Heater poisoning?

I have a 30g aquarium with just a betta, and a few plants, hard scape. Hob filter with a diy sponge filter on intake, and it had a brand new heater in it. Tank was running for over a year, only thing new was the heater. I noticed my betta wasn’t acting right, not doing his fishy fin dance for food and attention, just resting on the bottom of the tank. I went to do a water change, and discovered that he heater had a rusty looking gunk along the bottom, and water temp wasn’t as warm as it should be. I’m worried that the heater broke and poisoned the water, leading to the fish being poisoned. Water is well water, ph runs 8-8.4, I forgot my gh/ kh, they were both high, I haven’t tested that in about a year and change. Nitrate etc stays low if any, with just the one fish in the big aquarium, and frequent 20% changes. I probably do a 50%change or a bit more twice a year when I decide to change up the hard scapes and such.
This betta is about 3 years old or a bit more, I’ve had him just under 3 years, and was a Walmart pitty buy, but he has great attitude, and we adore him. I need to know if I can do anything else to try and save him. I promptly removed him into a cup upon seeing him acting weird, 1/2 his tank water, 1/2 water from a different tank, then started looking for the problem and found the heater. I drained and flushed the tank twice before filling it back up a few inches and put him back, no heater this time, just the airstone going until he’s either better or dead. Less depth for him to reach the surface and less volume to treat. I dosed the water with a bit of water conditioner, but I rarely use that so it may be old. Has anyone saved a fish from this and how?
Photos in case I didn’t explain the set up well. I discovered the problem late yesterday, and stayed up late to flush and do a full cleaning on the aquarium. He’s still alive, I just checked, but he isn’t swimming around unless I attempt to move him.
That heater has been in the aquarium right between the airstone and the intake for the filter for circulation, and has been in the aquarium a little over a month.

 

We're you able to get all the "gunk" from the heater out of the tank/substrate?

What temp is the water right now (without a heater)?

It looks like with such a small amount of water on the tank, the filter isn't running; it also looks like the airline/airstone is the only thing causing movement in the water (I can't be for certain what's on the end of the airline in the pic). Is the only reason you have the water so low is for him to reach the surface?

One more question: What brand/kind of heater is that? I can't tell what it might be from your pic.

EDIT
I failed to say welcome to Fishlore! I'm sorry that having issues brought you here, but glad you joined. I hope we are able to help you get things sorted out.

 

Your Betta reached a good age. Sorry that he has to go through trouble now. If you are concerned that the heater is the cause, then you already did the right steps towards correction. I would just do daily water changes to give him the most pristine water conditions, and clean/vacuum the gravel around the old heater spot where gunk accumulated. If possible please get him a new heater so he does not experience additional stress.

 

More likely the heater was electrocuting him as it broke. The water looks quite dirty and very low?
He's also quite old so could be a few things they do get tired and lazy in old age

 

The heater was by tetra I believe, and I’ll have to find a heater small enough for that volume of water. I plan to add water from the established aquarium daily, in hope that he gets better, but am keeping the volume low for him. There was sand and shells and some mulm , but most of what looks like dirty water is hard water stains on the glass. I hadn’t thought that he might have been electrocuted, that’s a possibility, though I hadn’t noticed any tingling when I put my hands in prior to unplugging and removing the heater.
Yes, I just have the airstone going for now, as the hob intake is well above the water line currently so that he can reach the surface to breathe with less effort. On the off chance that the airstone that was in there picked up heavy metals, I’ve got just a small one going instead of the long one he had. I’m thinking I might set up the 10g in my bedroom for him, that room stays steadily warm enough to not need a heater. Other than water conditioner to chelate heavy metals, is there anything that might help?

More likely the heater was electrocuting him as it broke. The water looks quite dirty and very low?
He's also quite old so could be a few things they do get tired and lazy in old age

He’s not eating, and this boy likes his food. He did a little fishy dance to get our attention when he saw me feeding the others, and I would have to feed him by dropping the pellets in, then guide him to it with my finger. He has had a good run, but I don’t want a broken heater to be his cause of death. Until I saw the heater I presumed it was old age, so I want to give him the best chance I can.

 

Okay, I've done some reading. Was the Tetra heater a Tetra HT? By the picture, it looks it might be.

I'm not coming up with what these heaters might have in them (types of metals). You might try emailing the manufacturer and see what they say. petsupport@spectrumbrands.com

My thoughts - keep in mind I can be a bit overboard and I know this, still it's probably what I'd do -

I would definitely move the betta (and any other inhabitants; I know you said he's the only one, but just in case you have snails or something like that) to a different tank. Since I have no idea what may have come out of the heater, I'd assume the worst. I wouldn't move anything from the current tank to use in the 10 gallon (assuming that's where you move him). I would put a heater in whatever tank I moved him to. This time of year especially, a room may go through big temperature swings between day and night. I'm betting he's already stressed enough, so anything to reduce stress is a plus. If there's not enough media from your established tank to use some for the new tank, don't worry. One betta that isn't going to be a high bioload for a 10 gallon anyway. You'll be able to keep up with water changes. That's what I would do first and foremost.

Now back to the 30 gallon. Contact the local water department and see if they will test a water sample for you at no charge. They dont need a lot of details, just ask if they will. If not, ask where they send off their samples for testing and how much it costs. (I'll come back to this.) If they'll run the sample for free, the best container would be a sterile container that blocks out light. For most of us that's not something we have just sitting around the house. You can use a disposable water bottle or the like. Don't wash it with soap. Step 1 is wash and rinse your hands well! Your hands can contaminate the sample. Then, vigorously rinse the bottle and the cap with tap water, paying attention to rub the threads of both the bottle and cap. Next, use some of the tank water to "rinse" the bottle and lid. Now, collect your sample. Try to get from the area directly below where the heater was. Keep the bottle out of the light (wrap it up in a towel, put it in a box, etc) and take it to them for the test. If it comes back with no heavy metals you're good! Clean up the tank as usual and fill it back up, get a heater and use it.

