I think you will find it was the "Epsom Salt" that killed or will kill him.
Salt can be used but it is usually an Aquarium salt. I believe table salt can be used but only in very small quanities.

Also did you clean out the filter under a runing tap or in the old tank water?

If you ran it under a tap this will also cause problems.

Water from a HW service can also cause problems especially if it is stored in copper tanks.

For more accurate info I strongly suggest you go to
fishprofiles.com the best Aqu site ever.

Keith

Water quality and drastic changes can cause the "flipping out". If I understand correctly you didn't change the water for a month. In a small aquarium water can get toxic rather quickly. There is just less water volume to dilute any toxins. Since you swithched from the bowl to a filtered aquarium and it was barely a month ago, the aquarium may be or should be close to establishing a nitrogen cycle. Aquariums should only have Partial Water Changes (PWC). In a 2.5 gallon aquarium, if it where me, I would change about 1/2 gallon of water twice a week.---"Got my first betta ever in August at a friend's wedding." I guess that it was a table centerpiece, I guess it sounds like a great idea if you don't know any better, but its pretty disgusting IMO. It sounds like you may be getting a replacement, to have better outcome do a little research, ask ???'s if there is something that isn't clear. Try the link below for starters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Water chemistry FAQs and Links

Epsom Salt will not kill fish unless you used a huge amount. If you followed proper dosing directions for an epsom salt bath it shouldn't have caused that reaction. I use epsom salts (manessium sulphate) for a supplement for my aquatic plants. It is a trace element in most tropical rivers, lakes and streams. It does however raise your GH (general hardness)because of the magnessium.

I hope you were able to revive him. I've used epsom salts in 1 of my Betta's tank and as a bath for him as well. I'm curious what kind of treatment you put in. It would be helpful to know. Also what temperature was the water you added in? It would be hard to say what happened there based upon what you say here. Was it the same water he was used to? How much epsom salts did you put into the smaller bowl? They are really delicate little things as I found out and subject to lots of perils. They're also fairly sturdy in contrast at the same time. No one sets out to do harm to their pets so I'm sure you're pretty upset right now. I'm enclosing a link for a forum where I've learned alot. Many of the folks there know alot and breed them too. Perhaps you'd like to post and see what others can come with for you. Hope your friend recovered but if he didn't you have my condolences. They're such wonderful little spirits. Keep us posted.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tropical Fish Forum

I'm going to enclose a second link for you from the same forum on tropical fish emergencies. I've gotten some help here and the members are very non-judgemental which is comforting when you're having a problem. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Tropical Fish Emergencies

"I guess that it was a table centerpiece, I guess it sounds like a great idea if you don't know any better, but its pretty disgusting IMO. It sounds like you may be getting a replacement, to have better outcome do a little research, ask ???'s if there is something that isn't clear"

--Just to let you all know that this is my very first time using this forum and I decided to join because I was hoping for a good answer or at least possible answers as to what happened with my little betta. I am not here for comments on my judgement of getting this betta. Yes, I did not know anything on fish but I still thought it a better idea to bring betta home for a chance at living than to leave him on the table with absolutely no one willing to take him home (that day of the wedding).

Additionally, after we got betta I did do research and definitely had tons of questions for the pet store people. And yes, sometimes there is trial and error involved. At first I followed the directions on the betta bit food bottle and ended up giving him too much food. So per advice from websites and other postings, I tried the pea which he did not eat and then tried the Epsom salt which did work. I also cut back on the amount of food and did not give him food on 1 day of the week. He was in much better spirits after al this.

Then, I started researching a tank because I thought he might need some more room to "grow" and because I was entertaining the idea of adding another fish or two. So after a long period of research, I settled for a tank with a Whisper Filter right before the holidays which my little betta loved. Everyday he would come up and wait for me to give him food and would swim around for me. Never thought I'd get attached to a fish, but I did..

Anyhow, I thought that with the filter I would not need to change the water every other week like I had been doing with the vase that he was originally in. The filter got "old" real quick (within 2wks) and I thought that was strange since every source I read/heard from it said that filters need to be changed every month. So I let it go... betta was still happy and didn't seem out of sorts. And, so I waited until my shipment of new filters arrived before changing the tank.

