Sarah Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Ok.. I had four female Bettas in a 3ft tank, with a newly added sucker fish (medium sized.. kinda small though). There are plants and driftwood to hide in, no issues there. Well, today I found Peach, my beloved BF female I got from someone.. like this.. Never mind the eyes.. bad angle. She looks so thin.. Anyway, there is no doubt she was MURDERED by her so called 'friends'. Possibly the sucker, but I doubt it. Now.. here comes the creepy part - Cherry and Bilberry are no where to be found.. NO WHERE! I pulled the tank apart, looked in each plant thoroughly, looked everywhere... did a water change as it seemed appropriate, hoping I will find them. There is only Honeydew, looking just as she always does.. not rounded after a big meal, just average.. oh, and the sucker. Nothing.. zit... gone.. vanished.. The filters are sponge (there is a few), so they couldn't have got stuck in that, they didn't jump out - lids were on, 20cm gap in between (I hadn't filled it up all the way). Could they have been eaten? I do feed them.. though had fasted them for two days (not long enough to eat their buddies). But the thing is, Peach (above Betta ) was the biggest out of the lot.. followed by Cherry, who was the top of the 'pack'. Bilberry, was the smallest, but only slightly, nothing to be concerned about. They had been separated for a while as the tank was cycling (had moved it.. let it mini-cycle, plus got a small sponge filter too). So yes, they did have a bit of a spar, but nothing serious, there were lots of hides anyways. So any ideas WHY this happened.. or where they are??? Luckily, Rose (Carnations partner) was being kept separately, so I'm so thankful for that! For some reason the forum is making each line its own paragraph.. sorry about that - I didn't do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louu Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 I am so sorry about Peach, Blueberry and Cherry. It is always sad to find them in such a bad way with nothing you can do to help! I am at a loss with what caused it I don't know much about sucker fish so I will not speculate. Hopefully somone can figure it out to revent it from happening again! Goodluck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) I'm sure I saw them yesterday.. but now I have doubts.. at least, I saw them 2-3 days ago. I know that's not a huge help, anything can happen in 2-3 days! Honeydew doesn't even seem bloated like I would expect them to after eating 2 1/2 Bettas ... bigger than her!!! Yes, they are not plakat males, I've had them living peacefully for ages together.. And the sucker, nothing to say, just a sucker.. small-ish too. I'm so confused, I don't know what I've done wrong.. I'm upset this has happened and I WANT MY FISH BACK! Though somehow I know they are dead.. but.. could they be alive? We have hermit crabs, and Nipper just disappeared, vanished just like this.. we went through every grain of sand, literally. A week or so later, he was sitting in the middle of the encloser, like nothing had ever happened. This gives me a small amount of hope.. but.. Didn't see your post Louu.. Thanks, really.. thank you. I think it is just a mystery... I don't know if I'll ever figure out what happened. We have a friend who asked me every week "any fish die this week"? (He is a friendly joker, kinda making fun of me, but in a nice way).. wonder what he'll say to this story. Edited January 29, 2011 by Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forever_and_a_day Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 :alright: i'm so sorry about your females! In a 3ft tanks with plenty of hideaways I doubt it could have been the other females I've never had a betta sorority so I'm not sure how the dynamics would work... but 3ft is quite a lot of space... what sucker is it exactly? Most of the ones I've seen labelled as '____sucker' are norally CAE... and they get pretty vicious as they get larger... but bettas are pretty quick too (though CAEs maybe even faster) so I dunno... sorry for my rambling 2 cents. Good luck in finding the villain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 So sorry Sarah, that is horrible. As you said to Jarrod, you can't blame yourself. These thing happen no matter how much we look after them. But what happened? Could anything be getting into the tank? Strange they have vanished. Suckers can do damage to fish though. Just guessing really. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanagi Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Looks like a Betta fight. A sucker would most likely just latch onto the side of the fish until dead, not go for the fins. Sorry about your others.. Hopefully they turn up, one way or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Sarah, that is terrible news. Try not to blame yourself, we can't watch out fish 24/7 - although I sometimes think I come close. I agree with Yan, it is a typical betta attack: they tend to go for the fins to disable their "opponent" How are Honeydews fins looking? Any sign of a fight? Is it possible that the sucker being the enterprising fish they are simply ate the others after they died or were disabled in the fight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Thanks for the comments everyone. Yes MT, I it is a CAE, but still is small.. I've had no trouble with them at this size. I agree with Yan, looks like a fight, not a latch-on-kill. Another strange thing is, there is no chips or bites out of Honeydews fins! No sign of fight, which is strange. If Cherry was still here, I would suspect her to have lots of chips.. she was always a bit of a bully, but was still OK with the others. Could anything be getting into the tank? Not without me noticing.. unless something came in through the gap that is for the heater/filter cords.. but I don't think that's it. Never know. I understand that they are gone.. but I really want to know what it was, so I can fix/avoid whatever caused it. What is worse than losing your pets? Losing them and not knowing what happened.. I hope they do turn up, even if it is too late. Thank you again for everyone's kind words. Is it possible that the sucker being the enterprising fish they are simply ate the others after they died or were disabled in the fight? Jarrod, I believe that is what happened! Seems the