












Clank. First 4 photos are Clank. 4th photo is Clank in his prime. Last photos are of his beautiful children. (In case he needs to be commemorated in this post) I have raised his kids and sold them to well vetted ethical homes. Clank in his prime was a sight to behold. He lived in a planted 30 gallon but has since moved to his own 10 when he started getting limited mobility. He was one of my first fish getting back into the hobby, now I’m raising zebra plecos and have two rooms of tanks. I loved him so much he got me back into breeding aquarium fish. It was so cool to see what a great father he was to his fry. His mobility issues are nothing like the swim bladder that I have treated.. I love this fish but I’m starting to question the quality of life he has. He’s been deteriorating. I have tried many solutions and medications. He gets a 50% water change daily I’ve given up on meds after a few months of trying different things. I’m starting to believe he’s just old and sick. He sits in the same spot all day every day and it’s been this way for 5 months with no change. He still eats, he gets brine shrimp and gets up to eat. I can tell it’s hard for him to get to the surface for air when he needs to and today I noticed he’s breathing heavy. He’s always lived alone with shrimp so there’s no possibility he’s caught anything from my other fish I don’t cross contaminate cleaning supplies since I keep such expensive fish. He has a small tumor on his back and his right eye seems to be enlarged. Possibly Popeye but I’ve already tried kanaplex. What do I do? I have clove oil if the best option is to euthanize. I don’t really want to see him suffer. Every day I kinda expect him to have passed when I turn the lights on but he’s still kicking. I wish he would get better. He’s well within his years though so this might be as good as it gets for him.
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1ruqos0
Posted by onion2626
7 Comments
( He *did* live with some endlers but that was like 2 years ago. ) anyways just clearing up inconsistencies when I said never and you can see one in the photo I forgot about that.
I might try and move him to my 5 gallon. I have not wanted to move him away from his home. But I’ll try most things at this point. Hate seeing Clank struggle:(
How old is he? Also where is he from? Petstore bettas tend to not live as long nowadays and you mentioned him being a couple years old. He might just be getting there in age. So sorry :(. He’s gorgeous and his babies are also super pretty, I bet you’ve given him a wonderful life
Off topic from sickness but I like his name I have two males named crim and cram
No clove oil for labyrinth fish.
It’s not the worst thing the let fish just live out their days and pass on their own. This sub is really quick to suggest euthanasia.
It sounds like he’s just slowing down. As long as he’s still eating make sure he has lots of places near the surface the rest.
I’d try to make him as comfortable as possible. Unless he’s obviously suffering, I’d let him be. Also- clove oil won’t kill him immediately.
Labyrinth breathers will suffer because they get water from the surface as well as water. It will sedate your betta, but cause it to panic and desperately try to get to the top of the tank.
A quick strike over the head is fast and sure. But I truly only recommend it if he’s suffering greatly