Mom2threebettas

Hi everyone,

I'm sad to say that I lost Arthur two days ago, after watching him slowly waste away and finally die. He stopped eating and began hiding behind his rocks except to come up for air, and when he appeared to want to eat, he could not get the food into his mouth. I believe that's common when a betta is nearing the end of his life. As time went by, he would weakly swim into my hand as I held my fingers near the surface...he would rest there and get his air as needed.

Here's my dilemma: I transferred him to a small carrier and only put about three inches of water in it so he could rest on the bottom and still reach the surface. I thought it was merciful, but did I really do him any favors? Rather than drowning in a short time, he starved to death over about 3-4 weeks.

Was I wrong to forestall the inevitable? Your opinions are appreciated.
TIA.

~ C

PS - I got a new little fishy when I saw Arthur would be me leaving soon. You can check out "Mittens" in my album.

Lucy

I'm really sorry to hear that you lost Arthur.
It's so hard to know what's the right thing to do. I think you did exactly what you thought was best for him, showing him you loved him to the very end.
Please don't second guess your self now. You held out hope that he would eat and there's nothing wrong with that.

I would consider, however, giving your bettas proper tanks.
They're very beautiful.

Mom2threebettas

Thanks for the comments, Lucy.

I wish I had space for tanks (bedroom only) - one day I'd like to invest in several.

Lucy

Your welcome, I know it's tough to lose one of our fin babies.

kingbabar

I think you did the best you could. Sometimes, it just doesn't work out. Even then, it's pretty clear that you care about your bettas. I think Mittens is in good hands.

ccb04

Sorry for your loss.

It sounds like you simply did what you thought was best to provide comfort. There's absolutely no wrong in that at all ... it's called compassion. No need to regret anything you did. You simply did your best to care for an animal you cared about. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, things don't turn out the way we hope. We all experience it.

As Lucy mentioned though ... it would be a good idea to upgrade their tank. Even a 2.5-3g (heated and filtered) would help ... and wouldn't take up much room at all.

Phinny12

You did what was right, You cared for him when he needed you most.

Mom2threebettas

Thanks for all the supportive comments. It is very tough to see our little buddies suffer.

harpua2002

Momto3, I agree with the others. You did what you thought was best and there's a lot to be said for that. Sure, you can second-guess yourself, but what's the point? You were just doing your best and you should never feel bad about trying to help a fish you love. It's easy to beat yourself up but you really shouldn't... just do what you feel is best for your fishes' quality of life. We don't know your situation and can't really judge what would have been best. Please don't take it too hard, you did all you could.