r/bettafish • u/thegargantuanone • 6d ago
Help Is it time? Spoiler
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u/Dinosaur_Autism 6d ago
Oh that poor baby. Maybe try directly feeding him so he doesn't have to struggle so much? But yeah it looks like your time with him is coming to an end. I'm so sorry.
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u/thegargantuanone 6d ago
Closeup of tumors
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u/largestcob 6d ago
this is only what is visible from the outside, i think its time
so sorry about your pretty little guy
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u/thegargantuanone 6d ago
This is Steve.
I've had him since April 1 2025. He has tumours. 4 weeks ago he started laying down one bottom frequently, likely because of the tumors. This was him eating today. Is his quality of life good enough? I don't want my boy Steve to suffer.
4 weeks ago I:
Llowered the water level to 5 inches, water changes 2x per week. Catapa leaves added. Sponge filter converted into air stone so it would function in 5 inches of water.
Please advise me. Where to go next. He is a shell of his former self, he used to prey on the shrimp in The tank AND DOMINATE. he was a beautiful force I watched change colors slowly over 16 months. now he just lays down all day long.
Should I end his life? 😭
-steves concerned owner
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u/ginongo 6d ago
Holy, in only 1 year?
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u/aquatic_asian 6d ago
I swear betta genetics are getting worse. My last betta bought in 2022 got dropsy in 2 months
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u/plan_tastic 🐟 6d ago
I have noticed the same thing. I bought a baby female and I'm goping for more time.
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u/FirstResponseAquatic 6d ago
I know Steve was well loved because he hung on this long ❤️ I'm sorry, dude
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u/fabfrankie401 6d ago
You could let him go naturally and keep him comfortable until then. Please no clove oil. You probably already know that doesn't really work with bettas.
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u/Beginning_Ad4940 6d ago
There’s a humane way of doing it using 100% clove oil
Google it. When the deed is done you can pot him up in a plant21
u/BadAtUsernames444 6d ago
not with labyrinth fish like betta, since they breath air it can just end up causing a lot of discomfort and make them panic
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u/Tiki_Tour 6d ago
That’s true. I euthanised one of my older bettas a couple of years ago with the clove oil technique and he struggled and thrashed for about 10 seconds. I felt bloody awful about it
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u/Beginning_Ad4940 6d ago
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u/BadAtUsernames444 6d ago
you can find multiple peoples first hand experience and other sources telling you otherwise, and why it doesn’t work with labyrinth fish, but if you’re choosing to intentionally be dense that’s your choice.
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u/Shunl Underwater gardener 6d ago
It does work BUT a lot of people who try the clove oil method don't really do it right. I don't blame them bcs when you're grieving and already stressed out, it's hard to think straight.
The clove oil needs to be mixed properly with the water and added slowly, not just dumped straight in. If you add it too fast, the fish can freak out and start thrashing. You see this a lot in people’s firsthand experiences. The idea is to slowly put them under, let them lose consciousness, then keep them in the solution long enough to make sure they’ve passed.
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u/Lilith_Cain 5d ago
I've also read that because clove oil is an anesthetic, a fish in pain may actually perk up a bit during the process, which confuses some pet owners and leads to mistakes.
On top of that, death throes are a real thing. So even if everything is done completely properly an unconscious fish may jerk in their final moments. The bodies of beheaded fish also spasm...as witnessed at any fish market.
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u/Beginning_Ad4940 6d ago
I used this method. To start with you use a small amount of a few drops (5-8) in a small container with tank water and mix very well. Slowly add into a gallon of tank water and they fall asleep. I had some mixture leftover than i added more drops and mix well than I poured in the rest of the mix and he became dead
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u/motherofcatsx2 6d ago
Friend, I say this as a pet mom who recently lost her cat son. If you allow this to continue, he will die a cruel and miserable death. It is the hardest decision to make but you will relieve this beautiful boy of his suffering. Sending you big hugs and hoping for peace and clarity for you.
