Should I Give Up? 4 Have Died.

[anna101]

As it so happens, for about the past 2 months I've been getting new Bettas. 4 of them, in fact. This last one I just on Friday and already it's died (after less than 3 days!). Not to mention all of my other ones have died within a week.
This is strange because I've heard that they are pretty resilient fish.

I kept all of the deceased (haha) in a 1.5 gallon bowl (all seperately, of course, after the preceding died). They had some gravel and a little castle. Fed them regularly. I used the drops of water conditioner for them.

What I'm most concerned about is that at one point I had washed my fish bowl with bleach. The rocks that I bleached I threw out and got new ones, but the castle and the bowl were the same. I've heard that the fish don't respond well to bleach; but as it turns out, before getting this one, I effectively rinsed the bowl out with hot water about 3 times, letting it sit all night with water for one of the times. Then, it was outside on the backyard for about 2 weeks. I assumed all of the bleach evaporated!!

But I got this new Betta on friday and now.. well, it's dead. Right now -_- And kind of freaky looking.

It's appearance is strange and grotesque. It got COMPLETELY discolored, white spots all over its body. White furry stuff about its gills.

SOMEONE HELP ME!

[mdellasalla]

I am no expert on the situation, but from my experience, bleach is ok as long as you rinse it very very very well.

Did it get the furry growths before it died or after? Furry to me says fungus, but when fish are decaying they sometimes get furry if you leave them float for too long.

If you still have the water he was living in, you could go have it tested at your local pet store if you don't have test strips yet. My friend just had his new fish (first pet ever) die overnight and it turned out to be a problem with the local water supply.

Don't give up hope! I might give up on that castle though... if it is rather porous it might be harboring some nasty bacteria.

Maybe some of the actual experts around here can give you a better answer than that

[anna101]

thanks a lot

no; it began to get furry before it died as well. last night it was furry. lol.

it may be too much or too little of the water conditioner. i have a 3 gallon bowl and i put in about 1/3 of a capful of the water conditioner (aqua plus). i said 1.5 gallon because i got the sizes mixed up. but it is actually 3 gallons. its a fairly big bowl.

the castle isn't porous because it's made of plastic, but there are some holes and crevices in the bottom that may have been harboring something. i don't know. it seems i had rinsed everything out really well.

in any case, you're saying i shouldn't give up? i could go back to the pet store and get another betta for half price..

[mdellasalla]

Make sure when you are picking out your fish that you don't just pick the prettiest one there. You should be looking for a fish with no white spots (unless it is a white fish :P), no furry spots, that is active and healthy looking. What I always do is pick out one that I like and I ask them if they could drop a piece of food in. If the fish eats it, that is normally a good sign they are happy and healthy. If they don't then I tend to shy away from them.

Make sure you take in a water sample to have them test before you put another fish in it. Possibly clean and prepare the tank for your new fish and take that water in. If there is anything wrong with the water, they will be able to tell you and point you toward the right fixes. If you aren't used to having fish those test strips can be confusing.

Fuzzy white parts are normally a fungus, but since it is attacking his gills and mouth it might have been a bacteria that is sometimes called Cotton Wool Disease. You might want to talk to your pet store person about what they have on hand to cure your fish of such things. Possibly buy it with your fish so that if it also develops this problem you will have the cure on hand.

Your fish was most likely sick at the store since wooly growths take a bit of time to develop. That with the stress of moving to a new place to live is most likely what did him in.

I would not reuse the same tank decorations since fungal/bacterial infections are highly contagious. But that is just me. I know they are kind of expensive to keep buying so you might want to just try washing them down again. Make sure you do not use soap. It will kill your fish.

It also might be that the pet store you are going to has a whole batch of sick fish. If none of the fish there seem happy energetic and healthy, do not hesitate to look elsewhere.

[mdellasalla]

Oh also you might want to read up on common betta diseases before you go get your new fish. It is better to be prepared for anything

[Oscar Betta]

what are you feeding your betta? And also think about upgrading to at least a 2.5 gallon bowl or tank. and it sounds like your betta had ick, i think.

