I was doing routine matainence on my two male bettas tank. I had taken them out and put them in large glasses on the kitchen counter (water was only 1/2 full in cups). I was busy emptying the water out of the tank with a hose and when I went to empty the bucket I found one of my male bettas on the counter. He's never done this before. After a minute of trying to get him in the net I got him back in the cup. I'm not sure how long he was out. As long as five minutes and as few as three. He took a gulp of air when I put him back in the water. He is not swimming. He's sitting on the bottom and his gills are opening and closing. Do you think he will survive? I'm so worried. Is there anything I can do? It really sucks when you love them so much and have no idea how to help them.
Betta out of tank
- Thread starter rockbellab
- Start date
If he’s alive and breathing he should be fine. Just give him some time to adjust back to normal. I would be in shock too if I were suddenly no able to breath for a time! One thing I might do is if you notice that he has hurt his fins at all; add some drops to the water to ensure that any wounds he received don’t become infected. I don’t remember off hand what the drops are called but maybe someone else does. I had a similar experience with my eel. It jumped out and I thought it was dead when I found it but in a desperate last attempt at hope, as I was on the verge of tears, I put him back in the water. Low and behold after about 30 sec of being in the water he began to move. He was a stubborn little bugger!! I didn’t really do anything special for him and as of now he is back to his normal self. But I now cover every possible opening above the tank.
Those bettas are known to be jumpers so you have to be careful. Is there any way to clean the tank without taking the bettas out? Good luck!
Those bettas are known to be jumpers so you have to be careful. Is there any way to clean the tank without taking the bettas out? Good luck!
Thanks for responding. He seems to be doing better. His fins are moving and he looked up at me. I did put in some Bettafix drops right after it happened. I will make sure everything is covered no matter how much or how little water there is from now on. Thanks again.