My betta !

Question
QUESTION: Today it was time to change the water and I haven't been paying close attention to my betta fish. I have a male and female. The male is in a big tank and I put the female in a tall jar into his tank. But today, I was feeding them and I didn't see the male anywhere. Usually, he likes playing with the filter so I turned it on to find where he was. He didn't swim out, the filter was sucking him out. I was so shocked! He was pale, torn fins, and he wouldn't move at all! I called my friend that gave him to me immediatly. She asked if he was hiding in a corner and yes, he was. She told me he'll get better, but my mom and sister told me that he's dying of depression. (is that really true?) I'm not sure what's wrong so I hope you can help!

ANSWER: Hi Kelly,
  Fish in general, and bettas in particular do not "get depressed" so that isn't the problem.  Being sucked up by the filter is very likely the problem. If he is left alone, he may well recover.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Breaking news, when I woke up I turned to my fish tank, and found Cheesecake lying on the floor dead. I really want to know why he died! From what I found on the internet, they said it was too cold for the fish.


A second thing is that Rose is really strange, it's actually rather funny. She's not really eating these days but I have this marker that allows you to write on windows, glass, etc. So I wrote on the tank. When I write something, she dashes over to look at it and if I make an end mark with a dot, she tries eating it. At first, she makes it look like she's reading what I write, but then bumps into the glass. It may be from curiosity but what I really want to know is why that happens and why she won't eat.

Answer
Hi Kelly,
 Bettas are tropical fish and need temperatures around 75-80oF.  If the water temperature is too low, a betta will get sluggish and stop eating.

 Rose is just curious about the markings.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>