[anna101]

it is actually a 3 gallon lol.
i made a mistake in my first post. because the bowl seems like it doesn't fit 3 gallons, i sometimes mistake it for a 1.5.

[anna101]

thanks mdellasalla!

i got your message as well, and i tried to reply, but couldn't because i don't have enough posts or something to reply to messages. lol. i'll reply later.

maybe it was that it was already sick. it was a small pet store. but i wouldn't have expected the fish to be sick. it did, however, have nasty things floating around in the little bowl it was in and then in the bag that they put him in for me. little white fluffs and such. and a lot of tiny pieces of poo. [-_-] gross.

there's one thing i forgot to mention, though that may be important. i just didn't think it was at the time. when i put my fish into the bowl, i accidentally dumped him into pre-aqua-treatment water for about a minute. i had forgotten about the aqua plus and had to run upstairs to get it. maybe just that couple of seconds or minute was crucial. i don't know whether these fish can be exposed to chlorine at all. maybe it killed him right away. our tap water IS highly chlorinated. perhaps on contact he got contaminated, or it entered his gills. he didn't look so good even after the aqua plus was put in. kind of lethargic for the two days that he did live.

i think i will bring a water sample in, but i'm going to go to a different pet store. (although they've been dying from that one as well). i've probably spent about 30 or 40 dollars right now on everything, and they just keep DYING [-_-] i'm left with no fish! lol

[wiccansinger]

if you really want to keep your castle then i suggest soaking it in boiling water, let the water cool to room temperature and then repeat another 1 or 2 times, it may seem over the top but in the long run it may help your fish. i suggest with your bowl you do the same thing, however you need to be careful with glass that the heat stress doesnt crack it, run it under your tap until the water in your tap is really hot and then it will be ok to pour out and add the boiling water, but make sure you have the bowl under the tap the whole time from cold to hot. repeat the boiling sterilisation for the bowl 1 or 2 times. discard any plants in the bowl, and replace, however if you dont have any plants get some your fish will only benefit from it, they will thank you.

you should have a first aid kit for your bettas all the time, this is because you do not want to have a sick betta and the pet stores may not be open when you realise its sick. i would recomend that you get anti fungal/anti bacterial for your fish at the same time you get a new one, it may save their life.

I agree that you should have the water tested to, it can show if your nitrate levels/Ph levels etc.. are at the right amount.

I hope your new fish do not suffer the same fate, i had two die last week it tore me apart, although one was from suicide (jumped out of the bowl which i forgot to cover when i went out for a couple of hours). all the best to your new betta (or bettas :P) i hope that your fish go well!!!

[bettalvr]

HI Anna, and welcome to the forum. I'm very sorry to hear that you have had so many bad experiences with your fish. It will get better, just hang in there.

I would suggest you rinse the bowl with some vinegar added to your rinse water. Set the bowl outside in direct sun to dry again. Then, add water like you would if you were going to add fish, de-chlorinate your water, let it sit for 24 hours, then test your water. Don't put any fish in during this time. This will give you a good idea if your bowl/water is okay to use. Do invest in a pH kit or test strips. pH is a good indicator of other water parameters. Check out the links in Fishmomma's signature and read The nitrogen cycle. It will help you better understand some of the water issues we face and why/how to test your water.

I have never bleached anything plastic (like your castle) as I would be afraid that if there's a crack or any porous areas it could soak up the bleach, then release it in the water. So I really can't help you there. Sorry

As for the fish store and how the fish looked when you got it. If there were fuzzy floaters on the bottom, it sounds like excess food left in the tank or poop or growths from other deceased fish, which will encourage all kinds of growths! Avoid this if you can. If your fish was exposed to this, then it is very likely that the stress of moving your fish caused its immune system to be lowered even more, thus allowing the fungus and/or bacteria the "opportunity" to flourish.

Your bowl, do you have a filter, heater, thermometer? Was it receiving direct sunlight?

May be a good idea to get your tank & water setup and running optimally before you invest time/emotions in another fish. We'll be here if we can help.