What happened to my baby!!!

[Ravenstar]

I just returned from a week-long vacation to find one of my bettas dead in his tank, and I can't understand what happened! I left feeding instructions for my friend and got word during my vacation that all my fish were fine, but I came home an hour ago to find Io on the bottom of his tank, his body limp and brown and missing most of his fins. My friend says he didn't ever jump out, and still ate perfectly fine but sat in his corner otherwise...

I'm honestly at a complete loss for what happened. Water parameters are:
Temp: 80F
Ammonia: 0.25ppm (I'm guessing it's from decaying body matter)
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
Filter flow on lowest setting, as always.

...and there's nothing that could have introduced disease into the tank. He was alone in a 2.5G that was cleaned scrupulously before he was put in, and he's been perfectly healthy from the time I got him until now. He was so young...I'm just honestly at an utter loss for an answer.

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[littletankbigworld]

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I wish I could help.

 

[MadridKid]

were his fins literally gone? was there anything in his mouth, like a peice of food that may have been too big for him to eat?

 

[Ravenstar]

His dorsal and anal fins were almost completely gone. I don't know if that was decomposition or what...

As for him, I don't know if there was a huge hunk of food in his mouth or not. He was squishy and black (instead of vibrant blue) and quite dead. I accidentally mooshed his body a little trying to get him out of the tank with a net, and everything was white and cottony on the inside, but I don't know if that's normal or not.

 

[Ravenstar]

And as an aside, I'd like to use the tank for another betta (probably Phoebe), but I don't know if I should do a 100% water change or what. The filter is established, but I don't know if a complete water change would offset the cycle or if it doesn't matter.

 

[homebunnyj]

It sounds like he was dead for quite a while. I think maybe your friend was afraid to tell you he/she hadn't looked in on his tank in a few days. Is this tank in a different area of the house from the others?

I'm terribly sorry.

 

[KyleBradley]

It's pretty obvious what happened.. I hope you didn't pay this friend who didn't feed your fish..

I once paid a friend to let my dog out twice a day while I was on vacation, and I had quite a mess when I came home to my emaciated companion..

 

[Ravenstar]

He was perfectly fine when I left, and I don't think a betta can starve to death in 8 days. The tank was on my desk, next to my other 2.5G, but they're their own separate tanks with different filters, heaters, etc etc etc.

I didn't pay him, but who knows. It could be Io choked on food. Or something. I don't think it was disease, from the looks of everything.

 

[1077]

Sorry for the loss of your fish. The ideal fix for this ,to prevent it from happening again is.. Take the filter from the 2.5 gal tank and place it in a 10 gal tank with heater and dechlorinated water. Problem fixed. I do not believe it reasonable to expect others to offer the same level of care that you do ,in order for the fish to survive in the ridiculously small enviornments that those who profess their love of these fish insist on keeping them in.

 

[FishWhisperer]

I agree with Kyle Bradley. A betta can live up to seven days without food, however, after that their organs shut down and slowly die. I am so sorry for your loss.