Betta Help

[Ben]

Hi All,

I have a betta at work. Today I found him laying on the bottom of the
tank. He attempts to swim and his head doesn't look like it's sitting
on his neck correct. He'll usually swim with his head almost in line
with his spine. Now it looks as though his head is at a 45 degree angle
up compared to his spine. He's had his water changed recently.

pH: 6.8
Alkalinity ppm: ~40
Hardness ppm: ~200
Chlorine: 0
Amonia: 0

Any idea on what I can do?

Thanks,
Ben

[Jimmy]

I did a water change of only 2% in a community tank with a beta in it. the
next day he got sick I did a 4 % change the next day. This day he died. On
the 3rd day I lost 4 other fish. So in 3 days I lost 5 out of 40 fish. I
was told since there was no sign of illness it was likely PH change.

I have yet to do another water change...I have a heavily planted tank BTW.

Even though Betas are hardy fish maybe they are more sensitive to PH change
than other fish.

This might sound cold but I think its cheaper to buy a new fish than to
spend lots of money on cures that may not make a difference.

Most folks over feed fish..... and with terstrial plants most folks over
water. We kill them with kindness.


"Ben" > wrote in message
...
> Hi All,
>
> I have a betta at work. Today I found him laying on the bottom of the
> tank. He attempts to swim and his head doesn't look like it's sitting
> on his neck correct. He'll usually swim with his head almost in line
> with his spine. Now it looks as though his head is at a 45 degree angle
> up compared to his spine. He's had his water changed recently.
>
> pH: 6.8
> Alkalinity ppm: ~40
> Hardness ppm: ~200
> Chlorine: 0
> Amonia: 0
>
> Any idea on what I can do?
>
> Thanks,
> Ben
>

[Ben]

Jimmy wrote:

> Even though Betas are hardy fish maybe they are more sensitive to PH change
> than other fish.

I've never had problems around water changes but I'll keep an eye out
next time.

> This might sound cold but I think its cheaper to buy a new fish than to
> spend lots of money on cures that may not make a difference.

It definately it. I bought him for 50 cents. He was a good fish. I
will make him comfy til he dies. I was more curious cause I wanted to
know if it was contagious and whether I needed to tear down the tank
when he dies or if it's okay to run it for a could of weeks w/o
anything, then replace him.

> Most folks over feed fish..... and with terstrial plants most folks over
> water. We kill them with kindness.

I don't think it's that. He get's fed a little every other day
(Mon/Wed/Fri) and I keep the food locked up so no one else feeds him
while I'm not around.

Thanks
-Ben

[TYNK 7]

(snipped)

>Subject: Re: Betta Help
>From: "Jimmy"
>Date: 10/2/2003 4:49 AM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: >
>
>I did a water change of only 2% in a community tank with a beta in it. the
>next day he got sick I did a 4 % change the next day. This day he died. On
>the 3rd day I lost 4 other fish. So in 3 days I lost 5 out of 40 fish. I
>was told since there was no sign of illness it was likely PH change.
>
>I have yet to do another water change...I have a heavily planted tank BTW.
>
>Even though Betas are hardy fish maybe they are more sensitive to PH change
>than other fish.
>
>This might sound cold but I think its cheaper to buy a new fish than to
>spend lots of money on cures that may not make a difference.
>
>Most folks over feed fish..... and with terstrial plants most folks over
>water. We kill them with kindness.

Bettas (2 t's). I suspect your spelling error was due to a mispronunciation of
Betta, which is *not* "bait-uh"..it's actually "bet-uh". This is getting to be
a common mistake lately.
(take no offense at my correction...it's a curse and I have no control of it. =
)~ )
Bettas can take a wide pH range. I don't think they'd have a problem..unless it
was an extreme range.
I raise Bettas in a pH of 8.0

[Donald Kerns]

High Flight wrote:

> Ben > says...
>> I have a betta at work.
>
> Working at what? What work have you been able to force your betta to
> do?
> :P
>

Work == force applied over a distance.

Any swimming the fish does (by applying a force to overcome the
resistance due to the water) is work...

;-)

Someone HAS trained a betta to swim through a ring on command.

(somewhere on waynesthisandthat.com but I'm too lazy to find the URL at
the moment.)

-D
--
"When you've lost your ability to laugh, you've lost your ability to
think straight." -To Inherit the Wind

[Donald Kerns]

High Flight wrote:

>> Someone HAS trained a betta to swim through a ring on command.
>>
>> (somewhere on waynesthisandthat.com but I'm too lazy to find the URL
>> at the moment.)
>>
>> -D
>
> It's .../trick.htm That guy's site is AMAZING!
>

Yup, Wayne is a sorta interesting character...

-D
--
"When you've lost your ability to laugh, you've lost your ability to
think straight." -To Inherit the Wind