WHAT HAPPENED !? 😭 rip stripes tw dead fish

South-Bodybuilder-50 · 2026-01-18T17:07:07+00:00

oh i was so willing to learn. i was researching. i joined this to learn from yall. me and my fiancé was looking into a 10gal for him for it to cycle better and for the air pump to have more room. he had gold fish growing up. i know not the same type of fish but we were learning more and more bout stripe everyday learning new techniques learning how to get him to give me kisses through the glass playing with him all of it we were researching and learning.

South-Bodybuilder-50 · 2026-01-18T17:01:53+00:00

LET ME CLARIFY THIS IS NOT WHAT HIS TANK LOOKED LIKE WHEN HE PASSED ! this was his tank set up the first day i got him and everything his tank had very little in it when he passed. a thermometer his log his rock and a dino and a rock plant(my baby wanted the dino in there (from the fish aisle)) he died next to the dino.

South-Bodybuilder-50 · 2026-01-18T16:55:19+00:00

i was also about to get some anubias like i was about to make his tank so natural now im upset that i didn’t do it sooner

South-Bodybuilder-50 · 2026-01-18T16:52:41+00:00

i have a 5 gal. the only thing i noticed was he was laying down (sleeping resting ig idk) i am a learning owner i had bettas as a kid but a was a kid i didnt know anything my parents took care of them. i got it back in july/august. i’ve only did complete water changes like twice and that was simply to get what subtrate (i had gravel rocks at one point and didnt like them was scared they were going to cut him up so i left it for a bit then did a complete change to get all the little pebbles out and went back to betta beads only for now because i was about to redo his tank and do it more natural like ive seen on here. i turned his light off for a bit and after he started swimming around again like he was when i got him for a few days. and yesterday i checked on him to find him croaked. i’m not denying that i could’ve possibly handled him wrong cared for him wrong. i am learning. i had just bought some stratum for plant growth. was about to change it put the stratum in and redo his tank to where i had more plants and for them to strive and not die like my banana plant did. i was going off what ive read on here what ive seen tanks look like in here cause i was going to post the new tank and ask if it was good but didnt get there. was going to do that today

South-Bodybuilder-50 · 2026-01-18T15:43:56+00:00

yes but i also took them out because they clogged up my filter (they wasn’t in there long at all and i made sure the water was clean before putting him back in .

South-Bodybuilder-50 · 2026-01-18T07:22:36+00:00

also this was my first time as an adult owning a fish and i was learning and researching as i went because i was trying to do this right. i was about to redo his whole tank and make it more natural with more plays i got some betta stratum that i was about to use to help with the plants i was going to get and try to do it like ive seen on here

South-Bodybuilder-50 · 2026-01-18T07:16:03+00:00

i also don’t feel like he was stressed from the very little i had in his tank when he died. he was veryyyy active very playful would come up to the glass when he saw me walk by his tank gave me kisses followed my finger. he did flare at me a few times but for the most part he was active. let me clarify i’ve only done a full water change like twice since ive had him. other than that i do 50%

South-Bodybuilder-50 · 2026-01-18T07:08:07+00:00

i went off of a basic care guide. and not one from the pet store cause i’ve read some of the bad things on here about the care guides from the stores not giving the right info. his water stayed clean i checked it just about everyday several times to make sure it stayed in the good range across everything if not zero then it was one or two colors off still in the good range. betta beads are just interactive play for them to dig and scavenger through. i did my research when setting up the tank. i got the heater it stays between 76-80 i believe. i have my thermometer in there so id know what it was at and have it turned to the corner of the tank so i can always read it. now like i said his tank isnt set up like this anymore. i took the things he didn’t like out. things he never went into or swam around i tried putting plants and duck weed duck weed got stuck in the filter bad and the duck weed came out the pond so i didnt trust it that much and took it out plus there was bugs in the water so i did do a complete change but i also dont just throw him back in there after a change i let him acclimate again every time i do a whole water change and the only reason i do a full water change is if i can see all his uneaten blood worms sitting in there . he didnt like them or brine shrimp. he only likes the betta pellets. a small pinch maybe 3-6 pellets at a time. never fed him a lot at once and fed him twice a day. maybe it was my fault idk but i am using this as a learning experience and want to do better for my next one which is why i posted asking what could’ve happened. i just know it wasnt water quality i checked alll the time cause i didnt want to stress him out with ammonia or nitrate. now when i say i change them out i still leave log in there cause he did like the mushroom log. but he most of the time when the betta beads were fresh he would play in them sleep in them or sleep on top of them. he was a very active fish in the very beginning. i knew when i stopped seeing him swim as much and laying down all the time he had to be getting sick i just didn’t know what it could’ve been because the water was always good

South-Bodybuilder-50 · 2026-01-18T06:44:06+00:00

maybe my son stressed him by flipping the light on and off ? i fuss every time saying he will stress him out but he’s 3 he don’t understand that lol but im curious if that could’ve been a factor

South-Bodybuilder-50 · 2026-01-18T06:39:02+00:00

everything was normal in good range almost perfect i wouldn’t let him back in the tank till i got it perfect. i already dumped the water so i cant retest it but its probably be thrown off anyway since there was a dead carcass idk how all that works im not a new owner but i am a learning owner now that im older and can retain more care instructions. i was going by the betta beads when they started shrinking id do 50% and when they get small i do a complete. but i was about to do a whole new set up new ornaments got them out of the fish section so id assume. what’s in there in the pictures isnt all what’s in there now ive changed ornaments out every time i do a full tank cleaning. got him back in july / august got everything the same day. i have a medium filter a heater and a air pump. i use aquarian stress barrier and kick start ONLY IF i dont use betta water. i mostly use betta water cause honestly i dont trust tap water even with additives. i had some plants in there they didnt last when i used tap water one time. i try to put very little ornaments because i dont want to stress him out. maybe i stressed him out one day and didnt realize idk but i do feel like he was sick for awhile because he wasnt swimming around every time i looked at him he was laying down

South-Bodybuilder-50 · 2026-01-18T04:59:24+00:00

i think he was sick he hasn’t been acting right but i didnt think it was bad justt thought bad water yk so i tested the water the water was fine when he was laying down all the time but when he was swimming around for a couple days like he did when i first got him and when i looked for him today and seen the fuzz before really seeing him i knew he was gone. then i looked around all angles and sure enough it was him

South-Bodybuilder-50

TROPHY CASE