That brings me to yesterday. I finally changed the tank and what I did was no different from how I'd done it before. I did not put a lot of Epsom salt in the little bowl while changing the tank. I did unfortunately, dump all the water out rather than leaving part of it in (in the past I also dumped all of the water out). I added warm tap water, put a new filter in and added water conditioner (store bought water conditioner for bettas- don't know the name off the top of my head) per instructions on the bottle. The tank has a light hood that I have been leaving on 24/7 and it had been keeping betta warm.

So I see a couple of things that I did wrong but will continue researching bettas for better advice and answers so it won't happen again. So please, I'm not here for judgement day... I'm here for advice/help so that I can be prepared for the next fishy. Thanks to those for their condolences. Betta passed last night around 8:30pm.

May I ask why you thought the Betta was "constipated"?? Was he bloating? If this is the case, it may have been dropsy - which quite honestly is hard to cure.

In all my experience with Bettas I've never ever had any luck with salt cures. Other tropicals, yes - just not bettas.

Also - what do you mean the filter got "old" Do you mean just gunked up with waste?

You have to remember, filters do two things. One is to provide mechanical cleaning... meaning it catches the gunk floating through the water. The other is biological - where good bacteria establishes itself in the filter media to break down waste products and uneaten food that is picked up by the filter. In my experience, I rarely replace my filters - I will rinse them (in the water that I've taken out in changing), but don't replace them unless I see that the fibers in the filter are really starting to pull apart and fray.

With the whisper filter, you can easily rinse this as well. Do you have carbon inside the filter? (not really necessary unless you're trying to remove medications) or do you place filter media inside it (which gives the good bacteria a place to grow).

With bettas (and I do not breed bettas, I just enjoy their company) - I found there's really very little science in their upkeep. I simply change the water religiously once a week - do a 25% water change. I scrub down the sides if there's algae. I feed twice a day... about 4-5 pellets. That's it. Oh - and I also never take out the betta while cleaning the tank. I just remove water via the gravel cleaner device, scrub down the tank while this is being done, and then replace the water with tepid tap water. I treat the tank with a water conditioner to remove the chlorine and chloromines.

If at one point you were overfeeding (by accident), sometimes you may have either created an environment that caused your tank to crash (meaning the water perameters got all out of sync) or your fish became hit with a bacterial infections because of the bad water quality. Keep in mind, some fish simply have stronger constitutions than others as well.

I thought he might have been constipated not because he was bloating (at least I don't think so) but because I hadn't seen poop in his vase. Additionally, he was swimming weirdly.. kind of vertically and bouncing off the bottom of the vase and then floating on his side at the top looking like he was dead. That was when I first used the Epsom salt and I saw a couple of days later he was pooping. And he had been doing well since then. All this was before I put him in a new tank.

Then, when I switched him to the tank about a month ago, I didn't notice any poop. Which I guess gets sucked into the filter? Maybe that's why I didn't see any? But he seemed very happy and alive. When I say the filter got "old" it was all green. I did rinse it once because I thought I read that somewhere but it didn't seem to help. All the green stuff kept growing at the bottom of the tank and seemed to be filling the filter. Additionally, it seemed like the water flow from the top of the filter slowed down quite a bit. I'm pretty sure the filter had some carbon in it (it came like that). The new filter I put in I had to assemble and add carbon (per directions).

After putting betta back into the tank, he was pretty much doing the swimming crazily, bouncing off the bottom of the tank, swimming vertically and upside down, etc and finally started laying on his side at the top of the tank. Like the way he acted when he was in his vase.

What is filter media and how is it different from the carbon?

How do you "clean" the filter? Esp. if full of algae? It was not frayed or pulling apart like you mention.

