HELP - I think my Beta is dying.

Question
Yes uncarbonated (it was Arrowhead) but it's too late now.  I took him to a fish store & they told me he had fin rot. They gave me some stuff to put in his was - which I did. But it was too late, he died about an hour ago.  :{  I didn't know that he had this or I would have tried to do something about it MUCH sooner!  I just didn't want him to suffer........

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Followup To

Question -
My beta fish is dying. I don't know what happened.  I've changed his water -I've only used bottled - I don't know if thats bad or not.  I've had him almost a year. Now he is lying on his side at the bottom of his tank, he won't he, his tail seems like it disappeared.  I am at a lost.  I don't want him to suffer!!!!!!!
Help please.
Thanks

Answer -
Hi Julie,
 When you say "bottled water" I assume that you mean uncarbonated bottle water, right?


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


Answer
Hi Julie,
 Hmm.... "fin rot" is a bit of a suspicious term to me.  A lot of pet stores will just say "fin rot" as if that was a specific disease but in all my years of keeping fish (over 30 now, yikes) I have only ever seen a couple of cases of it.  Usually there is something else going on, e.g., another fish attacking the fins, a chemical in the water or something.   

 I just assumed in your case that there were no other fish in the tank, right?  

 It is also entirely possible that he was just old.  Bettas are a "live fast, die young" kind of animal and many only live to be a little over a year or so.  Some go longer (I have heard  of them getting to 5 years, but that is VERY exceptional).  

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