What could have caused my Betta's VERY sudden death??

Question

I bought him on June 13th. He was in a 1 gallon square bowl with glass stones at the bottom, a glass "tunnel" he liked to go in and out of, and a silk plant. I fed him this morning (gets fed once per day, 4 pellets) and he ate it all eagerly. He had quite an extensive bubble nest built.

Today was water change. I changed his water the exact way I have been doing it since I got him....I scooped him out in a cup, and set him aside. I gave him a few bloodworms in the cup while I worked. I dumped the water and rinsed all the gravel, cup, and plant in hot water to clean them, then cool water. I rinsed out the tank. I refilled the tank with water from a gallon that had been setting out for a week. then I gently floated him back in. I refilled the gallon jug to set out and "breathe" for another week.

I found him floating belly up a few short hours later....what could have happened??

Answer 1

how old was it? fish don't live forever.

Answer 2

He died from being in shock, most likely. Bettas must stay in a temperature range of 78-82 degrees. He probably had a constant change in water when cleaning his tank, which caused him to go into shock. When fish get shocked, they can die. You have to let the water sit longer. Instead of filling the cup up with water from your sink, you should just dip it in the tank. I find this to be very efficient, I always do it! My fish died of a similar cause and it was because I didn't just fill the cup up with tank water. It's much easier and the fish is already used to the water.

Good luck!

Email or post more details.

----Edit----

Oh, that's interesting. Well, he could have still died from shock. The transition of one place to another in a short amount of time can really stress out a fish. I think his death was due to stress/shock. It is HIGHLY unlikely for a fish to die from over eating. The fish will usually just get bloated. I do not suggest you feed him 4 pellets a day though. If you read the suggested amount of food on the "Betta Bites" container, it will usually say "Feed 4-5 times a week, 4 bites." Depending on which brand you have, it should still be somewhere in that area.

Answer 3

sun

Answer 4

maybe the stress of the change killed him, or the bloodworms were diseased. he could have just been sick.  

Answer 5

It could have been stress, but there also could have been something in the water, bacteria most likely if you had it sitting out.

Answer 6

Bettas do not require the amount of food you gave him Second it is important that the water PH is the same in the new water as the water he was living in. Did you do a PH test at all ? If the water you changed was alkaline ( in most cities the water is high in alkalinity)then it could have been an overfed fish shocked by water change.

P.S. Bettas can survive in a water temperature change as high as 5 degrees difference better than a high acidcic water enviroment..

Answer 7

While sitting the water out will get rid of chlorine, it won't get rid of chloramine or heavy metals.  Likely your city quietly added one of those to the water, and since you didn't put in any treatment to get rid of those, your fish was poisoned.  

Answer 8

it's possible there has been a change in the way your water is being treated (before it gets to your house). maybe they started adding chloramines (which will not dissipate by setting the water out). this is why I always use water conditioner, just to be safe. it's only $3 for enough for 100gallons.

before you get a new betta, it is a good idea to do some research on them. while your set up was definitely a step up from the care most receive, it could still use improvement. at least 2.5gallons so you can provide him with a heater since bettas are tropical.  

Answer 9

the water could have been to cold for him maybe

Answer 10

The constant climate change in the water may do it. I used to have a beta fish and that is what we suspect killed him.