turned the shell in a way so that the closed/ pointy bit is upwards and the “entry” is at the bottom (shell still underwater) then take the shell out of the water so that water flows out, you should see the fish sliding downwards then bring the shell down underwater and do this until he is out If that doesn’t work try to make little hole in the shell high as possible (without hurting the fish of course) – that should help you make sure all the water is flowing out.
My little baby is out and happily swimming in the tank.

Sorry to hear about Bob, but just in case that happens to you or somebody else again, hope this will help.

Love, Christina

Smaller bowls, vases so on, do not allow for the best water quality, and frequent water changes stress them out ie diseases. They love plants and are called ‘butterflys’ of the east in Asia, where they hide, sit on, or under broad leaved plants. Also, they need them to feel secure ie no one can see and eat me!

A five or ten gallon with slower moving filter and plants is perfect for one male betta – smallest would be 2.5 (some do like it smaller). Just because they have adapted an organ to surface breathe, need not be taken advantage of ie they still need clean cycled water. Bad bacteria occur within hours and is the reason for most betta deaths.

Their stomach is as small as their eye, so overfeeding them can kill rapicly. They need the same requirements as any other fish, clean soft water (although they can handle a range).

Next to goldfish they are one of the most ill treated fish.

I do betta rescues and it is a pretty sad affair.

Best Lynn

We never had very good luck with betas when we had them in college either.

*hugs*
~Jenn

The other day we did find one odd white crumb in his bowl, so yet another theory of his fatal illness is that he was either fed some cereal or crackers, or some inadvertently fell into his bowl. We’ll never know, now. Maybe it was a combination of factors that did him in. Or, he was just old and ready to die.

Oh, and we had Bob for 9 months. I’ve heard they can live for 4 years, so we’re sad to lose him so soon, but at least we had a good run.

What a sad story, amazingly well told! I know how hard it is to say goodbye to a pet as beautiful and well trained and loved as Bob. I would also like to tell you about my recent experience with a Betta almost the color of yours. I gave him to my father for his birthday last year. It lived in his little bedroom in his assisted living place.

I thought it would be fun to watch, and his small bowl had beautiful marbles on the bottom. I also bought a little African frog to keep the fish and my dad company. They were so much fun, but I hid the flaked food from my dad because I knew he wouldn’t be able to remember when and how much to feed them. About once a week I would pour a little of their water in a bowl and put them in it with the little net. I would scrub the bowl and put the same temperature of water from the tap in it and pour them back in. I didn’t study about it, and it surprised me that a year later they were still alive from that simple care. I guess they got used to the chlorine or whatever was in there.

The sad part is that one day I came in and found them both dead in some very murky water. It seems that my dad had fed them quite a large amount of his Grape Nuts that he liked for a snack. He must have thought they would like a snack, too. We didn’t replace them, but maybe I’ll try again some day. I highly recommend the little frog to you if you’d like to try a different pet or a companion for your new Betta.

Love, Helen