Other Turtle Discussion :: Patorlman Died

[daredevilgirl013]

I just found Patrolman by betta fish dead just a few minutes ago. I noticed lately he wasn't acting like himself but he was still eating and a happy go lucky little guy. I feed him this morning and he ate and everything but now he's dead. I don't know why. But he's lived a good life. He's been with me for over three years. I guess that's long for a betta and he was never ever kept in a little bowl. He had a big vase to himself and he loved it.

I'm going to miss him....

Rest in peace Patrolman.

[marisa]

So sorry to hear about your loss.

[TurtleMan17]

Sorry to hear that

[ellman605]

wow, you know what's creepy, my betta had some sort of brain disfunction, and he wouldnt eat. He ate for 3 months when i got him, and then, he wouldnt eat. I fed him every day, and he lived to 3 never taking a bite of the food, i dont understand it, mabey he was getting the nutrients from the water? anyway, i'm sorry to hear about your loss.

[daredevilgirl013]

At least mom said I could get another one. But I don't think I could get another red betta with blue fins right now. She hinted she might go to walmart tonight as I like to get them from Walmart since Walmart thinks putting them in hardly any water at all is a good thing..plus adding food coloring to the water is a good thing too....

But I hinted a wanted a white or a yellow betta. Hopefully tonight she brings one home. If not she said before the end of the week she would get me one. Which I'm surprised because I kept asking for another betta fish when I had the two and she kept saying no.

But with Patrolman gone I can go and rescue another Betta from the horrors of Walmart. Like me mum said, in Walmart they probably live only a few weeks, so at least Patrolman lived a good three years of his life. And to think he was the first thing I got as soon as I moved into the dorm my freshman year of college. *sniff* At least I got him out of the dorm right away and took him back to my parents' home!

[butterfly]

I am so sorry that your little fish passed away.

I was thinking of getting a beta fish because Ive heard that they are pretty hearty and simple to take care of.

What exactly is needed for a little fish like that? I want to know for sure about his care before I get him.

[daredevilgirl013]

For a Betta they are rather easy. Just don't listen to what Walmart or most other places say.

One they like warm places. Mine were in my bedroom before I got a space heater and it was cold in my bedroom so they started to act slow and lazy. I moved them into the living room and they perked up again because it was warmer. So try 70 degree rooms if possible for the rish.

Two, don't put two bettas together. I have two bettas now (I just got a new one today) and they are both in separate bowls.

Three don't believe the smaller is better for the bowl. Think about it..would you like being put in an itty bitty bowl? I have Blue in a regular gold fish bowl that holds about a gallon of water and Ice (my new one) is in a big see through vase. Also get them a fake plant close to their color as possible. They love plants and like ones that match their colors. Blue has a blue plant that he can easily rest in and he loves it. Ice (who is white) has a light green one as I couldn't find any white ones. Also get some rocks to put in the bottom, like turtles they love to play in those. You don't need any filters as they just come up for air. And don't get those plants that fit into the vase..I had one for mine and he wouldn't eat it and it's a waste of time and hurts their air.

As for water, I've used distilled water and they don't have a problem with it at all. In fact Patrolman lived in distilled water for three years!

As for food, mine are picky. They will only eat the Betta food made by Wardly. I've tried getting them these worms that all fish apparently like and they wouldn't even look at them, plus they made their bowls yucky.

Also if you get a Betta when you go to pick one, tap on the side of the bowl they are in to see if they move, if they do then they're pretty healthy. Another good indicator (and I believe this only goes for male bettas) Look for bubbles around the edge of the bowl. (these aren't really bubbles but that's what they look like) That indicates that the betta is happy and healthy for the most part. (and you can just take a guess as to what those bubbles really are...) Which if you do get a Male Betta, you'll be seeing those "bubbles" a lot if you're taking good care of them.

Also the food, Mine eat 8 pellets a day. Sometimes they won't eat all of it, but that feed as little as possible bit is a lie. My fish weren't even fed when I bought them! (espeically Ice who I just feed and he ate all of what I gave him) so these little guys are hungry and if you keep them in a bigger bowl like mine and feed them a good bit of pellets they will grow. (Ice looks so tiny compared to Blue)

As for water changes, you'll know when to change it as their water will start to get cloudy. That'll help you out. Though some people say they don't change the water till the end of the month I find that about two weeks is a good bet for chaning water.

But that's really it. Honestly it seems like a lot of work but they are really simple. If you want I can get pictures up of Blue and Ice so you can see their set up and everything else.

[butterfly]

Thankyou so much for taking the time in giving me detailed instructions. They actually seem like they are pretty easy to take care of.

The distilled water is the bottled water they sell in the store thats labeled as distilled right? No need to put anything else into? Ive seen betas is funny looking blue water here at Petsmart. Ive always thought the bowls are way too little. Poor little things cant hardly move in there.

Well, I copy pasted your instructions and I might get a beta in the coming weeks. Ive always wanted a fish but Ive always ended up killing them.. Never had a beta though.

I would love to see pictures of your little guys, post them up whenever you can.

[daredevilgirl013]

I'll try and get pictures tonight. Ice is really intelligent he likes to watch us go by and observe us.

And the best distilled water I've got is the ones in jugs from Walmart, they're really cheap. And yeah they put food coloring in the water with the Bettas (why I don't know, I don't agree with it) And I've never put anything else in the water with the distilled and my guys have done well. Just make sure it's room temp that's about all there is to it really.

And my mom said that we've never kept a fish longer than 6 months so she was surprised at how long Patrolman lived, and their life span is 2-3 years. So he was a little over 3 because they have to be a few months old when you get them. So just keep that in mind too.

Oh and as one person did, don't put the betta on a heater..that'll kill them. (as one person in the dorm found out....and I kinda scolded them for that)

So yep I'll try and get pics up tonight. Maybe Ice will come out and say hi. You'll have a hard time finding Blue though, as he will be in his blue plant laying in it. His whole tank has blue everything.

Here's the pics!

Code Blue



Ice Baby

[butterfly]

Great, I have a Walmart really close by so Ill buy the same distilled water you do just to be on the safe side. The temp in my house never fluctuates from 75 to 78 degrees so thankfully I wont have temp problems.

Your fish are so lovely. I love betas. I was thinking of also having mines in a nice big bowl like your keeping yours.

One more quick question and then Ill stop hassling you with so many of them. When your cleaning its bowl, how do you handle them temporarily so they wont become stressed? I dont want to scare my fishy to death.

[daredevilgirl013]

I take them out with those fish nets you can get at walmart too and since they come in those little plastic bowls I keep those for when I clean their tanks. I just fill that little bowl up with the same distilled water and then just scoop them out of the big bowl and put them into the little bowl and keep them nearby. They don't hurt themselves in the net, but fair warning they'll fiesty and hard to catch. So you take the plant out first.

And one way to tell if they are healthy, they'll flop all over the place in the net. That's how I started to notice something was up with Patrolman, he wouldn't flop.

But that's it really. Oh and for the bowl I suggest getting the brushes that they use to clean baby bottles. It helps to scrub the bottom of the bowl where there are indents so nothing grows there and it helps to get rid of the "bubbles" too.

But that's about it. Hope you have fun with your bettas. Ice I think likes to watch t.v. he keeps swimming to where he can clearly see the t.v. all day.

[butterfly]

Thanks a lot for all your help! When I get mines, Ill make sure he can see the TV.

[weirdalison]

man, i had a betta when i was about 10 years old and we thought he had some weird fish disease because of those stupid bubbles. i always wondered why he just kept on living even though he was "sick"