Sleeping with the Fishes
Joelle said in the early afternoon on July 20, 2008
Flapjack is hanging on by a thread. It appears he’s in advanced stages of stress and there’s not much else I can do. Neil Patrick Harris and Bill are doing great, thriving even… but Flapjack, not so much.
I had live plants in their bowls for a while, per the fish guy at Petco. But while Bill and NPH seemed ok with it, Flapjack just wasn’t having it. The plants started to die and I had to remove them. I replaced them all with fake ones and while I kept doing 20% water changes to keep the water free of ammonia and as clean as possible, Flapjack’s water kept getting cloudy and he’s become increasingly listless. Again, Bill and NPH are fat n’ happy.
A week or so ago Flapjack started burrowing his head into the marbles at the bottom and stopped moving his fins. He’d just float vertically, sometimes thrashing about erratically and smashing into the plants and sides of the bowl to the point of exhaustion. It really bums me out. I’ve tried changing the water, but you can’t do that too much or it just causes more stress. Today he started swimming in “twists”, like a corkscrew… around and around until he’d collapse on the bottom.
I know it’s just a fish, but no one likes it when a pet dies. I feel like a bad fish mom. I’ve followed all the recommended advice: slowly warm up the water by putting a lamp over the bowl (Bettas like warmer water), using de-stress drops, 20% water changes, etc. He’s lost total interest in food now, which used to be the only thing I had left, so I think it’s only a matter of time. His color is all washed out, too… he’s kind of grayish-pink instead of deep red. I scooped him out, thinking I’d just flush him, putting him out of his misery. But then I started to question if that would work or if he’s just swim through it and end up living in the sewer. What if he doesn’t die? Then I’m the jerk who flushed a perfectly good fish.
So, I put him back in his bowl, where he sank like a stone to the bottom. Even though it’s sad to watch, I’m not sure what else to do. Boo. 
Moxie Design Studios™
from Louisville, OH • Cocktail: White Russian
Poor Flapjack. Have you tested his water for PH, ammonia and nitrates? Sometimes that stuff will get out of whack and Bettas will go from fine to near death in a couple days. I bought a test kit from Petco, and I tested the water every 3 days.
Out of the 4 Bettas I’ve had in 4 years, two jumped out of the aquarium to their deaths (I found out Bettas are jumpers,) one was sick from the pet store and the last died for no apparent reason (he was fine, then I found him dead one morning.) I kept them in a 10 gallon aquarium, with a basic filter system and a heater. They are so pretty when they’re swimming around, especially the fantails.
from San Diego, CA • Cocktail: slightly dirty Grey Goose martini
@ThePooper: Thanks… Yeah, I had one jump, too! Nancy. I had him for 4 years and one day, I found him on the floor in front of my fireplace. He just leapt out of his bowl and onto the tile floor. Poor Nancy.
Most of my others I’ve had a year or more. Of these three, Flapjack is the only sick one. I’ve tested is water, but it tests fine. It keep getting cloudy every day, though. Right now, he’s floating upside down in the bowl. He’s still alive, but he’s just floating and then he’ll thrash around. Poor fishy. :(
It’s so odd, too. He was fine, but the guy at the pet store said that the balance probably went out of whack when the live plant started to die. I wish the first fish guy hadn’t told me to use live plants. he told me I could just stick it in there and it would be fine, but the other guy said to pull them out, that they require fertilizer and maintenance that could stress out my fish. Well, ta-da! Again, poor fishy. :(
Sorry to hear about your fish. I’ve never owned that type of fish before but I’ve had others that acted similarly.
I have a book that says flushing fish is inhumane. They recommend picking up the fish and slamming it against a hard surface, like the floor. And flushing is inhumane?!? What happens if I don’t “slam” it hard enough? At least if they’re still alive when you flush them, they’re still actually in water and somewhat buoyant, right? Still pisses me of when I think about that stupid book.
Sorry for the rant.
from Canada
“A week or so ago Flapjack started burrowing his head into the marbles at the bottom and stopped moving his fins.”
Uh, this sounds like a classic fish suicide attempt to me.
from Troy, NY
:( Sorry to hear. was also going to suggest testing ph. How long have you had them? I mean, is it “their time”? and you’re not a bad fish mommy. you *care*.
Cocktail: Amaretto Stone Sour
I don’t know if this will make you smile a little or not, but here goes:
When my ex and I split up I left behind a goldfish I’d won at a carnival that grew to be about a foot long. I’d had it about 3 years but at that size I couldn’t take him with me. My ex ended up letting it die because the asshole couldn’t be bothered with feeding it or cleaning the tank. So what does the moron do? He tries to flush the fish. A 12” fish. He ended up having to “snake” the toilet and I don’t even want to imagine how that looked. What a ‘tard.
I hope Flapjack either makes a quick recovery, or is out of his misery soon. Poor baby, and poor Mommy.
awww poor Flapjack. Maybe he’ll bounce back or something. Perhaps he’s just a little depressed?? It sounds like you are doing all the right things. Don’t blame yourself. *hugs*
from San Diego, CA • Cocktail: slightly dirty Grey Goose martini
Well, shortly after I posted this last night, Flapjack bought the farm. But I’m glad he’s not flopping around the tank anymore in misery. I couldn’t take it… but I couldn’t bring myself to flush him until he was gone.
My other bettas, Bill and NPH are just dandy. happy and swimming and blowing bubbles. I’ll get another fish soon, I’m sure.
Thanks!
@strayfarce: I only had Flapjack five or six months and he used to be fine. According to the fish guy at Petco, it was most likely stress brought on from the change of plants. In all my years of having Bettas, I’ve never had one freak out so much from stress, so this was new.
It was psychological. Flapjack was pondering the meaning of his existence, and not liking the answers he found within.
from in my belly button
Did he have little white things on him? If so that was ich (the flailing in the rocks to get it off). Sorry to hear he didn’t make it. You did a good job though at trying.