Sudden death - ???'s

[bo twentyone]

I have had a red betta fish for about 5 months now, in a 50 gallon community tank (6 angels, 6 swordfish, 18 neons, 4 corys).
Two nights ago when I fed them he was fine and eating, the next morning he was dead. The water quality steady as follows:
ammonia - 0
nitrites - 0
nitrates - 0
salt - less than .1 (slowly going down with each water change)
ph - 7.6 (high but steady and I do not want to mess with that)
What could have happen? I inspected him and couldn't find anything noticable.

 

[Iggy]

I am just a rookie at this... maybe old age... if you got your fish at a chain store, it could have been over a year old or more. Does not look like you did anything (water wise low salt is fine and Ph is ok too) and those fish should be ok with a betta (angels?? not sure).

Sorry for your loss.

 

[bluegourami2]

could just be bad luck. sorry to hear about that
maybe it could have been an internal infection? or a tumor, could be anything....

 

[bo twentyone]

Well, I did buy him at the local Petco. How old do bettas live? I have had goldfish in the past that have had an internal infection and died, but the warning signs are very white colored, slimy poop, Freckles didn't have white, it was normal looking from what I had seen. But who knows??

Thanks for the help though!

 

[Iggy]

Older bettas get pale in color and less active as they age. Smaller appatite to.

 

[PreciousGems]

You can also tell how old they are by the hump on their back, and the color of their face. Black/dark face, w/o hump= young betta...gray/light face (if its not a piebald or light colored betta) w/hump=old betta. Most bettas are 1 year or more before they are considered "marketable" for pet stores. This is when they develope completely. However, if you are a breeder, its best to get them at 5 months or so.

Alexa

 

[420Loach]

i have three bettas and the oldest one is about 4 years old now and his face has greyed out a little but his body is still deep red. my other two are about 2 years old and dont show any fading yet and their colors are very deep.

 

[bo twentyone]

No, his face was darker (kinda brown) with a red body. Like I said, I only had him for 5 months , he was established in the aquarium and showed no signs of being sick (that I could recognise). The angelfish that are in there are pretty passive and small (3"), and there are neons and smaller swordtails (2-3"). I don't think he was attacked because there would be signs of injury, right? No other fish seem sick either, so it probably was not a disease, and if it was it didn't spread because it has been almost 2 weeks since he died. I was just wondering if I missed any signs, since this is my first betta I have owned.
Bo

 

[Iggy]

Don't over think this guys. There are hundreds of ways for fish to die that you cannot see. Maybe an organ burst, or a stroke of some kind.

Are you going to get another betta?