Animalsguard

I was changing my betta's water, when he jumped out of the bowl, and into the sink that had soapy water... Its all my fault! Now he's been lethargic, and not eating.... Is he on his way to fish heaven.... I thought that eventually the clean water would help him out, but he has not changed.... What could I do?!

sirdarksol

Ugh! That's awful.
Water changes, water changes, water changes. Load fresh Activated Charcoal into his filter, this will help soak up the soap. If you don't have a filter for him, Tetra makes a really small one that will probably fit in a bowl. Use an additive that helps fish build a slime coat. I'm not sure how to clean the stuff out of his system, though.
Honestly, his chances don't sound good to me. Soap clings, and it makes it difficult for the gills to absorb oxygen.

To keep this from happening again, I'll go over some "best practices" (ugh, I've been working for Taco Bell too long) with regards to water changes.
-Don't move the tank when you do the water change.
-Don't remove the fish from the tank when you do the water change. Since you don't want to do more than 50% of a change at a time, he'll do fine if he stays in the tank, but taking him out stresses him.
-Use a siphon to pull from 10-50% of the water from the tank, then add treated water back into the tank.
-Try to disturb the water as little as possible when doing the change, this will minimize the betta's attempts to leave the tank.

Good luck to you and your fish. Ask if you have any other questions. Like Caine, we're here to help.

COBettaCouple

welcome to fishlore & we hope your betta pulls through. That's good advice and if you can get him in a tank with a heater, filter and air stone it will improve his odds.

Definitely get an air stone into his bowl or tank.. they usually come with a check valve so use that in the airline so the bubbles aren't too much for him.

If you can't get a tank or that filter for the bowl, perhaps a small handful of charcoal in the foot of a pantyhose stocking in the tank will be a way to get charcoal in there.

I'd even consider changing 50% of his water every 12 hours or so. Good luck to you both.

sirdarksol

Thank you, BettaCouple, I hadn't even thought of adding oxygen to the water. I usually miss the obvious, though, so it doesn't surprise me.

COBettaCouple

actually, your comment about oxygen made me think of an air stone as a must-have for this little guy.

Animalsguard

thanks a lot for the help, i change his water often, and he's still alive! but i think he's blind, the only way he eats is if i actually put his pellet in front of his nose...

COBettaCouple

well, hopefully that's only temporary.. how does his breathing look?

0morrokh

That's amazing he's still alive. It's possible he's reluctant to eat because the soap is still affecting him somehow. If it's his sight I hope it will improve as the soap wears off.

chickadee

A betta that is blind will stay at the surface and swim in circles around the tank surface and not pay any attention to food even if it hits them in the face. I lost a betta that went blind and then died in a few days after not being able to find food in front of their face. It was due to being given medication that did not agree with him. (Melafix)

It is a heartbreaking thing and if I had realized how hard it was going to be for him, I would have euthanized him. I am not suggesting this for your little guy as it sounds like he has some of his sight at least and should be given every chance to improve as long as he is not suffering greatly.

Rose

pamd

Animalsguard,

I've been thinking about you and your betta and wondering about what's happened. We care.

Pam

0morrokh

Yeah how's he doing?