Feeding and Nutrition :: One betta down

[mat012]

One of our female bettas has "gone missing". I assume of course that our tiny innocent turtle has had something to do with it. The big mystery though is that there is no - I mean no - left over fins, etc. The tank is completely clean. I even pulled a filter pad assuming I would find some evidence of Tucks attack and nothing. The fish was at least an inch - to 1 1/4. He is only 2 1/2 inches. Could he have swallowed her whole?

I have been expecting to lose one here and there - just also expected a bit of a mess. I should be thankful he's a clean eater, huh.

Shangri La no more

[kgielda]

Is it possible it jumped out? I had a betta that, according to my mom, committed suicide because it had to see me naked every day (the bowl was in my room). Nice huh?

Anyway, betta's are known jumpers.

[mat012]

Hysterical!! I will have to pack that one away for use on my kids. ROFL. The tank is covered but I looked on the turt dock and even under the tank (just in case?!?). Nadda. Where's Columbo when you need him??

[Chrisbarnett]

Hah I also had a betta jump out of his tank in my room. He was laying on the floor for a good 10 minutes, and I put him back in the bowl and he lived.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I had a betta commit suicide one night while I was sleeping, since then, they've all had locking lids on their tanks ...

As long as the fish wasn't too big (like pleco sized), your turtle probably ate her whole. They can practically unhinge their jaws like snakes and gulp things down, which is just scary sometimes. All of the fish I've fed Mikey, there's never been a trace left of them.

If the betta did jump, she wouldn't have made it far (and they can't exactly jump crazy high, so if the water was at least about 6 inches below the tank lip, I doubt she jumped). Check around the floor, I doubt she'd have made it more than a few feet.

[mat012]

That is amazing. I 'll know not to underestimate this guy again. He did have an extra large uhmm "bathroom break" this morning. My kids teased that it was Gamma (the betta). Yukkk!

So far he had only gone after the betta with red fins. This one was purple with a bit of red on it. He must have a thing for red. Or maybe (duh) since hes a turtle he just has a thing for fish!!

[mat012]

Two betta, three betta

They are all gone... I was able to take the last two out of the tank before he actually ate them. But they were both in such bad shape that they "moved on" shortly after the "rescue". Too bad they were the prettiest fish in the tank. Ce la vie! Thank goodness they were discus ($$).

[industrial_girl_2000]

Bettas are very slow swimmers & can't maneuver well in water. Their floppy fins aren't made for "speed" so it would be very easy for a turtle to eat them.

A better choice would be feeder guppies which are very cheap (can usually get 10 for a buck).

Bettas are interesting little pets. I had one for almost 4 yrs (which coincidentally, is about as long as they live anyway). They start to recognize who feeds them, and blow lots of bubbles when they are happy. Mine also tended to "sit" on the leaves of his little plant, just like an old man in a recliner! It was hilarious. I miss having a betta.

[TheComputerGremlin]

How many bettas did you start out with?

I agree with industrial_girl, bettas aren't meant for speed, though in the realm of fish, they aren't hugely expensive, so at least you didn't lose vast amounts of money on Tucks snack! And I think they are pretty muscle-y, unlike goldfish which are fatty, so they probably weren't too unhealthy.

I've been caring for bettas for about the last 8 years, since in college we were only allowed to have fish in our dorms. I think I've had 7, only two of them lasted a long time. The first killed himself within 48 hours (apparently couldn't stand spending his life with me!), the second was sick I think when I got him (silly me, I bought the most aggressive betta ...), the third lasted me probably a year and a half, another one died quickly, the next one lasted another year and a half or so, then another one lasted like six months. I'm not good with fish, apparently! My husband has had two bettas, the one lasted, gosh, probably about 4 years, and this one was acquired when we were buying turtle supplies the first time around, like two days after we got the turtle, so 9 months. If you see in my signature, I think I call him zombie betta fish, he's had a number of attempts on his life, the cat even tried to assassinate him!

[mat012]

I started with three - one beautiful turquoise one (I loved that one) and two dark blue. All females that did really well for two weeks. When I added the light colored pinkish one Tuck decided to try and eat them. I took out the pink one and put it in a new tank then added another blue one (thinking it was the color that attracted him - dumb I know). So all together four blue and one pink.

He actually only ate one but was attacking/trying to attack the others so I removed all of them. After the two he attacked died I put the pink and last blue in gallon tank together.
Now today they have both died. ??? I tested the water and it seemed fine. But I was also using that tank to isolate some java moss before I put it in the large tank. I wonder if that didnt kill them after all. The moss was in the tank with the bettas Tuck attacked too. I tested the water and it seemed fine - I was using RO water for the bettas so ammonia was negligent.

I am kind of stumped - I would love to get another (this time a male I think) but with my past luck who knows. Five down in three weeks! Not good odds for another betta. I love them though. They added so much color to the tank - ah but for such a short time...

At 2.49 a piece its not a huge financial loss - but I did really enjoy having them.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Bettas are really hardy, so I can't imagine something in the water perturbing them. If I had to take a guess, I'd say the stress from the experience probably weakened their systems.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Bettas do best in undisturbed (very still) water with no filter (just do regular water changes). They are used to living in water with little or no oxygen in them, and are the only fish that have the ability to gulp air with their mouths from the surface of the water (as opposed to other fish which have to absorb oxygen thru their gills). They are very sensitive to temp changes, and do best in room temperature water with no added heat (below 72 degrees F). If the water is too warm, they will get sick & die.

I used to keep water sitting around my house to dechlorinate/de-oxygenate for my betta. I also used to add some water conditioner ("ReptiSafe") to the water as well. That way I always had water that was already conditioned for water changes.

Despite what pet stores will tell you, each betta should be kept in a minimum of 1 gallon of water with some kind of broad-leaf plant so the betta can hide or rest in the leaves when he gets tired. They should also be kept out of bright light because bright light makes them feel "exposed".

Remember that these little fish are used to living in rice paddies where the water is shallow (shallow meaning around 8-12 inches of water), where there isn't much sun, and where they have plenty of areas to stretch out their fins & hide or rest on some kind of plant. Feed them sparingly (I used to give mine 3 to 5 pellets of betta food per day, but sometimes skipped a day of feeding).

Follow the above advice, and your bettas will live a very long time.

[mat012]

Thanks Kristin,

I love em and may try again. I am still a bit baffled and am wondering still if it wasnt this new Christmas moss that killed a couple of them. They had been out of tuck's tank for a while and seemed fine. I bought from a seller online and it was shipped from Asia. That or they were too stressed from being moved around and having relatively sudden water changes. Our home is also pretty warm (my hubby keeps the temp at about 77-78*). Who knows.

We will wait a while - dont want the kids to call me fish killer

[powerofvoodoo]

Bettas are really hardy, so I can't imagine something in the water perturbing them. If I had to take a guess, I'd say the stress from the experience probably weakened their systems.

Haha tell that to my gorgeous double tailed betta who tears apart his tail at the slightest thing. He tells me before my water kit does when the ammonia starts registering in his two gallon tank.
In a month, his tail went from this:


To this:

[ilcapo21]

Do you guys put more than one betta in a bowl/tank, i thought that was unheard of.