Dear Betta- R.I.P.

[Aquarius0015]

Upon returning to the dorm after Thanksgiving break, I was glad to see all 3 of my male bettas alive. One was in his own 0.5 gallon container and the other 2 shared a divided 2.5 Minibow.

Over break I had bought the Minibow bettas some new accessories: a traditional thermometer to replace the inaccurate stick-on thermometer, a fluorescent light to replace the incandescent, and an Aqua-Tech 5-15 power filter to replace the weak Whisper mini-filter which came with the aquarium. I know the Aqua-Tech 5-15 is meant for a larger tank, but I figured too much filtration is better than too little.

Unfortunately, I discovered that the aquarium did not have room for both the new filter and the betta divider, so I moved Gary to my spare 0.5 gallon betta container. I added the water conditioner to 70ish tap water, and put Gary in a cup inside of the container so the temperatures would match gradually, like I would do for any betta. After an hour, I released Gary from the cup. I left the room for an hour, and when I came back, Gary was pasty white and barely moving. He died within 30 minutes. Does anyone know why this would happen? I've changed my bettas' water lots of times before without any tragedy.

 

[OrionGirl]

Anything in the cup? A fast death like that usually indicates toxins, so I would suspect something was in the cup, or the water source was contaminated.

 

[Aquarius0015]

The cup I used to float Gary in was the same cup he was sold in. I have used it for just about every water change, and I do not think it acquired poisonous qualities since its last use.

I think I know what might've happened, and if it is true, then Gary's death was entirely my fault. My water conditioner and "Betta Fix" are made by the same company and come in very similar bottles, except one label has a blue background and the other has a purple. I might have accidentally treated Gary's water with anti-bacterial product instead of the water conditioner. I do not know for certain, but this is the only possible way I can think of to explain Gary's death.

Please don't call me a fish murderer, I feel guilty as is.

Aquarius0015
Because every Aquarius should be KEPT AWAY from aquariums!

 

[OrionGirl]

No one will call you a fish murderer. If that it what happened, it was a mistake. I would start keeping those chemicals in separate locations so it doesn't happen again. I'm not sure what the fatal dosing for anti-biotics would be, but it could certainly cause problems for the fish in high quantities. Of course, conditioners can cause problems in overdose levels as well.

Buck up--you made a mistake, but didn't do anything the rest of us haven't done ourselves.

 

[Aquarius0015]

Thanks for the support!

I will be heading out today to a new LFS and I will pick up a different brand of water conditioner. I am almost out of the old anyway, so I might as well choose a conditioner that I won't confuse with anything else.

I don't think I overdosed Gary on the anti-biotics (I just add a few drops of any chemical in such a small container), I think it was the lack of water conditioner. Our dorm water has its fair share of chlorine and other nasty chemicals I imagine. I'm going to get it tested at the LFS today just to be sure of all the technical parameters.

Aquarius0015
Because every Aquarius makes a mistake now and then...

 

[OrionGirl]

Ahhh--yep, that's a good bet. If possible, have them test for copper as well. I suspect that may explain your problem with snails and shrimp as well--they are very sensitive to copper, and few water conditioners treat copper at all.