have to buy more gravel either. Are they just going to have to die if I want to reuse it?

[River]

Fishkeeping isn’t easy! There are so many variables that can go wrong, and even experts mess up and kill fish all the time. I’ve lost several fish. A couple were because I got depressed and neglected the tanks. Recently I’ve been taking very good care of my tanks, and even then I got a new batch of neons where only 2 of 9 made it.  Sometimes they’re sick before you even bring them home and there’s nothing you can do.

Those tiny snails aren’t a threat to fish or other inverts.  If you sanitize your gravel with chemicals the snails will probably die, and that’s ok too.  I like my little snails. Their population only booms if I’m over feeding.

[Colu]

On 8/7/2023 at 6:08 PM, Supermassive said:

@Colu What should I do with the substrate? Its full of snails that are too small to remove and I don't really want to commit snail genocide but I don't want to have to buy more gravel either. Are they just going to have to die if I want to reuse it?

snails will probably die if you use hydrogen peroxide what you could is try and remove as many snails as you can before sterilising the tank 

[Flipper]

I would definitely take this opportunity to kill off ALL the pest snails.  Most snails are "hermaphrodites" or reproduce asexually.  They multiply faster than rabbits!  I wouldn't mind them, but they have taken over my 20 gallon and it's all because I put in some plants without proper cleaning.  Now the tank is healthy but looks terrible.  There are hundreds if not thousands of them. 

I love all animals but I've worked way too hard to let these tiny snails ruin it for me.  So don't feel guilty.  On the other hand, I had 2 nerite snails that were pretty and fun.  And they can't breed in freshwater.

If you put the substate in a bucket, you can scald the snails to death and clean the substrate for re-use. Or hydrogen peroxide in the tank substrate to both kill snails and germs. 

I've lost 2 Bettas in the past, and it broke my heart.  In my limited fish species experience, a Betta is the only fish I've had that loved me, played with me and came to glass to greet me rather than scatter in fear on my every approach like my schooling fish do. 

Get your tank right and try again.  That's what we've all done.  Good luck and keep your chin up!

That's just my two cents worth.  And no offense intended to all the snail lovers here.