Now I am truly pissed Henry died...

[Papillon]

I woke up this morning and he was dead, dead, dead... I can't believe this... I am mad and feel like a complete failure, second fish in 3 weeks or whatever.... What in the world did I do wrong?????

Ok you all have been great, in helping me name him and with your advice so I thank you first for that...

Secondly, it was told to me, that buying fish from Pet chains isn't a good idea, at this point I tend to agree, though Lancelot defies the odds, he is thriving and in perfect health.... SO where in the world can I get a second Betta??

I am a tenacious so and so, and won't give up, however I don't have a small independent LFS near me... So enter the internet... What do you all think of Live Aquaria.com... They are affiliated with Drs.Fostersmith.com????

Also, there must be another way of disinfecting my tank other than bleach. Anyone do anything different??

Sorry to be banging on like this, but you are all very helpful!

Thanks.

Marie

 

[redtailed shark]

hey look dont worry too much about i feel very sorry for u
but hey y dont u try to breed lancelot with a female and maybe get some mini young healthy lancelots
well give it a try anyway
sorry about henry bye

 

[Papillon]

Hi, really don't want to get into the whole breeding thing... Know what I mean....


marie

 

[redtailed shark]

yeah i do where do u live what country

 

[Papillon]

NJ USA

 

[redtailed shark]

if u lived closer i could give u my healthy excalibur thats his name
he doesn't exactly fit in exact same problem as urs the bettas dieing all the time hes only one left
yet he just swims around as if nothings happened

 

[1979camaro]

uh...bleach is bad...dont want to put anything like that (not even soap) into or on your equipment...warm water should be sufficient...why are you decontaminating the tank anyway, may i ask?

you de-chlored right?

could just be bad luck i guess...this other fish which died, was it old? new? what did they look like when they died? did they behave normally until that time?

sorry for your loss...hopefully we can sort this out for you

Kevin

 

[Papillon]

Well they were fiesty little things in the store.. I haven't de chlored I have to get the product first... Decontaminating, because he was sick and died in the tank.. I don't want to this to happen again..

For the meantime I will just keep Lancelot...

 

[ducksarefun]

Sorry to hear about Henry

If you don't have dechlorinator you should leave your tap water to sit out for at least 24 hrs so the chlorine evaporates. An airstone in the water helps. You definately don't want chlorine in the water when the fishes are in there though.

 

[FroggyFox]

Bleach won't go away unless you dechlorinate...the water conditioner will take the bleach out. Are you saying you haven't dechlorinated before...or just that you ran out and need to get more?

I'm sorry about your loss I don't think you ever can tell about fish from stores. A lot of times the small suppliers and the chain stores all get fish from the same place...especially the Bettas. Its just luck of the draw. At least you've gotten them out of their little cups for awhile and I'm sure they appreciate it.

 

[PreciousGems]

Bleach is used a lot to sterilize tanks and equipment. I forgot the ratio of bleach to water though. But as long as you use a little bit of bleach to a lot of water and rinse it good, it will not have dangerous effects like soap does.

Alexa

 

[Iggy]

Sorry about Henry Marie. Does your store have an exchange policy? I know it may be hard to find a great betta at a chain store but it does happen now and then.

I use Vinegar to disinfect my tanks and plastic items because I have mostly acrylic tanks. I let soak the plastic (tubes, plants, ect) in very hot water with vinegar and a touch of salt, while I use very hot water, vinegar and a soft cloth to rub everything down. I let it dry completely. I do not use vinegar in anything porrus (rocks, clay) but boiling hot water. (Oven heat can remove protective finishes on rock items) Even if some trace amounts of vinegar make it into the water, it will not do serious harm to the fish like bleach can.

Something I would suggest you test for sure is your water pH level versus the pH of the water the fish has in the store. I found my bettas seemed to get sick right after I change the water source, and the pH difference seemed to be the trigger.

Also, declorinators will usally neutralize Aquarisol (anti-ICK) as well, so try ageing your water vs treating it.

 

[redtailed shark]

listen to what they say

 

[FroggyFox]

aging your water will get rid of chlorine after awhile...but if you have chloramine in your water aging wont break it down. Best thing to do would be to figure out if you have them in your water before you pour water into your tank that you think is safe.

I haven't ever heard of water conditioner neutralizing any medications...but if that is the case then I would pick a different ick medication over not dechlorinating my water.

 

[Angelfish]

Sorry about your fish I have to say that looking around at bettas the most healthy ones Ive seen are at petco and petsmart. None of the LFS round here take good care of their bettas. Maybe you just got a bad one, he died so fast, I'm sure it wasnt anything you did.

 

[Papillon]

Hi thanks all for you input, I always great advice here!! I will go the vinegar route. Do I use white vinegar? I am a little put off now, but will persevere... 2 fish in 3 weeks... sucks... I am so glad that Lancelot is doing so well, I really hope nothing happens to him. I've had him about a month now I think....

I do age the water before hand about 2 days or so, and treat it with stress coat, before it goes in the tank.. I let it reach room temp and then do the water change, about 20-30%

When I checked Lancelot's tank last week=end everything was fine except the nitrites which were a little high.. I am getting 2 marimo balls to put in his tank this week, so that should help too...

As I am feeling a little put off I will stick with Lancelot right now, and gain my confindence back!!

Marie the saga continues

 

[Iggy]

Just to clear up... aquarisol cannot be used with declorinator, but I hear Coppersafe is ok to use with declorinators.

 

[aspiringangel]

Sorry to hear about Henry.

Chains aren't all bad. Some of the nicest fish I've seen have been from a chain petstore - meanwhile some of the smaller privately owned stores can have complete crap.

When you pick a betta, don't go in with the intention that you are 'saving' a sick one - make sure you get one that looks happy and healthy (as much as possible in those plastic cups!). Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. My betta was from PetSmart - all the ones nicest pet-store bettas I've seen have been there - but you still have to be careful, no matter where you purchase your fish from.

 

[Papillon]

Hi,

I made that mistake with Fiji.. With Henry my cousin and I spend 45 minutes obsessing over which was the healthiest etc, and Henry was it.. Thursday night in the tank and by Saturday early morning he was dead... He was very fiesty in the store etc..

Hence I have decided to stick with Lancelot who is THRIVING... Yeah... Just did a 50% water change so hoping he will be alright.. I am a little paranoid now!

Marie

 

[Iggy]

Oh no Marie, get another betta! Can you not bring back Henry for an exchange? Don't give up on them yet - you have learned and done too much already to quit - besides, you do have a 3gal tank that would be perfect for another male or female.

Females are usually less expensive, and are generally kept with other females in community tanks at the LFS, so less likely to be as sick and the males.