I have had Finnegan since June 26 and last night, he died. I have been so busy lately that I haven't noticed anything wrong with him but when I found him dead last night he looked like he had been ill. He had a white patch on him.
I feel like an idiot becuase Bettas are supposed to be super hardy. My friend's sister has had hers over a year now.
So did I kill him?
Full Version: Did I Kill Him?
Jen he might of already been sick when you bought him . i bought a beta from petsmart a few years back and that day bout 3 hours later he had died so he could of been sick before you bought him .. i know when you got him, not too long ago ... so dont beat yourself up .... 
Yeah, he was probably infected with "Ich" (Ichthyopthirius multifilius) It's a parasite that's REALLY common in store-bought fish. The white patch you saw on him sounds a lot like it. They make some rather inexpensive drops you can put in the water to kill it, and they work pretty well. If you want to try again with another fish, make sure to pick up a bottle and put the drops in the water right away just to kill anything that might be around.
STRESS CAUSE'S THEM TO GET ICK AND ALL FISH ARE PRONE TO IT STRESS COAT IS ALWAYS GOOD TO ADD ON WATER CHANGES AND FOR NEW FISH...JUST A REFRENCE FOR THE FUTURE : )
No, don't even think it. The white spot tells you something was wrong with the fish. I'm so sorry that happened.
Get another fish. They don't live a super long time...2 or 3 years and maybe you got one that was old (some places keep them in tanks for a long time, then sell them)
Be very careful to use chlorine remover to take the chlorine out of the water when you change it... before you put the fish in.
Also, have a thermometer handy and make sure the water is the same temp as the old water before putting the fish in the clean water
And...save maybe 1/4 cup of the old water to add to the new water for the GOOD bacteria that had formed in it. That helps too.
Best of luck next time, sweetie.
Get another fish. They don't live a super long time...2 or 3 years and maybe you got one that was old (some places keep them in tanks for a long time, then sell them)
Be very careful to use chlorine remover to take the chlorine out of the water when you change it... before you put the fish in.
Also, have a thermometer handy and make sure the water is the same temp as the old water before putting the fish in the clean water
And...save maybe 1/4 cup of the old water to add to the new water for the GOOD bacteria that had formed in it. That helps too.
Best of luck next time, sweetie.
You've gotten some great advice already, and I just wanted to add to be sure to not overfeed. Their stomachs are about as big as their eyes, so they really don't need much. And changing the water at least once a week (taking Weeza's advice at the same time) will keep your new fish healthy. 
Good luck with your next fish!
Good luck with your next fish!
I had a fighting fish that committed suicide once Jen, don't feel too bad. He jumped right out of his bowl! If I'd seen it I would have put him back but he was dried out by the time I got home
My cat took the liberty of trying to eat my other fighting fish so eventually he was sent to my mom's office to find a new home. He found one with a girl in accounting who was expecting her first baby - well that fish soon became said baby during the wait. She sang to it, read stories to it, talked to it... not sure if the fish cared though
My cat took the liberty of trying to eat my other fighting fish so eventually he was sent to my mom's office to find a new home. He found one with a girl in accounting who was expecting her first baby - well that fish soon became said baby during the wait. She sang to it, read stories to it, talked to it... not sure if the fish cared though
There are lots of factors that could have been the cause. But did you kill it...NO...
Ick is caused from stress...what is stress? Stress can be anything out of their norm...a sudden change in room temp, too high of ammonia levels or nitrate/nitrite levels stemming from over feeding and not changing the water often enough...or changing the water too often. Too high of chlorine levels etc etc etc. Ick also looks like a lot of little white dots all over and it usually starts on the tail or dorsal fin. If it was a large white patch or greyish patch it could be some other type of fungus or it could also have been a fluke which is an organism that attaches to the fishes body and it was probably on the fish before you ever brought it home and the stress of new water and surroundings weakened the fishes immune system to where it couldn't fight off the attacks.
I'd never do a complete water change, most of the experts will tell you no more than 2/3 of the container should be changed out or you're starting from scratch every time with the beneficial bacteria as well which in turn puts a lot of stress on your fish. By drawing the water the night before you plan on changing the water or adding to the water and letting it sit out beside the bowl you'll be accomplishing 2 things. 1. the water will be the same temp as the bowl so there won't be stress from that and the chlorine will have dissipated but you still need to add conditioner to it to help keep the slime coat intact on the fish.
The slime coat is needed to protect the fish from bacteria, its part of their immune system so to speak.
Over feeding is generally the cause for most fish death especially beta's two or three granules of beta food is plenty a day
There's also a product on the market called Bowl Buddies Betta care Kit that is for de-chlorinating and one tablet is enough for up to two gallons of water it also adds the product that helps keep the slime coat in tact. I also liked the Hikari brand Betta food it has really really small pellets and won't cloud the water etc.; and as I mentioned it only takes 3 or 4 of those little tiny pellets to feed them sufficiently.
Try not to beat yourself up over this, this was your first fish, and there is definitely a learning curve to fish keeping.
Remember, the smaller the container the harder it is to keep it balanced.
Ick is caused from stress...what is stress? Stress can be anything out of their norm...a sudden change in room temp, too high of ammonia levels or nitrate/nitrite levels stemming from over feeding and not changing the water often enough...or changing the water too often. Too high of chlorine levels etc etc etc. Ick also looks like a lot of little white dots all over and it usually starts on the tail or dorsal fin. If it was a large white patch or greyish patch it could be some other type of fungus or it could also have been a fluke which is an organism that attaches to the fishes body and it was probably on the fish before you ever brought it home and the stress of new water and surroundings weakened the fishes immune system to where it couldn't fight off the attacks.
I'd never do a complete water change, most of the experts will tell you no more than 2/3 of the container should be changed out or you're starting from scratch every time with the beneficial bacteria as well which in turn puts a lot of stress on your fish. By drawing the water the night before you plan on changing the water or adding to the water and letting it sit out beside the bowl you'll be accomplishing 2 things. 1. the water will be the same temp as the bowl so there won't be stress from that and the chlorine will have dissipated but you still need to add conditioner to it to help keep the slime coat intact on the fish.
The slime coat is needed to protect the fish from bacteria, its part of their immune system so to speak.
Over feeding is generally the cause for most fish death especially beta's two or three granules of beta food is plenty a day
There's also a product on the market called Bowl Buddies Betta care Kit that is for de-chlorinating and one tablet is enough for up to two gallons of water it also adds the product that helps keep the slime coat in tact. I also liked the Hikari brand Betta food it has really really small pellets and won't cloud the water etc.; and as I mentioned it only takes 3 or 4 of those little tiny pellets to feed them sufficiently.
Try not to beat yourself up over this, this was your first fish, and there is definitely a learning curve to fish keeping.
Remember, the smaller the container the harder it is to keep it balanced.
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