My fish died...

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Just so you know, bettas are tropical fish and need warmer than room temperature water. They make 7.5 watt aquarium heaters and what would work for your 1 gallon. In addition, since a 1 gallon cannot be cycled easily, you will need to do a 100% water change once a week to prevent ammonia levels from getting to high. High ammonia results in burned fins, gills, general stress, and death. And a betta kept in unheated water is listless, less colorful, stressed, and won't thrive.

Hate to say it, if you were keeping your goldfish in a 1 gallon, there is little wonder he died. I am not trying to be insensitive, but goldfish, even fancy ones, need huge aquariums with large amounts of filtration and water circulation to be kept healthy. They produce a lot of waste. Goldfish seem 'healthy' for so long in tiny bowls just because they are incredibly resilient fish. The stocking level for fancy goldfish is 20 gallons for the first fish, and 10 gallons for the second (and since they are social fish, they need to be kept in a pair at least for optimal health). Comet or 'common' goldfish need even MORE space, and really should only be kept in large ponds since they can grow over a foot long.

Thank you, Stacykins for what you said about the Bettas and Goldfish. We've always had our Bettas in heated and filtered tanks. They too lived for years. We've even had one or two in community tanks where no one picked on them and they enjoyed the socializing. Just because something CAN live a certain way, doesn't necessarily mean it's happy or it's the best conditions.

No problem! As a moderator on Ultimate Bettas, I definitely can't stand it when people are misinformed about proper care of various fish species. They may not be cute and fuzzy, but they deserve proper care like any other animal. Too many suffer because they are "just fish".
 
i agree stacykins! i especielly hate seeing small gallon bowl sold with goldfish food as a "kit" basically screaming at people to buy a goldfish for a bowl! and you cant be angry at people becuase youd think that knowledgable people created these goldfish bowl kits so how are they to know? its so sad! i have 4 fancy goldies in an 80 gallon tank and to keep them healthy i do water changes EVERY WEEK!
 
When I was a very young kid I kept fish in large fish bowls and they did just fine for years. A young relative just lost his pet fish after many years of careful care in that same type set up. I graduated eventually to very large (and expensive and well maintained set ups) and still had losses at times. It happens no matter the set up and it's always painful to lose our pets.
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I've always had fish. I moved on to hermet crabs after my Betta Denis passed away at the ripe old age of seven.
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They inherited his 10 gallon tank. Now they have two 50 gallon tanks and two ten gallons
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I know how you feel Stacy.
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People don't care to think of the low quality food they feed their hermies. Or the teeny tiny cages they keep them in. Or the harmfull paint they use on shells Or that fact that they need at LEAST 85ish degree temp. Or the fact they need SALT water AND freash water. Or that table salt doesn't work
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I could go on and on. but I'll just stop now
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sorry about bubbles, goldfish are such great fsh. I guess when it comes to fish keeping its thriving vs surviving. Any pet I have I want to live the best life possable.
 
I used tobe an asst mgr at an aquarium store. People thought I was nuts because I had.some real moral dillemas about it. They are just fish. But they are living beings and it just killed me to sell a fish to a customer I knew was not going to give it the right environment. I'm currently unemployed and could probably get that kind of job in a heartbeat, but I just can't do it.

Back to topic at hand though - I always thought smaller, more frequent changes were better. Never 100 percent if you can avoid it. I always did 1/3 daily in my betta tanks (1 galon-ish)
 
Thanks for the info, stacykins! I've got to tell my mom this...
 
watchdogs i am in 100% agreeance, i too used to work in a pet store (aquarium dept) and couldnt do it anymore, i lfft after getting reprimanded when a guy wanted to buy $200 worth of saltwater fish for his freshwater tank...the stores police on salties is theres no return in case of death...so i should have sold him all the fish he wanted the store wouldnt have to give him anyhting back when they died...
i just couldnt do it...
they may be "just fish" but to me "just" is enough to save as many as possible and educate people over.

i also agree, small frequent water changes are MUCH healthier tha 1 big one...my betta has a 5 gal, i do 2 x 1/2 gal changes a week and that seems to keep me within perfect parameters...hes a happy betta, im a happy person.

i never do more than a 10% change if i can help it!
 
Quote:
Just so you know, bettas are tropical fish and need warmer than room temperature water. They make 7.5 watt aquarium heaters and what would work for your 1 gallon. In addition, since a 1 gallon cannot be cycled easily, you will need to do a 100% water change once a week to prevent ammonia levels from getting to high. High ammonia results in burned fins, gills, general stress, and death. And a betta kept in unheated water is listless, less colorful, stressed, and won't thrive.

Hate to say it, if you were keeping your goldfish in a 1 gallon, there is little wonder he died. I am not trying to be insensitive, but goldfish, even fancy ones, need huge aquariums with large amounts of filtration and water circulation to be kept healthy. They produce a lot of waste. Goldfish seem 'healthy' for so long in tiny bowls just because they are incredibly resilient fish. The stocking level for fancy goldfish is 20 gallons for the first fish, and 10 gallons for the second (and since they are social fish, they need to be kept in a pair at least for optimal health). Comet or 'common' goldfish need even MORE space, and really should only be kept in large ponds since they can grow over a foot long.

my betta lived in room temp water for 4 years.
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Agreed. My male betta was kept at room temp with no problems. I have a female betta in in 55 gal tank with other fish and that is barely heated because it naturally stays in the 74-76 degree range all on its own.

I'm so sorry about your goldfish. We lost our fancy goldfish a few months back and since my bf is allergic to fury critters, it was his favorite pet. We were all pretty upset. My heart goes out to you
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