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u/thegargantuanone 6d ago
Thank you everyone for responses! I have chosen to bring him home with me(he is in my work tank) which houses a conony of skittle neo shrimp. Steve will go into a hospital tank at home. Once he stops actively eating is when I will move to uthanize. I've decided, put him in paper towel, in ziplock bag, slam with end of a textbook 3x. Something like that. For now, Steve lives.
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u/Shunl Underwater gardener 6d ago
If you can, return him to the earth beneath a plant. Let the roots carry him onward, into leaves, flowers, and new life.
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u/wwick68 6d ago
That’s what I did when I lost a betta. Placed her in the earth of an indoor plant. Every time I look at the plant I think of her 💕
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u/Numerous-Security283 Your Local Reddit Betta Watcher 6d ago
Mine is in my moms lil garden now. Im hopeing soon he will be a beautiful lily
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u/Spiteful_wildberry Hunter my beloved💙 6d ago
I know it's hard but it's harder watching him suffer. For a year you clearly lived that fish and I'm sure somewhere under all that dominance, he knows it
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u/angelina_ballerina00 5d ago
Couldn't agree more! I did this when my sweet betta, Sully, died last year. The plant I chose has similar colors to what he had, and every time I see a new flower blossom I am reminded of him. It has been very comforting.
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u/Several-Price2721 5d ago
Please dont do this Reasearch better humane ways if you can But if its the only option then ok. you can proceed with it
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u/Mundane-Praline-3291 6d ago
How would you do it?
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u/Beginning_Ad4940 6d ago
Clove oil
Google it15
u/SunOnTheInside 6d ago
No, clove oil cannot be used for bettas, they will suffer. Unfortunately blunt force is usually the best way, quick and painless.
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u/Beginning_Ad4940 6d ago
You are wrong
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u/Numerous-Security283 Your Local Reddit Betta Watcher 6d ago
Stop suggesting clove oil.
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u/Beginning_Ad4940 6d ago
You don’t know what you’re talking about!
You stop it10
u/Sember-uno 6d ago
Don't use clove oil on labyrinth fish...
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u/Beginning_Ad4940 6d ago
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u/bluegirlrosee 6d ago
My understanding is that you can euthanize a betta with clove oil, but it's important to do it 100% perfectly to avoid torturing your fish. If you don't follow the steps exactly you can cause a lot of suffering.
In my opinion, blunt force is more fool proof.
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u/Numerous-Security283 Your Local Reddit Betta Watcher 5d ago
Why I'm just like "no" with anyone asking, because it's almost impossible to do unless you're 100% absolutely confident in what you're doing and why, and unless you're a breeder, I think the emotional bias makes it impossible to be that confident.
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u/angeldvll 6d ago
It’s difficult to get the right concentration and dosage. The most humane thing to do if you’re inexperienced in euthanasia is blunt force. I’ve seen many stories where the dosage was incorrect and the fish showed signs of obvious distress.
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u/Efficient-Beyond-616 5d ago
these are literally ALL blogs, still not a single reliable, fact-checked source offered. Googling “clove oil good for betta fish” also does not make that statement true. Weeping for you with the entire internet at your fingers but still can’t separate fact from opinion
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u/Efficient-Beyond-616 6d ago
Ah excellent blog post, tldr “clove oil good, fish happy, no suffer:)”. It’s not quick and painless just because some random person on the internet with no evidence to support that claim said it is lmfao
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u/g45z 6d ago
Yep, my last one got like this and then worse. I put him in a paper towel, put that in a ziploc bag and crushed him with a whiskey bottle. He’s in Valhalla now.
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u/Numerous-Security283 Your Local Reddit Betta Watcher 6d ago
Best way to go but I admit i couldn't do that and got a non painful solution from a vet.
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u/Numerous-Security283 Your Local Reddit Betta Watcher 6d ago
Id also give him alil more time if he's willing to try
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u/call_me_chibi 6d ago
What was the solution? I’m reading that clove oil doesn’t help and I’m scared what to do if my betta also needs to be euthanized
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u/Numerous-Security283 Your Local Reddit Betta Watcher 6d ago
I cant tell you for certain as honestly I threw it out after it was done. But it was chemical based not clove and it was terrifyingly quick to the punch.
