Feisty Betta Jumped Onto Counter!

Yesterday my husband and I bought a betta fish. I did a lot of research before buying the betta because I am determined to give our betta his best betta life. We named him Fancyson and we adore him already! We kept him in a small half gallon tank while we were setting up his five gallon tank and then when everything was set up and ready to go we opened up the top of his half gallon tank and inserted a net to try and scoop him up and move him to the bigger tank. Unfortunately, the skinny shape of the small tank made it difficult to get Fancyson in the net to scoop him out safely. In Fancyson’s panic, he jumped right out of the tank and fell onto the counter! I screamed and told my husband to pick him up and put him in the tank, which he did, and now Fancyson is swimming around in his five gallon tank. HERE IS MY CONCERN: I often wipe down those counters with Clorox wipes and I worry that the chemicals in the wipes might kill Fancyson, since he landed on the counter and he certainly was exposed to the chemicals. My other concern is what if he injured himself? How can I tell? Will he heal? I’m very worried about him. Also I will add that the water has been conditioned, I have three small Marimo Moss Balls in the tank, the tank temperature is just over 76 degrees, and there’s a filter. Help me figure out what I can do to insure Fancyson can still live his best betta life!

 

You placed him quickly into his tank right? The large amount of water should've diluted what was on him and not cause too much damage. I would do a partial water change just to be sure. The force of him landing on the counter could've hurt him, but bettas are hardy and as long as he's acting fine, I wouldn't worry about it and leaving him alone in a dimmed area can help him get over the shock. If you could, I would add in some Stressguard to replace his slimecoat and for it to act as an antiseptic for any open wounds.

 

Yes we placed him in the tank quickly. He was out of water for 5 seconds max. I do not have stressguard specifically but I do have some Tetra AquaSafe that says it reduces stress so I’ve added that in already. Should I buy some Stressguard? He seems pretty active right now, it’s just hard to tell if he’s swimming properly.

 

Never used the AquaSafe stuff but read that it's a water conditioner. Stressguard is optional, but I would have it to replace the lost slimecoat and for it to act as an antiseptic.

 

You’re overthinking it, I promise. Nothing is going to happen, you’d know if it hurt him. Don’t start throwing a bunch of chemicals in there for no reason, that’s not going to help anything.

 

If you quickly put Fancyson in water, and is swimming about and he eats normally, then odds are he is fine. Bettas are jumpers, I have had them leap out of their tanks or when they're overexcited for food! As long as the fish wasn't out of water for a long time, it should be ok. You shouldn't need to treat him with anything unless you see he is acting sickly, like not eating or swimming in a strange way.

 

It's nice to see a new person so concerned for their fish!
Like everyone else has said, as long as he's acting normal, he's most definitely okay. For future reference, if you ever plan to transport him even if its short (ie moving him to a bucket or a new tank), use a cup or a dish to catch him, because nets can damage their fins since they are very delicate. It's also less stressful for them.

 

Bettas are jumpers, its what they do. Ive had them on the floor for who knows how long flopping around before I found them and put them back into their tank. I'm sure he won't suffer any adverse effects of being on the counter for 2 seconds, lol.