RIP Vim Fuego

[Suki Wingy]

RIP Vim.
I woke up today late and quickly went to check the temperature on the tank, make sure my fish was alright before rushing off to school, and to my surprise found Vimmy laying dead on the gravel. I don't know what's wrong but I'm thinking the ammonia level was too high. I don't have a filter and I don't think I did enough water changes. It's just really depressing on top of how much life kind of sucks right now. :(

___________

I got a betta. I was the weirdo who spent my entire freshman springfest in the computer lab researching bettas. That was four years ago. Once, I went to the store and bought one when my dad came to visit, and he took him home for me, but he didn't know how to care for one and wouldn't listen, so the fish died.

Now I finally have my very own little fishie. I bought a 10 gal and now it's sitting half full while the water gets ready for Vim Fuego, aka one spaz of a fishie. Over time I'm going to get gravel and live plants and some bamboo and little ceramic pots for him to hide in and some corries.

Here he is in the pathetic little cup
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m94/Oslobunn/100_3135.jpg

and the ten gal waiting. I don't have a top yet, so that's why it's so empty.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m94/Oslobunn/100_3134.jpg

I was always sure I'd get a yellow or orange or brown fish, but I just really liked his marbling.

I was looking around for some pictures maybe like the image in my head of the set up I wanted, and I found this, very similar, only I want natural colored gravel and maybe a small ceramic pot or two to give it an almost 'sunken garden' kind of look.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121342

[Zippy]

Congrats Vim Fuego is a beauty :)

[Suki Wingy]

Here's more
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m94/Oslobunn/100_3180.jpg

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m94/Oslobunn/100_3176.jpg

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m94/Oslobunn/100_3169.jpg

It also has gravel now, I don't have any pictures of that yet. He's a very active fish. I named him after one of Adrian Edmondson's characters in The Comic Strip Presents: Bad News.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8feNFx3y3U&feature=related

[Casper]

He's a handsome little guy, and a lucky one, too! I bet he feels like a king with so much room.
Congratulations on finally getting your fish!

[Suki Wingy]

Thank you. I love how pretty he is when the natural light hits his fins.

[3muttsandaboston]

He is beautiful although you will probably get tons of algae in that tank since it's right next to a window.

[ramanth]

He's cute. Congrats!

[cloverfdx]

He is beautiful :love:, congrats. Will he be getting a heater for Winter?

[Suki Wingy]

Yep, heater and whisper filter soon. I have some driftwood I collected that I have to treat for the tank.

I was a part of Amy Krause-Rosenthal's The Beckoning of Lovely opening project, and now she's asking everyone to "make something beautiful" and send in a video. This tank will be my "something" I am taking pictures every step of the way so I can make a video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVQSZA9zSk

[Suki Wingy]

I have a question, is algae in the water a bad thing? Is it just esthetic?

Also, when I put his lamp on, he spends a lot of time flaring at his own reflection. Is it bad that he does it so much?

[Christmas_Hamster]

The algae just doesn't look good no biggie.

He flares with the light on because he can see his reflection. It isn't bad for him to flare but he could hurt his gill/beard he flares too hard so just keep it 20 minutes max =)

Your betta is handsome btw!! But how are you keeping the tank clean I see no filter...100% water changes on thar cannot be fun.

[bckrazy]

Vim Fuego is very handsome, and I love his name! Marbles are definitely the best. = )

He is very lucky to have a nice, big tank all to himself. Ask me if you need plant recommendations! I have probably killed $100's of plants, but I did learn which ones are hardier/easier in the process. Just a note about algae: it is not a good thing to have lots of algae in a planted tank. Unless the tank is very, very densely planted, the algae is going to take away a lot of nutrients from the other plants. I don't mind a bit of algae here and there, it actually keeps the water cleaner.

[Suki Wingy]

I definitely want to know which plants are the hardiest. Knowing me, everything that could go wrong, will.

[Suki Wingy]

bump :(

My dad thinks it just got too cold over night, because we didn't have a heater yet.

[bckrazy]

Oh no! :(

I'm very, very sorry about Vim Fuego. He really did die too soon, he was a very handsome boy. And honestly, I don't know if ammonia levels could get THAT high in such a short amount of time... considering that Bettas survive in 1" of filthy water in Wal*Mart, they are a very hardy fish. Unless you did ZERO water changes in 2 weeks, I don't see 8-ish gallons getting dirty enough to kill a Betta so suddenly. How cold do you think it was? I don't really see the cold killing a Betta overnight, either, unless it dipped extremely low. Do you know what the temp was, about? Did you add any new live plants recently? What else did you put into the tank? Did he seem lethargic beforehand?

My guess is that he probably wasn't healthy to begin with. He could have some sort of internal parasite, or he could have just not recieved adequate care before you bought him, or he could have been an older Betta already. Where did you buy him? I would never diss on pet store Bettas, because the one that I recieved lived for 2 1/2 years and was an awesome little CT, but I tend to stay away from pet store Bettas because of all of the unknowns. It just breaks my heart to lose a Betta, and with many pet store Bettas, they're much older than breeder Bettas and have recieved absolute minimum care and kindness in their lives.

Oh, and as for plant recommendations, if you're going to continue planting the tank... I highly recommend Java Ferns! They are available at most fish supply stores (harder to find at Petsmart/Petco, but they occasionally carry "tropical fenrs), and they need no special care. I've had bunches of Java Ferns last for years, with only sunlight, and with frequent water changes. They're also quite cheap, and very pretty. If you want floating plants, I highly recommend Water Sprite, as they're hardy and grow pretty prolifically. For tank bottom plants, Java Moss is equally as hardy as Java Ferns and it looks very pretty, too.

[Suki Wingy]

I'm not sure what I'm doing with the tank now. I added some clay garden pots about 5 days before he died, but I soaked them in hot water and then rinsed them off before putting them in.

[bckrazy]

Were those just terra cotta pots? I use those all the time...

I'm pretty stumped. It's sad that these things happen sometimes, for no apparent reason! Don't give up on Bettas, though. And don't blame yourself.