Betta Fish died, and I don't know why.?

I thought my Betta had a fungal infection; he had purple-reddish patches on his gills, cotton-like strands on his fins, was refusing to eat, and had a swollen belly. I was adding BettaMax daily from 4 days ago, but today he had an enormously swollen belly, was just hanging out at the top, barely moving. Also, he'd been gulping for air, but the air was just slipping out of his gills in a big bubble. I checked for velvet, but I didn't see any gold-ish patches on his skin, except for this small dots on his gills that also looked red.





He was also swimming funky, kind of on his side. I thought it was swim bladder disorder, but apparently this clears up on its own? But bad news. This afternoon, I found him lying at the bottom covered in what looked like dry (human) skin with mildly raised scales on his stomach, which looked like it had expanded twice its size in about an hour. Not responding to anything... poking, prodding, movement from tank to another tank. What did he die of? Thank you.

Betta Fish died, and I don't know why.?
oh man, I'm sorry your betta died. My betta of three years passed this summer, and I was a bit bummed out, too. He has a good little guy.





The patches on the gills, were they never there before? If not, you've described something akin to septicemia, which is bacterial. The swollen belly does sound like swim bladder, but with every symptom you've described, it could also be dropsy. Dropsy results in the scales sticking out like you mentioned.





I don't know if this is completely accurate, but I've seen it in other fishes I had that I had overfed, and had fed too strict of a diet.





I don't know if this would help you in the future, but I suggest using Hikari betta pellets as the main food, and try to fast your betta one day out of the week (or give him only a pellet or two if you can't stand it - I have to, too) and check your local pet store for good, frozen larvae to suppliment. Or give him a swatted fly once a week. The food issue is very important with fish. I've noticed that mine live longer if I don't over feed. The swollen belly could also be fatty deposits or liver problems due to over feeding.





For the future, I have two medicines for you to keep in mind. Kanamycin and Neomycin from Seachem chemicals. You can order them from thatfishplace dot com for the best price. They attack negative and positive strains of bacteria. I'd also keep Melafix and Pimafix on hand. Great things.





Even though Bettamax is made for bettas, the above-mentioned anti-bacterial agents are extremely strong, gentl to all plants and fish, and can be used in small and large tanks. Best wishes.





I hope someone else who has much better betta knowledge than I do contributes, because it's always nice to learn from people who have more experience.
Reply:Do you use bottled distilled water in his bowl? My sister did and thats what killed hers...I know it sounds silly, but she thought she was doing the fish a favor by not putting him in Cleveland tap water! Oh well...
Reply:He might have died of parasites becauese you said he has long stringy things. Were they whitish or clearish? I'm sorry for your loss :(
Reply:sounds like dropsy -- did you clean his water frequently? its really better to just give him clean water than add medication -- i thought bettamax isn't even supposed to be sold anymore because its just a bunch of stuff trying to cure everything in one bottle which is really stressful on the fish.
Reply:What was the water temp? If not high enough, this may have been the initial cause of his problems. Also, were you doing water changes. If kept in a bowl, this is especially important.