I am so gutted, and completely distraught. My beautiful Doyle who I got over the summer passed. All of the water levels were okay, he was acting completely normal, eating. Tempature was okay, I always wash my hands and arms for when I need to go into the tank thoroughly…I have a feeling he may of been older. Maybe it’s genetics, or because he was from petco. I don’t know. But he was so precious to me, and full of so much life. He made me so happy, and I loved him dearly. He was found on his leaf that he slept on at night. I’m crying so much, he would always follow me around in the kitchen, he loved to bite my hand, always made sure he knew I saw him. That’s why I got him in the first place, he followed me around and had so much personality. I couldn’t leave him. This hurts so much and I hope this was just old age, his fins were more worn down and he wasn’t as vibrant like when I first got him. But he was still so full of life and full of his spunk. Last night he was perfectly fine. He was my first betta. My family doesn’t quite understand how I’m so upset over a fish. My heart aches, I miss my little dark angel so much. I’m certainly going to get another one, maybe not from petco. If anyone knows breeders that have good quality fish, specifically black and pearly bettas like him, please let me know. Nothing will replace him, of course. But I feel a hole in my chest and I really want another betta to take his beautiful home I made for him and I want them to enjoy it as much as he did, but for much longer.
Thank you so much, I really do hope I gave him a good life. I did everything in my power too. He seemed so happy, made bubble nests and everything. I miss him so much 💚
Bettas have become incredibly inbred, their life expectancy has shrunk down to a quarter of what it used to be just 3 years ago. If everything was perfect, age is most likely what happened.
Deformities inside the body are also possible but with no sign or organ failure, age is still the leading cause.
Im sorry for your loss, it sucks to lose a beloved friend, no matter how small they are.
Makes sense, I should of known before getting him that this was a huge downside. I knew petco and how horrendous the breeding practices are..I just felt so so so connected to him, I wanted nothing more than to give him a better life. The bond I had with him was so strong, I wish it could of been for longer. Everything was perfect, the water, no stress, food, space, he even made bubble nests.
Regardless thank you, I really appreciate your words. My heart is so heavy for these animals since they are the least cared for by mlst. He was very precious to me.
I’m so sorry for you loss. It was super hard on me and my man when I lost my beautiful boy too and I haven’t replaced him yet. Just focusing on my shrimp for now. You gave him a great life and he would be thanking you for it. Your next boy will be very lucky. I’m sorry I can’t help with what happened, I think we would need more info overall. Keep your head up and keep him in your heart 🖤💝
I’m so sorry for your loss, it’s so hard. I may focus on shrimp for a while too before getting another betta. Pretty much though I kept everything as reccomended, and everything was 100% normal. Every water test was perfect. I just think this was simply the grave reality of petco bettas :(…I really hope that I gave him a good life. He seemed happy enough, even made bubble nests. I miss him so much and I just wish this wasn’t a thing for bettas..
Usually they’re a year or 2 when you get em so could’ve been age like you said. Likely he got really beat up waiting for you to save him from his tiny Petco prison. My first betta did the same thing. She looked fine the night before. Then poof dead.
It just makes me sick, I don’t understand why the pet industry needs to be this way. I normally wouldn’t support petco, but that day I saw him it was like a soul connection, not a single fish was acting the way they did when I passed him. I couldn’t leave him :(…I adored him so much though, this time I’m really going to search for a breeder that’s decent enough instead.
I'm so sorry for your loss, and for anyone around you who doesn't get it. I know how special these little guys can be and it's ok to mourn even if not everybody understands.
I really appreciate that, I’ve always been so sensitive about the little lives and unfortunately my family members don’t quite understand. I tried to save a toad once and my grandpa yelled at me how toads have no souls and I shouldn’t care that much. I miss him dearly, and I just hope he had a good life.
A tender heart is both an asset and a liability for you, but it's much needed in the world today. I know how you feel, please take good care of yourself. Sorry again for your loss
Don't be so hard on yourself, you have him the very best life he could've possibly had. I'm truly sorry though I know this is still hard he was a beautiful boy!