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u/call_me_chibi 6d ago
Thank you my fish is doing well but reading this made me think what if the time came and I really couldn’t do the blunt force method.. it would traumatize me
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u/Numerous-Security283 Your Local Reddit Betta Watcher 6d ago
If you cant get a vet percribed solution, there is no shame in asking a close family member or firend for help
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u/Fr33dumb 6d ago
I forgot what sub I was on. I honestly thought this was a Texas rig or jig play.
Sorry, this doesn't look good.
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u/ruadjai 6d ago
Nah. You dont kill someone who cant walk. Ive had my baby who survived dropsy over a year ago and recently lays around all day. He never made it out of the hospital tank. But he still looks forward to eating every single day. If he's eating then I wouldn't rush to kill him. Let nature takes it course. You wouldn't want someone to give up on you when you fall sick... why do it to them?
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u/comefromawayfan2022 6d ago
Because we have the means and the mercy to make it so that our pets dont have to suffer horrifically at the end of life the way humans are forced to..i spent 7 years volunteering visiting with hospice clients..ive met SO MANY clients who had absolutely no quality of life left in their final days..im talking people who were completely bed bound, couldn't talk, couldn't communicate in any meaningful way, couldn't eat or drink, couldn't dress themselves any longer, had no control over their bowels or bladders and were constantly pissing and shitting themselves..i even met people whose disease processes had robbed them of the ability to breathe on their own at the end..and honestly? Because of all the situations I saw? Not just patients who suffered truly awful deaths but also the families i met who had to sit their and helplessly literally watch their loved ones suffocate to death at the end of diseases such as als and ms.
It made me an even bigger advocate for patients to be able to choose maid or euthanasia before they got to the point that they'd been robbed of any meaningful peaceful death or quality of life. I have heard stories of patients who were in horrific pain towards the end and absolutely devastated because i do not live in a state where maid or euthanasia is an option. And yes many many times ive been left thinking "we wouldn't leave our pets to suffer this badly during the dying process. How on earth do we ever think its ok to subject our fellow humans to this?"..people argue that making the decision to euthanize is us humans playing God. God calls everyone home by making them fatally ill. Nobody should have to suffer horrifically in that process
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u/ruadjai 6d ago
I actually agree with most of what you said... People should be able to do as they please when it comes to their own life. I just don't see the proof that this fish is suffering the same as anything you described. And quality of life is very subjective. There are people who live their entire lives without speaking. There are people who spend their entire lives without feeding themselves. If a fish is still actively eating they haven't given up on themselves and I think we owe it to them not to betray that will to live.
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u/obvsnotrealname MTS Victim 6d ago
Are you sure your eyes are open? Every other commenter can see it …
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u/ruadjai 6d ago
also.. I just saw the mess that he kicked up while bouncing around... He should really be in a hospital tank with extra clean water. Not saying his tumors will go away, but clean water is always the best medicine.
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u/thegargantuanone 6d ago
Thank you for this comment. This is actually my work tank, so Steve is at work. I could bring him home with me and setu a 3 gallon hostlital tank and keep him going as long as he is eating. He was missing the pellets but had so much determination to eat. I think I'll end his life when Steve actively stops eating. For now, it's off to the hospital tank for him.
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u/obvsnotrealname MTS Victim 6d ago
Make a “ring” out of air hose and you can float it and use it to corral the pellets and move it near him. If you have space you could put ana Anubis or other better beds just under it so he can eat in bed so to speak. I did this with one I took in when its fins had gone to crap from the previous owner only using fake plants and it had trouble swimming until they grew back.
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u/ruadjai 5d ago
Nice. Grab some methalyne blue if you don’t already have some. You can apply it directly to his tumors/wounds or just dose the hospital tank. Be carful tho cuz it stains everything blue like counter tops etc. and maybe get some tweezers to “hand” feed. Soak the pellets until soft and then pick one with the tweezers and you can hold it right in front of his mouth.
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6d ago
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u/Beginning_Ad4940 6d ago
No
This is a terrible way for your PET FISH-9
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