dead fish with open gills means?

[aquatix02]

hi,

i just had a sad passing of a betta. the gills were flared open when i discovered it today. it was actually fine in its own box-filtered 10G for a month or two.. it had ich earlier and i had treated it with salt and increased temperatures to 82degrees for 2 weeks. i did not discover any recurrences but i maintained the salt levels and temperature. i used stress coat as a water conditioner with blackwater extract added on a weekly basis with my water changes. all instructions for water treatments are stictly adhered to.

about a week ago, it stopped feeding and was always hanging out at the bottom of the tank. it would be lying, slightly tilted on its side most of the time.

could it be that its just old (arched-back) or did it catch a disease?

thanks for any help in advance!

[ChilDawg]

Aging sounds about right, and hopefully other Betta owners will confirm that to be the cause.

[carpguy]

Or it could be the heat and salt. How long did you continue for?

[ChilDawg]

82F isn't too hot for Bettas, but the salt needs investigating.

[wetmanNY]

Bettas don't live long, and they age quickly. Their colors fade and darken. I think (personally) that mycobacteriosis speeds the apparent "ageing" of many of our aquarium fish.

...but then, we all die of something eventually. You could also say it was the immune system running down.

The open gills suggests gill damage, whether ongoing or not, perhaps from Ich-- I can't tell, of course. You didn't notice whether the gills were an unusual color, not their normal pinkish red?

[bmarcus]

ive seen bettas live over 4 years

[goldfries]

i think you should worry about it when your next betta dies the same way.

[ChilDawg]

Why did you say "when" instead of "if"? If there is a reason for having said it that way, please let us know exactly what you think caused the death so that he can worry now rather than later.

[aquatix02]

Wetman,

Gills were not pinkish red, they were rather pale, if i remember correctly. The body was pale too. prob because it was already dead for a good 12 hours before i discovered it.

mycobacteriousis -> fish TB? i hope that was not the culprit...

Carpguy/chilldawg,

Salt levels were about 1 tblsp per 5 gallons, with regular topping up during water changes. (change what i remove). tank was planted with anubias, silk fake java fern and egeria.

maybe the salinity was excessive or maintained too long..?

goldfries,

i sincerely hope that i do not have to wait for another death.. if i can help it..

[VoodooChild]

I can't imagine a betta dying from salt at such a minimal level. It may have just been the stress from all of the above. The flared gills may have just been a product of rigomortis.

[goldfries]

Originally posted by ChilDawg
Why did you say "when" instead of "if"? If there is a reason for having said it that way, please let us know exactly what you think caused the death so that he can worry now rather than later.

sorry. i was not implying anything. IF would be a better word. my apologies.

[ChilDawg]

That's okay. I just wanted to be sure, because a "when" could mean that you had something to offer in the way of info, and I wanted to make sure that it was made available if you had it. I apologize for my tone there.

[mt_marcy]

Bettas live short lives??? I have not found that to be true at all. I have known bettas to have a average life span of 2 years, and possibly longer if there enviroment is in exellent condition which of course leads to a healthier fish with a higher immune system...
mt_marcy!

[wetmanNY]

Two years is quite a short lifespan in captivity. Little tetras are all but annual fishes in nature. But they live for years in our aquariums.

Barbs live even longer.

[VoodooChild]

The oldest betta I've heard of is a customer of mine had one that was 6 years old (probably bought it at Wal-Mart). Hell, koi live to be 200+!

[ChilDawg]

Some used in university research have attained ages of 9+. They are chased daily to exercise and are kept in larger tanks--around 10 gallons. I believe that you can find that in Walt Maurus' tome.

[Mantis_22]

I had a beta for 3 years believe it or not
It stayed in a 2GL Glass Flower pot with a Plant my mo msaid to use. Plus I did water changes with Fresh Bottled Water every 2 weeks and fed it very little. It was sad when the little guy passed away :( . I did so little and he still lived I was amazed by that alone...