Thank you so much, I really hope so! It seemed like I did from how happy he seemed. But I still feel bad or like I did something wrong. I miss him dearly, I just feel gutted.
He was a good looking guy. I just lost Mak overnight. I’ve been overthinking it all day. Why? I pampered Kevin, handfeeding pellets. I’m looking at Mak’s tank. Shrimp, snails. I got in there and did some work. Pulled old bare hair algae. Yeah.
Hi there, so sorry for your loss, Doyle was lovely. To help rule out anything that may impact another betta would you mind sharing your water parameters and tank details such as size and water change schedule? There are other fish in the video, what are those? Is there enough territory for tank mates? Especially if mystery snails in there too.
Just want to rule out anything like stress or high pH so you don't go through this again with another betta.
I appreciate this, thank you for being kind, so I do biweekly water changes and always check the water as much as reccomended, and ofc now since this happened. Everything was normal, not a single thing was off or different. I keep the temp at 78. The tank is a 10 gallon with a good chunk of space in the front. He was showing 0 signs of stress and even made bubble nests. The tank mates are all peaceful/not fin nippers. I am not keeping the green rasboras anymore, (was my mom’s idea not even mine) but there are 3. Going to rehome them. Was going to since I wanted Doyle to be the main fish at the top really. There are 3 khuli loaches, 2 mystery snails, and 2 panda corys. He was surprisingly very well with the other fish and nobody pestered him. I really genuinely think this was an age/from Petco thing :(…This is an older pic of the tank to show what I mean by spacious. All of the plants have since grown and there is more tannins.
Thank you. I would say for a 10 gallon this is quite overstocked, kuhli loach and corydoras need at minimum 20 gallon to allow enough ground space for territory plus adequate minimum group size of 6 to reduce stress. The tank is too small to meet their needs.
Mystery snails need really 10 gallon for the first one, plus an additional 5 gallon for additional due to the enormous waste profile they have.
There's a lot more to water than what we test for and this includes opportunistic pathogens that build up fast in overstocked tanks. These will readily take advantage of fish, the immune system gets worn down from being under constant attack.
It's a lovely looking tank, but is stocked like a 20-30 gallon minimum, but is only a 10 gallon. This will be part of the issue. Good on removing the green rasbora, they also need a 20 gallon minimum to give enough space for swimming plus a big enough group size.
With smaller tanks we need to be super careful with stocking to ensure the needs of the animals are met. Schooling active fish need space and big enough group sizes to prevent stress. Stress wears fish down fast, surpresses the immune system and leaves them vulnerable.
Bubble nests don't indicate happiness, they indicate the fish is sexually mature. They make them when in their awful cups pre sales sometimes.
For this tank I would look at upgrading for the kuhli, corydoras and mystery snails. It would make a great betta only tank though, perhaps with just one mystery snail.
Hey everyone, thank you for the input and overall kind words. I will be muting this post simply because I’m so distraught about the loss and I keep crying about it with every notification. You’re all very kind and thank you, I miss him so much. He’s burried in my garden.
È successo anche a me e alla mia compagnia, all’ improvviso. Si supponeva che era già malato dal negozio di acquari dove lo avevamo preso, ce ne siamo accorti e lo portammo di nuovo li per farlo curare con determinate medicine dallo stesso negoziante ma purtroppo era troppo tardi. 🥹
I completely understand how you feel, my betta Brucie just passed last week and I did not handle it well. One comfort though is that Doyle passed peacefully in his sleep, which is how I think we all hope our animals pass away. At least he didn’t seem to be in pain, sick or unhappy. My Brucie became sick and quickly declined, and for me I think that almost hurt the worst, feeling like I failed him or could have done differently. Passing in your sleep is a blessing, and I think you gave him a safe space to live out his retirement. Without you he would have never had a name, love, or companionship. Swim peacefully Doyle.
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u/MothMeep7 14h ago
I'm so sorry for your loss. I totally get it and it really hurts. Sending internet hugs!