Sorry betta2006, It seems like there is a misunderstanding. I wasn't judging you. My comment was not directed at you in any way. Someone gave a fish to you as a gift. That person most likely had no idea of the care involved and that is because the way Betta's are marketed. Thats what I was reacting to, the way Betta's are marketed, not unknowing people that get bad advise from some pet store owners. My intention was to encourage research from a reliable source, thats why I put the link. To answer your recent questions----What is filter media and how is it different from the carbon? Filter media is just material that is added to your filter to help remove toxins. Carbon is media. The type of media that is used is determined by your specific needs. There are 3 types of filtration. 1) Mechanical, this is just the media (usually some type of sponge, like the blue or white meshy looking stuff) that removes large debris and particulate matter, like uneaten food, to keep the water somewhat clear . 2)Chemical, Activated Carbon is a chemical filter, it helps remove toxins in the water, kinda like a Brita water filter does. 3) Biological, this is most important and where the nitrogen cycle comes in. A biological filter is a media that cultivates beneficial bacteria. The bacteria that grows here is what processes ammonia that is excreeted by the fish and decaying fish food. For more detail on this read the link I gave you.-----How do you "clean" the filter? It sounds like you have "city" water or water supplied by a "water company", because you mentioned the addition of a conditioner. Most people will swish the filter arround in the water they removed from a partial water change (PWC). If you have well water, you can just rinse it in the sink because no chlorine/chloramine/ammonia has been added at a water treatment plant. Another option is to treat a bucket of tap water with your conditioner and swish the filter arround in that. The reason for rinsing the filter is because thats where the bacteria lives that is your bio-filter. If it is totally removed then you have to re-establish it again which is stressful and deadly to fish. In your case the bio-filter is also your mechanical filter and chemical filter (I guess its a combination carbon inside a floss type pouch). The good news is you can just cut a slit in the pouch, remove the carbon and replace it with loose carbon that is very cheap compared to replacing the whole cartridge. Another option is a new filter, one that has a removeable sponge or screen that can just be rinsed and the carbon/floss bag is discarded and changed. The bio-wheel (remember the one that Nemo swam up the tube in the movie) is a good option. More price effective is the "regent" or "aqua-culture" sold by walmart (this is just the same as the bio-whell one without the bio-wheel, but has a removeable screen for a bio-filter)its only $11 for a 10 gallon or smaller aquarium. Also, the gravel and any decor will host bacteria also, the filter is the prime location for bacteria because it has water flow, oxygen, and usually is dark. --Esp. if full of algae? Swish vigorously, If the algae was diatoms or a brown, flakey, slimy it will eventually stop. It is part of a new aquarium, and goes away eventually ( unless there are other circumstances). If it was green, I would guess it is just built up nutrients and maybe too much light. Frequent PWC's will dissolve the nutrients and reduce lighting to

I'm real sorry about your buddy. Sounds like you gave him a good life. I hope you're able to go on and share your household with another fishy friend. I have an old one I'm nursing along and swore up and down I'd never get another to go through all this again. Well, I got a real young little bitty one as I love this type of fish so much. I've learned alot along the way in researching what to do for the first one and if I don't get another all that might be a waste of energy. You did the right thing by seeking assistance and I'm sorry it wasn't of much help in the final hours. Hope you bounce back quick and wish you the very best of luck.

I thought that with the whisper filter there's a clip on top... so no need to slit open the filter bag.

The green sounds like algae... and that you said it was growing along the bottom as well? Or do you mean the sides of the tank. There's all sorts of algae. Are you talking string algae? Or hair algae? (which is dark green and looks kinda like tufts of mossy hair) Sounds more like you had a case of string algae... which can happen easily enough.

Physically cleaning the tank up with a tank scrubby sponge (safe for acrylic tanks) will help. String algae grows rapidly - and it is rather hard to eradicate. But I've found being on top of it, meaning scooping it out daily and cleaning does eventually clear it up. Last resort is to use a product to clear up algae. This can be bought in any fish store. (algaecide)

Do you have gravel in the tank? Or is it barebottom?

Everytime you change the filter, you are taking away a good portion of the good bacteria, btw... just keep that in mind.

Also just remember that lots of bettas aren't kept well in stores to begin with. Some could be harboring illnesses that spring up when under stress - like if the water quality suddenly went bad. It sounds like there were other things going on with your betta - and not necessarily constipation. I've never had any of my fish suffer from constipation - so I'm not certain what one would look for as far as signs. But not seeing feces or poop is not unusual. Yes - the filter would suck it up if it was floating around. That's what the filter is for.

woeisme- we're all good. I understand what you mean now.

