So I took my fish to a friends house in his “emergency” tank. I was leaving state for a wedding and this was the best I could come up with for care. Any way, when I picked my fish up today he wasn’t moving…. Like… at all. I’ve NEVER seen him like this. I touched the water and it was FREEZING. Had to be like 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit. I was stunned. No I didn’t send a heater & that is my fault. But I’ve used this small tank for days at a time before with no issue. Moving, giving medication, and so on. Never had a temp issue. Well his water was cold as heck and now he’s like this. I slowly added warm water from his tank into the temporary tank to acclimate and then put him in his normal tank. Which is usually right under 75f. I’m nervous to add too much warm water. Please any advice is needed. This is my first betta fish and we are coming up on 2 years with him. 💙💙🥺
https://i.redd.it/pwq3p1jjiltf1.jpeg
Posted by 4morbidollhouse
4 Comments
I’m not an expert on this at all, nor have i had this problem, but what I would probably do is put him in a container/ cup that can float, and put it in a tank with the correct temperature of water. (I would also add stress gaurd if you have it) After the temperatures are similar enough, you could probably let him out? I would also reccomend keeping him in the dark if possible, (it seems to calm bettas, and has personally saved my betta a lot of stress) But be sure to keep a close eye on him for the next few days to make sure he’s ok!
Sending well wishes to you and your fish!
im confused do you not have a heater at all? the minimum temperature is 78 for bettas
10-15° would be frozen solid. Most likely if your friend keeps the house around 65-68° the water will be closed to that. This isn’t a death sentence for a betta, but definitely isn’t great.
You did the right thing by warming his tank slowly.
Keep the tank dark by putting a towel over it. This will keep him stress free and focused on healing.
If you can, get some live food for him like Black Worms, Scuds, Mosquito Larvae, etc. Anything that will encourage him to move to eat. Frozen blood worms is a great second option. Feed him a small amount 2x a day to encourage his body to heal.
Do small water changes 3x a week to keep the water pristine.
If he is struggling to swim, keep him in a smaller container floating in the tank so he doesnt have to struggle to breath.
As long as nothing else happened he should recover.
Hey OP you’ve gotten some good advice but in the future unless you’re gone for like, weeks at a time it’s fine to just leave your fish in your tank at home and let them fast for a few days.