If not, you'll need to look at what specific heavy metal you're dealing with.

Now, getting back sending a sample away to be tested, here's the problem. It MUST be tested within 24 hours for the type of tests they run. At this time of year, shipping is not that reliable. So, you'll be taking a gamble it will make it on time. If it doesn't, you're out the shipping and still have no test results. If it's close enough to take it in person, that's better. Now, the cost... is it cost effective to figure out exactly what heavy metal MIGHT be in the tank at levels to cause poisoning? If you can get the test run for free that's one thing... If you do decide to go this route, you'll need to ask the testing facility if they have a specific specimen collection container they want you to use, then follow their instructions. When you get your results, same as above.

Now, if the local facility wont run the test at no charge and you dont want to pay to have the test run....

I keep polyfilter on hand. It's not the best way to test for things, but it's better than nothing. If you have any, you can use it here. I would attach a piece to the airline and put it below where the heater was. I would also email Tetra and see what they say. Once you have an idea of what you might be dealing with, you can take steps from there.

If I didn't have a water sample tested, and the poly filter and Tetra didn't indicate any concerns, I would really get busy cleaning the tank. Yup, probably kill any beneficial bacteria you've got in the tank. I would rinse everything in the tank like a madman. Then, I'd look into things like polyfilter, purigen, cuprisorb to remove harmful substances (if you decide to go this route, hopefully you'll be able to get more specific knowledge about what heavy metals could've come from the heater instead of just making a guess and running a lot of different things; also I'm just listing examples not making recommendations at this point). Once I had the tank cleaned up, and probably with new filter media, I'd pick my first inhabitant to be a snail. The snail will be in direct contact with the substrate. Watch him like a hawk for any signs of distress, which could indicate you didn't get everything out of the tank.

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Wow, sorry the post is so long!!

 

I already rinsed the tank and hard scape like a mad man. Those tanks are on the counter by my kitchen sink and so I just drained, rinsed, drained again until I thought it was safe. I keep polyester filling for algae filtering of the pond, I’ll set some up in a nylon to form a filter for the airstone. So testing the possibly contaminated water is out as it’s already gone down the drain. That happened prior to my ever posting!

 

Have you been able to get a new heater? I'm not the best with betta information, but I do know that water that's too cold makes one sad betta. They aren't as active and also don't eat as much. If you don't put him in the smaller tank, maybe you can fill the tank back up and put something for him to rest on near the surface? Im guessing that right now the small water volume with no heater is having some temp swings .

Betta'sAnonymous is one of the members better with betta information than I am. Maybe he or one of the others can give you ideas about the betta himself or what you need to do with the tank for him.

I would still consider getting some polyfilter. You should be able to find some decently cheap, say $8 or so. Not only does it change colors but it also says it absorbs heavy metals. Here's some info about it:
POLY-BIO-MARINE, Inc.
POLY-BIO-MARINE, Inc. FAQ

I'm not suggesting to run it as your only filter media. But you can put it in your filter after the prefilter or coarse filter.

I used it in my 10 gallon after using a medication with copper. I cleaned the tank and substrate by rinsing profusely and ran polyfilter for a bit while occasionally stirring the substrate. Now, I currently have amanos and snails in that tank and they're doing fine.

 

I think the main thing you can do for this fish in the short term is keep him comfy and steady temp. And clean water, of course! Hopefully he gains interest in food at least. Sorry to hear about the heater failure. I have had a couple of those tetra heaters but never had problems like that with them. Think i only replaced then because i wanted adjustable heaters instead.

 

He never did eat, and passed away. I filled the aquarium back up ( actually I kinda forgot I was filling it and it overflowed a bit before I got back to it), have a different heater in it right now, added two of my guppies and am going to let them be the testers of if the water is ok before I move my other betta into that one and make the aquarium he’s in now a shrimp tank. I have plenty of guppies, loosing two or so of the less colorful ones is not an issue. I need to cull them someday.

 

I have plenty of guppies, loosing two or so of the less colorful ones is not an issue. I need to cull them someday.

That’s harsh. Even if you have one thousand of them, each and everyone has the right to live and deserves good care.

 

He never did eat, and passed away. I filled the aquarium back up ( actually I kinda forgot I was filling it and it overflowed a bit before I got back to it), have a different heater in it right now, added two of my guppies and am going to let them be the testers of if the water is ok before I move my other betta into that one and make the aquarium he’s in now a shrimp tank. I have plenty of guppies, loosing two or so of the less colorful ones is not an issue. I need to cull them someday.

I'm sorry you lost your betta.

Once you've cleaned the tank and you think it's ready, unfortunately there's only one way to test it. I hope they do well!

 

It’s cleaned, and they are doing good so far. I’ve got my big filter going, and they are acting normal. I’ll give it a week, maybe more ( I feel my typical winter upper respiratory crud coming on, and unless I can avoid it, the fish won’t get moved around until im better).
It’s basically like starting a new cycle, using these guppies are feeding the good bacteria to establish the nitrogen cycle for the more prized fish.
It is a bit harsh, but culling fish is harsh. I do it for health over looks, to reduce the fish load of these very abundant breeders, before they breed themselves into oblivion. Too high a fish load will overwhelm the bacteria, causing a spike of ammonia, nitrogen, etc. I’ve tried selling the excess, but have had few buyers. I just moved the latest batch of babies I could catch into the shrimp tank.