Thanks also for explaining the filter in such detail. I knew there are 3 types (mechanical, chemical and biological) but didn't realize that the one I have is all 3 combined. However, what I'm still unsure of is what the "biological" part of the filter is...

Yes, the whisper filter has a clip top. So I guess when it needs to be rinsed, I rinse it with the carbon media still in it? And when it has to be changed, the carbon media can be replaced while the white mesh material it is contained in does not need to be replaced (unless it gets really frayed)?

As for the algae.. it was growing all over the bottom of the tank. I don't remember any along the sides. I didn't realize there were different types of algae either. The bottom of the tank had marbles in it (the same ones that came with betta in the vase. And there was no algae growing while betta was in the vase.). Since there was so much algae, I thought it was from the marbles so I decided not to put them back in after the water change yesterday. I guess I'll never really have the chance to see if that was the culprit or not (though I suspect it had something to do with it). But I think it also might have been because of the lights. I did keep them on 24/7. I did this because it seemed to keep the water temp much warmer and it was one of the main reasons for getting a tank for betta. He was starting to get cold in the vase and I had no way to keep him warm.

I didn't have any plants or other decorations. I did try the plastic plant for a couple of days with betta but it seemed very toxic to him since he acted very strange when it was there. As soon as I took the plant out, he was back to normal. And this trial and error happened when he was still in his vase.

One other thing- the person at the petstore said that I could get dried bloodworms for betta. I tested that out with him when he was still in his vase and he didn't eat it. It seemed like he didn't like it. Is that common that bettas don't like that type of food? He always ate his pellets but never touched the dried bloodworms.

Betta: Sorry about your loss. Here is a great site, one of many. (she breeds them)

http://www.bettatalk.com/

Betta's have fantastic personalities when provided with proper environment. I am learning as well and will share what I have found helpful. (got a great book there are hundrends of diff types - who knew)

Aged water is important... gas bubbles from new water can cause death. I prefilter mine as well... Makes a huge difference. (aged means let it sit for a day or two, oxygen goes out of water and then doesn't go into gills body of fish to cause problems).

They do better with pinch of salt to water. Betta talk has exact formula.

(I did ph and other tests once with water, water with salt, water with different meds, and found as many may already know that salt and certain meds raise ph dramatically. Ph changes need to be done extremely slowly. Salt is fine for Betta fish, but I suspect that the ph change was to sudden and drastic in your case. So when using salt in addition to what one uses as part of their overall water set up, for illness for example it would be added (first in small cup of water and that trickeled in to main tank ie no salt chunks in water) slowly over time as one would when adjusting any ph changes. Very slowly.. I think I read 1 degree per day! Drip, Drip, Drip eventually it gets there. When water changes are done, temperature and water ph so on have to match.

Plants make a huge difference. They love to rest in them esp at top. Water - just as with any fish needs to be filtered, waste cause problems. Less water changes due to addition of filter means less overall stress. (by less I don't mean less then what is healthy, but filtration means overall water quality is more stabalized.) I never do 100% for reasons stated by others here.

I suck little bit of water off bottom every other day and top off with fresh aged water. Check parameters to make sure they stay healthy. Once a week or more depending on conditions which are always in flux, I do about 1/3 or less/more depending. I use only small amount of gravel just enough for healthy bacteria as the plants float or are not in need of planting in soil/sand. Banana plants or Anubias Nana at bottom. Easier to keep tank clean.

Nutrition is important. Her site and others offer information. Meat eaters, and variety as well needed. They ARE picky, one will eat this and refuse that. I found over time though they often evemtually eat food once rejected. I am planning to eventually grow my own cultures as frozen and live foods from store are often contaminated with bacteria...Person at local store confessed they often let frozen thaw then refreeze and from my science background know that bacteria and viruses can survive extremes in temp, so due to problems with frozen won't use anymore. Yuke.

Until then I smash snails and shake off shell and feed him this once in awhile. (be careful, read of woman smashing snails and getting blood poisoning almost dying and loosing part of finger and just saw guy at pet store today, with tip of finger gone, from same, ie bad bacteria from snail..)