most logical. I had popped in some extra/broken plant stems and they were just floating at the top. The females liked sleeping in them. Peach was tangled in between, so I think that is why she was the only one I found. I guess in a way, she was sleeping in them.. in the fish tank. Thanks for that.. seems to clear up my mind a bit. :bighug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannonbjs Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Wow sorry to hear of your loss very strange though I have NEVER had issues like that with a sorority - the worst I have ever had is a little tail damage at worst :( Always very sad to lose a fish let alone 3 and once RIP little fishies :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Thanks Shannon. Well.. here is what I think happened, idea came from Shadoh - There was a fight.. a match between Bilberry, the dainty little girlie, Cherry, the tom-boyish don't-pick-a-fight-with-me sort of girl, and Peach, the sweety that has to be involved with everything. So.. it was a pointless, life-ending fight, everyone was too weak to go on. Peach swam up to her sleeping space, where she felt the most safe, and died there. Cherry & Bilberry just .. died somewhere else ( ).. sucker came along and cleaned that mess of Cherry & Bilberry, where Peach was hidden in defeat. Where was Honeydew.. the only Betta survivor? She was the coward, and hid when the stare-off began, so wasn't involved at all. This saved her life, and explains why her fins are in perfect condition. Moral of the story - don't fight, the cowards are the ones that get out and live longer lives, so are, in a way, the heroes. :notsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Rose died. She was Carnations partner. It was bad enough that Peach, Cherry & Bilberry died, I was pretty upset about that, they were m pets. Peach was my very first someone fish.. her partner Plum died after spawning, got depressed after being seperated from the fry.. then all the fry died, now Peach is dead.. but Rose was my only HM girl (Carnation being the only male) I've ever owned, my first Thai fish. When Carnation was beat up, I thought he wouldn't make it.. but he pulled through. Now Rose just dies for no reason! I'm so upset... I don't understand, it is too much!!! She was my special girl. Never spawned her.. no fry to take after her. Why? I'm so sad, I'm crying as I type, so please excuse any mistakes.. I can't see the keyboard. Goodbye Rose.Rose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 :confused: Sorry to hear the bad / sad news Sarah.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks Wayne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Sorry Sarah. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks Paul.. I guess things happen sometimes, but it is still heart-breaking all the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannonbjs Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 oh Sarah how sad for you :( I can imagine it's hard losing that many fish in such a short time but please understand your not alone - I had a mass loss back in September - it was super hard for me - I lost all of my GOOD fishies and was very sad so I do know how it feels - all I can offer is massive (((((hugs))))) keep your chin up give yourself some time then you will be ready to look at new fishies xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks Shannon. Too bad about your loss.. Mum tried to make me feel better.. used her veggie garden dying as an example of how things don't always go your way. I had to laugh despite the loss - how does my lovely fish compare with plants? She is just trying to help of coarse, but really PLANTS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Sarah, I am so sorry to hear this. She was such a beautiful girl. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks Jarrod. She was, and I'm sure she had a happy life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 So sorry to hear Sarah... So shocking and sad. Hope you don't mind me clarifying something though... All the fish (including the sucker) in the 3foot tank are dead except one. And, of the dead ones, only one body to see. And, poor peach was kept completely separate, yet somehow suddenly died? I'm sorry if I'm touching a raw nerve by asking, but this is bizarre and absolutely shocking. So sorry once again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks Paul.. no worries. Yes, I believe the ones in the tank together died of a fight-out (why oh why must these beautiful fish fight), Honeydew, the survivor was hidden. And the sucker too is fine. Yes, Rose, was completely separate, and suddenly died. I think all these names must be confusing, so sorry about that. That is me naming them all after fruit/flowers. I think Rose dying was just coincidental. She had seemed 'odd' the night before. As in fins clamped, and floating on an angle, almost like a SBD victim. She had clean water, IAL and silk plants.I'm annoyed.. I wrote out a tribute to the fish that passed (such as their life's story with me).. it was long, very long.. and I lost it! Grrr.. I'm sure you didn't want to read my fish's life stories anyways (don't answer that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl13 Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 So so sorry to hear all of this Sarah, after my run the other day my husband ran away with me for the weekend and we've only just got home again. BIG BIG HUGS Love Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thank you Jo. How are your Yoyo's going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_95 Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 I'm so sorry for your loss, I can't imagine what it would be like to loose 4 intelligent fish in such a short period of time. I can handle dead tetras but not anything intelligent like bettas. When my boy guildian finch died my neighbour compared that with dying plants to........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks Matt. Bettas are really intelligent aren't they? Best fish ever in my opinion. Ah, Guildian Finches are beautiful! That would have been sad, we had budgies and quails once. I think those who aren't 'into' animals just need something to compare with.. such as plants. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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