Nearly had a heartattack today

I was cleaning one of my beta's Spec V today and was letting the tube rest at the front of the tank to drain some of the water. I was working on the other betta tank next to him. I looked over at the intake tube and there was something clogging it.

OMG it was my fish!!

I immediately crimped the cord to release the suction, but he didn't drop loose. I pulled the tube off and was hanging out of the base -- still stuck!

I gently pulled but he didn't budge. I pulled harder and he came out with a *pop*! I was terrified to look down because I was sure I'd ripped his head off.

Fortunately I didn't. He was at the bottom of the tank looking confused. I touched him and he swam away appearing to be okay. He went to hide behind the plants at the back, where I thought he was when I was cleaning. Apparently, not being the sharpest knife in the drawer, he had come over to see what I was doing and got sucked up. I watched him for the next couple of hours and he appears to be okay. I use a small tube for cleaning and I think only the front part of his face got stuck. I don't see any missing scales.

It took me an hour to stop shaking and I'm still having flashbacks and thinking what could have happened. You can bet I will watch him like a hawk next week when I clean.

 

Oh my goodness - that sounds like a real nightmare! My betta resting on the filter intake was enough to make my heart stop... Congratulations on your quick action. I really hope your betta is ok! (And that you don't get ptsd!)
Hugs and cups of tea

 

I had a Serpae Tetra that had a swim bladder disorder and he would get stuck in between my filter and glass. It wasn't any fun.

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One of my Cory cats did the same luckily his head was to big for the siphon.

 

I always put a net over the end of the syphon hose when draining water from a tank. I do not know what it is with syphon hoses and fish. Even with the net I still have to chase them away from the end of the hose.

 

Oh my goodness - that sounds like a real nightmare! My betta resting on the filter intake was enough to make my heart stop... Congratulations on your quick action. I really hope your betta is ok! (And that you don't get ptsd!)
Hugs and cups of tea

My son's does that!!! First time I saw it I was like OMG!!! NOOOOOOO!!!...as soon as I opened the lid, he wiggled off to see what I was going to feed him...turkey.

 

Elsa has learned his lesson and he keeps far away from the siphon now. Bettas might be curious, but they aren't stupid. He's my beautiful drag queen who insists on being fed brine shrimp from the end of a medicine syringe...one shrimp at a time. He's a diva with a personality that is totally not your typical betta. I think he knows his huge length of fin makes him special and he's right...he is.