Today just keeps getting worse. I started cleaning my divided 10 gal, and as I was wiping out some algae, two of the three dividers broke. I decided not to stress it, and cleaned a 5 gal that I had been cycling, and put one of the three bettas from the 10 gal in.

I put the tail bitter in, and decided to try some IAL on him. I know I've read that bettamomma just drops it in, so I put a 1.5"x1" square in the tank. After a little bit, he looked stressed, so I thought maybe I forgot dechlor, so I added a little and he perked up. I just walked back in my room (i'm packing to leave for a week), and I found him DEAD!!! He was fine when I took him out of the tank.

I have no clue what went wrong. :cry:

so sad!! :rip:

That amount of IAL should have been totally fine.

Where did you get it from?

Are you positive you used dechlor?

So you said you had been cycling that 5 gallon tank... is it possible there was enough ammonia in there to do him in?

I'm so sorry for your loss :(

As gross as it sounds, did you see his body? where his gills inflamed, any visible signs of illness? I agree with bettamomma that it might have been the ammonia. When you added dechlor it might have taken some of the ammonia out, but maybe not enough.

:rip: little betta :(

*hugs* poor thing, I hope everything with the rest is fine.

:rip: :bye: I'm so sorry for your loss.

1. The IAL I used was what I had gotten from yeev (sorry, can't remember the entire name, and i'm stuck on dial up, so i don't want to wait to get it.)

2. When I First saw him acting stressed, the only thing I could think of was dechlorinator, so I instantly added a full dose of it incase I forgot. Right after I added the dechlor he did seem to perk up a little bit. (I added enough to treat all 5 gal of water he was in)

3. The tank wasn't that far along in cycling, so I decided to stop the cycling all together, totally drained the tank, then filled and drained it atleast three different times to make sure all the ammonia was gone.

The only other thing I can possibly think of is maybe there was a pocket of ammonia in the sand in that tank (it was going to be for a dwarf puffer). I know I didn't stir up the sand when I was cleaning it.

I didn't stop to examine the body. I was too shocked when I found him. Unfortunately, I am living at a friends house right now, so I can't be there to monitor my other guys. I can't wait till I get an appartment down here so I be with all my fishies.