[MyBirdIsEvil]

[QUOTE=want4rain;473401]

im not really a huge fan of those products for ammonia neutralizing.... to me its kinda like a person being stuck in a room with loads of ammonia and instead of opening a window to let fresh air in you use another chemical (which may or may not be harmful) to render it less harmful. sorry!! just a personal preference!!



under the best conditions bettas (these days) live to be around 4 years old. factor in things like their initial "cup o' doom" and all that brings with it, over feeding and the hundreds of other things that can go wrong its a miracle they live to THAT age. if your bud is already 3 years old, you are doing somethign right!!


keep us posted if you will!!!
-ashley

I also like to use more natural methods, but ammonia neutralizers do work in an emergency. They should always be followed by a water change. I've used them before when cycling tanks, and suggested them to others whose fish seemed to have signs of ammonia poisoning and they seem to start working within 5-10 mins. I only meant it as in option in the meantime while preparing to do a water change, to give the fish quick relief, since the water source was in question.

As far as age, I didn't mean to imply that the fish ONLY made it to 3 or 4 years because of bad practices, just that poor water conditions will speed up the aging process. 3 or 4 years old is definately a pretty good age for any betta, but I think of it this way - If the betta made it that far with poor water conditions it probably could have lived longer with good water conditions.

I did seem to miss part of the post though. I didn't realize the fish had been moved to a bowl. Why move it to a bowl if you think you already shocked it by adding water to the tank? Moving it to a smaller bowl will only quicken the ammonia buildup. Why do you think you shocked him after you added water to the 10g? What signs of poor health was he showing that made you move him in the first place?

The air freshener thing is a valid point. I've heard of people spraying air freshener and if the tank isn't covered it can get in the tank and kill the fish. If the tank is covered and you're running a bubble wand the air pump can suck the air freshener in and pump it into the tank. This can also happen with other chemicals that you spray in the room and become airborn.

Waiting for updates. It's been awhile since the post and hopefully the betta is still alive.