Huh? My betta fish choked himself to death...?

E equals MC2

Banned
Apr 16, 2006
2,676
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I have a small 24 oz glass bowl thingie....

For the first time I put a male and female betta together in the tank, since the Petco dude said it's ok. (Two males will fight until either one is dead)

I put both bettas in the bowl... I noticed a funny trend: The female will continue to swim at the top while male stays at bottom.

They did not fight but they took great measures to stay away from each other. But strange thing is that the male betta would SUDDENLY spring upto the top then breathe straight out of the surface. Once he gets his breath, he quickly parks himself to the bottom...

This happened for about 24 hours and I just noticed he died... The female is still perfectly fine, floating at top....

EDIT:
I removed the dead male Betta. The female is now roaming freely at the bottom/middle/top part of the bowl.... They REALLY must've disliked each other...

I'm so confused.:confused:
 

BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
16,815
1
81
Originally posted by: E equals MC2
I have a small 24 oz glass bowl thingie....

For the first time I put a male and female betta together in the tank, since the Petco dude said it's ok. (Two males will fight until either one is dead)

I put both bettas in the bowl... I noticed a funny trend: The female will continue to swim at the top while male stays at bottom.

They did not fight but they took great measures to stay away from each other. But strange thing is that the male betta would SUDDENLY spring upto the top then breathe straight out of the surface. Once he gets his breath, he quickly parks himself to the bottom...

This happened for about 24 hours and I just noticed he died... The female is still perfectly fine, floating at top....

What makes you think he choked himself?

I had a homo betta just like yours once too. :p
 

HamburgerBoy

Lifer
Apr 12, 2004
27,111
318
126
Originally posted by: E equals MC2
Was he gay?

LMFAO!!! :D

Yeah, betta fish can be crazy though. Mine was never suicidal but my friend had six, most of which would jump out of the tank whenever they had the chance.
 

SWScorch

Diamond Member
May 13, 2001
9,520
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Bettas are labyrinth fish, which means they breathe air from the surface. That action by the male is completely normal. Don't know why he gives the female the cold shoulder though :)

EDIT: re-reading through, it appears that you know this and are just wondering why the male stays so fara way from the female, to the point of suffocating himself. Must be gay :)
 

E equals MC2

Banned
Apr 16, 2006
2,676
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Originally posted by: SWScorch
Bettas are labyrinth fish, which means they breathe air from the surface. That action by the male is completely normal. Don't know why he gives the female the cold shoulder though :)

EDIT: re-reading through, it appears that you know this and are just wondering why the male stays so fara way from the female, to the point of suffocating himself. Must be gay :)

I don't get it. The oxygen is present throughout the water, regardless of 'elevation'. How can he die from staying at the bottom? There's no oxygen at the bottom, that makes no sense.
 

Amdiggidy

Senior member
Jan 26, 2005
911
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76
So did you saute him in butter? :camera:

Seriously though, when did you buy these fish? Doesn't Petco have a dead fish policy, like if they die within 72 hrs. or something, they will replace your fish? (if you bring in your dead fish and receipt?)

I know Wal-Mart will do that. Of course, Wal-Mart sells diseased fish all the time, so it's a moot point. :p
 

mercanucaribe

Banned
Oct 20, 2004
9,763
1
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:music::music::music:
How could this happen to me
I've made my mistakes
got nowhere to run
The night goes on as I?m fading away
I?m sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me
:music::music::music:
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
Originally posted by: E equals MC2
Originally posted by: SWScorch
Bettas are labyrinth fish, which means they breathe air from the surface. That action by the male is completely normal. Don't know why he gives the female the cold shoulder though :)

EDIT: re-reading through, it appears that you know this and are just wondering why the male stays so fara way from the female, to the point of suffocating himself. Must be gay :)

I don't get it. The oxygen is present throughout the water, regardless of 'elevation'. How can he die from staying at the bottom? There's no oxygen at the bottom, that makes no sense.
No, what he probably means is that it breathes gaseous oxygen, not oxygen dissolved in water.
 

Minjin

Platinum Member
Jan 18, 2003
2,208
1
81
Originally posted by: E equals MC2
Originally posted by: SWScorch
Bettas are labyrinth fish, which means they breathe air from the surface. That action by the male is completely normal. Don't know why he gives the female the cold shoulder though :)

EDIT: re-reading through, it appears that you know this and are just wondering why the male stays so fara way from the female, to the point of suffocating himself. Must be gay :)

I don't get it. The oxygen is present throughout the water, regardless of 'elevation'. How can he die from staying at the bottom? There's no oxygen at the bottom, that makes no sense.

You're not going to have much oxygen dissolved in stagnant 24oz of water (which is torture, btw). So he needs to go to the surface to breathe.

