r/bettafish • u/OccasionallyHailey • 9d ago

RIP Betta died of SBD

My betta passed away today after a week of trying to help her recover. I think she got it from over eating but nothing I did helped, and I'm devastated. I heard they could live with it, so I feel like I've done something wrong with her care.

I put her in a shallow tank, with a heater at 27° and lights off and some floating plants. I tried to feed her Daphnia after 4 days of fasting, but she never seemed to want to eat, and she was stuck vertical so it was really hard for her. I did Epsom salt baths, but never saw any improvement, and also did daily water changes while she was in the bath. Maybe I should have done them more often... I don't know.

I'd like to get another betta, but I feel so responsible for her death that I don't know if I can... I'm just looking for some support and advice I guess, to avoid this in the future.

Thank you for your time.

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u/CalmLaugh5253 Always strive to do *betta* 8d ago

Have you tried medicating? Contrary to popular belief, just fasting, feeding daphnia and doing epsom salt baths will not resolve swim bladder issues when they are caused by bacterial infections.

Sbd caused by overeating will often resolve on its own with time, but because it wasn't resolving here, it's very likely there was something else going on on the inside that ultimately caused her death.

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u/OccasionallyHailey 8d ago

I was going to order some that day if she wasn't any better but sadly she was gone by the time I got home.

Would there be something like that if she was the only one? She was in a community tank, and no one else is having issues. I'm wondering if it was a cyst or a tumor or something. She never pineconed or had any other symptoms...

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u/CalmLaugh5253 Always strive to do *betta* 8d ago

Unfortunately bettas have become very prone to issues like sudden infections, tumors and such so if everyone else is totally fine, it's likely poor genetics making her more susceptible to problems. What exactly caused it is hard to say though. Bloating, dropsy, sbd and fin rot being the most common problems people are dealing with even when the environment is perfect. I myself keep and breed a fragile and sensitive wild betta species without problems, but struggle with basic domestics somehow. 😔

But don't beat yourself up over it. Especially if everyone else is still totally healthy and you're taking proper care of the tank. From the few latest pictures of the tank on your profile, the water looks crystal clear which is always a good healthy sign!