Dealing with a death

[TomFromStLouis]

I figure it is important to learn at every opportunity in this hobby. So figuring out WHY or HOW a fish died is a goal. But if water parameters are normal and you've got a carcass, what next?

I bought my betta in March and watched him survive my initial tank startup fluctuations (whoa! too much CO2!). And this morning he swims no more. His chest area was perhaps slightly bloated, but he may have been dead for a day or two - the tank is in my office and I did not come in for any weekend maintenance. What is the expected life of a betta?

I will miss you Frijoles Fred. I ought to get another betta - they are amusingly curious and beautiful.

[OrionGirl]

IME, betta tend to live longer in larger tanks--though I can't say if that's due to the water quality, increased health from swimming more, or better stock (I get them from several places). I will say that bettas from chain LFS have never been as healthy as those from local breeders. The longest lived betta I had was with me for about 5 years, and he did not have any easy life--several moves, a small bowl, my lack of knowledge.

Sorry for your loss. I wish there was a way to specify what went wrong, but so often there is not.

[WolfPup522]

I agree with OrionGirl. I recently got my first betta, and because of everything I've read, I got a 2.5 minibow to put him in instead of a "betta bowl". I also got him from my LFS (small non-chain store) because they looked much healthier there.

I'm sorry for your loss. As silly as it may seem to the "outside" world, losing a fish can be very traumatic.

Is the tank covered? I ask because maybe the cleaning crew in your office used some cleaner that got in the tank (maybe even the fumes??).

[aquariumfishguy]

My oldest betta was close to 7 years old and he didn't live the "easy" life either, although he always had a tank that was 5 gallons or larger so I guess size might have something to do with it...who knows? :cool:

[TomFromStLouis]

Freddie lived in a fully planted 75g with other fish, so he had about as luxurious a life as any betta I suppose. In fact, I put him in before any other fish and you should have seen him surfing the spray bar jet stream and playing in his planted playground!Nitrates test higher than normal (which is usually 5-10ppm), but no other fish are looking at all stressed, so I wonder if that was the cause. I will change some water tonight anyway.

I appreciate the condolences. The main point of my post was to see how or what there is to learn from an otherwise inexplicable death. I guess we can't understand everything though....

[andruboz]

to answer the: what next? question, i slapped a dead columbian tetra on my scanner and scanned at max resolution. kind of an eery picture..