Mark
 

I Saw OJ

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2004
4,923
2
76
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
:music::music::music:
How could this happen to me
I've made my mistakes
got nowhere to run
The night goes on as I?m fading away
I?m sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me
:music::music::music:

:D
 

SWScorch

Diamond Member
May 13, 2001
9,520
1
76
Originally posted by: Minjin

You're not going to have much oxygen dissolved in stagnant 24oz of water (which is torture, btw). So he needs to go to the surface to breathe.

Mark

It's probably not too tortuous for bettas, since they are built for that sort of conditions. They primarily live in swampy areas of Vietnam, where the water is very low and still, so that's why they take air from the surface; they're used to water with very low levels of dissolved oxygen. I think angelfish are also labyrinth fish too.
 

puffff

Platinum Member
Jun 25, 2004
2,374
0
0
this happens with humans too.. put a male and female together in close quarters 24/7, and eventually the man will want to kill himself too. ;)
 

TWills2

Member
Jun 8, 2006
96
0
0
This is way too long, but completely appropriate imo



was watching my TV one night when they broke in with a special report
About some devistating earthquake in Peru
There were thirty thousand crushed to death, even more were buried alive
On the Richter scale it measured 8.2

And I said, "God, please answer me one question?"
"Why'd they have to interrupt 'The Simpsons' just for this?"
What a drag, 'cause I was taping it and everything
And now I'll have to wait for the rerun to see the part of the show I missed

Why does this always happen?
Why does this always happen to me?
Why does this always happen?
(Why) Why does this always happen to me?

Ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba ba ba
Ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba ba ba

I was driving down the highway when all the traffic slowed to a crawl
There was a twelve-car pile-up, everybody dead
And I saw brains and guts and vital organs splattered everywhere
As well as my friend Robert's disembodied head

And I thought - Poor Rob, I just had lunch with him
Hey, wait a minute, he still owes me money - what a jerk
Well, there's five bucks that I'm never gonna see again
Plus now, on top of everything else, it looks like I'm gonna be late to work

Why does this always happen?
Why does this always happen to me?
Why does this always happen?
(Why) Why does this always happen to me?

Ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba ba ba
Ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba ba ba
Ba ba ba ba, ba ba

Oh, the other day, my boss said we were running low on toner
And he told me I should buy another case
Well, I told him I was busy, but he still just kept on asking
So, I turned around and stabbed him in the face (right in the face)

Oh, and wouldn't you know it, my knife got stuck
I guess that's probably bound to happen now and then
But I'm afraid I may have bent the tip a little
And I know that blade will never ever be quite as sharp again (quite as sharp again)
Oh, tell me

Why does this always happen?
Why does this always happen to me?
Why does this always happen?
Why does this always happen to me?

Why does this always happen to me?
(Why does this always happen to me?)
Why does this always happen to me?
(Why does this always happen to me?)
 

imported_bum

Golden Member
Jan 15, 2005
1,402
1
0
Originally posted by: E equals MC2
Originally posted by: SWScorch
Bettas are labyrinth fish, which means they breathe air from the surface. That action by the male is completely normal. Don't know why he gives the female the cold shoulder though :)

EDIT: re-reading through, it appears that you know this and are just wondering why the male stays so fara way from the female, to the point of suffocating himself. Must be gay :)

I don't get it. The oxygen is present throughout the water, regardless of 'elevation'. How can he die from staying at the bottom? There's no oxygen at the bottom, that makes no sense.

I think the point is that the fish was "holding his breath" at the bottom because he didn't want to be near the female. He occasionly went to the surface for air :)confused;) but eventually died. Weird. I'd go talk to the pet shop and tell them they killed your fish!
 

Minjin

Platinum Member
Jan 18, 2003
2,208
1
81
Originally posted by: SWScorch
Originally posted by: Minjin

You're not going to have much oxygen dissolved in stagnant 24oz of water (which is torture, btw). So he needs to go to the surface to breathe.

Mark

It's probably not too tortuous for bettas, since they are built for that sort of conditions. They primarily live in swampy areas of Vietnam, where the water is very low and still, so that's why they take air from the surface; they're used to water with very low levels of dissolved oxygen. I think angelfish are also labyrinth fish too.

I'm aware of where they come from. But if you've ever seen a betta in a larger container (~gallon) and seen how active and happy they are, you'd realize how much they must dislike the small spaces. Its like when you take a dog off its leash and let it run around in the field. It may not be torture when they are indoors, but they sure like being outdoors a hell of a lot more...

Mark
 

Injury

Lifer
Jul 19, 2004
13,066
2
81
Bettas have a knack for being territorial.. regardless of male/female.

my friend had a male in a tank, introduced a female a week later... then a month later had to take the male out for a couple of days because he was sick. Put the male back in, and the female, in that short span, had taken to the territory and chased him away at first sight.