They are worth the effort, and your number one Betta perhaps showed you how wonderful they are, as I have found out. (I felt sorry for Betta's at local store, and 'rescued' two so far but knew taking risk as conditions there are pretty horrific)

You did your best, given the negative history he and most go through...(now ready to put all this newfound information to work towards next fella) Best, Sherry

PS my room is dark and can hardy type but will post information and name of book, really great book (except not too much info on disease and treatments, but good info on water quality so on)

Forgive me but has the betta died allready? I thought it was hanging by a thread. A 25 watt heater will keep the water a consistant temperature. If you go with a heater, do not get the type that is "factory preset" usually a kinda small box looking thing that claims it is good for bowls and aquariums up to 5 gallons. They have been known to fry fish, while some have had success with them, I wouldn't trust it. When it comes time that your bio-bag (I think thats what Whisper calls them)is tatered and shreded, just replace the bag, dont discard the old one, but cut it into pieces small enough to fit in with the carbon, don't replace the carbon for that change but maybe remove some to make room for the cut bio-bag.This will allow the bacteria that has grown on the old one to "seed" the new.-However, what I'm still unsure of is what the "biological" part of the filter is... ---- The biological part of the filter is where the beneficial bacteria grows. Because the bacteria is alive it is called biological.One of the bacterias feeds off the ammonia in the water collumn (from fish crap and decayed food, etc), it. This produces nitrITE,another bacteria that is growing on the filter uses the nitrITE and turns it into nitrATE. This is good, because ammonia and nitITE are toxic to fish, nitrATE isn't toxic as long as its kept at a low level. That is why we do PWCs, to remove the nitrATE that is produced, allong with other dissolved organics in your little ecosystem. Since your aquariumis small needs to be done more frequently, as a rule of thumb. After a while you can determine what amount of water and how often it needs to be changed. One aid in this determination is a complete water test set. In the case of your filter the best place to let it grow is the white bag with the clip. The carbon also hosts the bacteria, but since the carbon exhausts after a while (or gets less effective at its job) it needs to be replaced. Rather then removeing both hosts to the bacteria and leaving no biological filtration, you just discard the old carbon and replace and keep the bag that has bacteria on it allready. As far as aging water, if you are only doing small water changes, frequently the small amount of water you are replacing should not affect the water too drastically. This is not allways the case though some well water(and city) has a high concentration of CO2 in it. This causes the water to be very acidic. When the CO2 escapes'the pH can rise rapidly to a base. This can stress fish, especially delicate ones. I have this situation and I just use an airstone in a bucket of water to "gas it out" if I amdoing a large water change. Aging over night or for a few days will also do the trick. You do however need a good water conditioner, like Prime or Amquel, that removes chlorine/chloramine and ammonia, if you have treated water from a water co----Alagae, with all the nutrients that may have built in the water + ones that are allready there + light 24/7 will give you an algae bloom, no doubt. If you do the PWC's and limit the light the algae will starve and go away. For a quicker results, use no light, or very little for a week or 2. This includes sunlight from a window. Some people have even covered the glass with a paper bag or something for a complete blackout.Read the original link I gave you, its long but no more longwinded then me. Oh yeah, the food varied diet is good, some have had great success with just a quality betta pellet like hikari. If you want to try something else you can even get live brine shrimp from a good LFS or start a hatchery of your own one day, its pretty interesting. My betta is a typical betta, a pig, he'll eat anything.

a betta in a vase with a peace lily.... those are so bad (i know, it was a gift) Did he recover??? they are tough, but it definitely sounds like he suffered some toxic reaction.

With bettas because they do take their oxygen from the air and not the water water quality isnt as big a concern. I will put my bettas in tap water if i have to they are a tough fish, im guessing you overdid it with the salt.

Carbon in a betta tank (or any other tank for that matter) is useless unless you plan to change it constantly.

If your Betta eats pellets let him eat pellets. Dried bloodworms are ok for a snack, but dont feed him to many, they swell in their tummies. A favourite snack is the good old fruit fly. Leave a banana on the counter for a few days and in no time your betta will be eating like a king.

Get a few snails for the tank, it will take care of your algae problems (assuming your guy pulled thru). I recommend Marisa snails(Giant Columbian Ramshorn snails).