AWKWARD ZOMBIE

Someone left their anxiety, self-loathing and existential dread in my room. Please come and retrieve at the most convenient hour. I already have plenty and do not need to hold on to any more.

Thanks in advance.

My anxiety problems are getting really bad again.

I was planning on coming back to a forum I used to frequent (The Chaos Theater) only to find out it's having the plug pulled. It was a forum for the Countdown community that was propped up by big names like The Auturach of Flame and JoshScorcher but eventually they left it and all the support drained with it. This along with the fact that the forums kept shitting themselves (4 separate versions of the site have been made) and eventually all of the activity just went off a cliff.

Makes me really sad, because I credit that forum hugely with helping me grow and mature as a person. I'm currently working on trying to establish a good form of communication with the members.

Have you considered a discord server? its free!

They have a Discord server and I've been trying to find it, but the one I was linked to gave me an "Invalid or Expired message"

Oh. you need a new invite link then. Easy fix man.

Double post.

It always makes me feel sad when I have to disconnect a customers phone because They've died,

I just yelled at a friend who was being very persistent in trying to offer advice. Not feeling well. Feeling like garbage.

Edit: Traded apologies and stuff but I still just feel awful about it.

im here

My fish is sick

He's a betta and when I came home today he was lying at the bottom of his tank. He tries to swim a little bit but doesn't get very far before floating face-down into the rocks and he doesn't want the treat I offered him.

I don't know what to do. I changed his water today, but I also changed it yesterday and the day before. When I tested it the only thing that seemed too high was the water's PH level and I don't know how to fix that.

Does this help?

how big is the tank it's in? is it filtered? heated? despite what people will tell you betta need at least a gallon and a half (2.5 is ideal,) of at the very least heated water. they are tropical fish and need temps of 75 degrees F or so to really thrive. Most illness in betta are of a result of the water not being warm enough or infrequent water changes (and resulting ammonia burn.) Sounds like you change the water enough, so i would handle the heat issue next (in addition to the high ph) and see if he perks up.

fun fact tho betta usually tend to do better in unfiltered tank with frequent partial water changes because they come from stagnant pools and any significant water movement is super stressful to them. especially fancy ones since they don't actually swim too well with the large fins.

i haven't had fish in so long because my water is super hard where i live and it's nearly impossible to handle that and RO water is expensive to fill anything bigger than like a 5g tank with. i had a pet crawfish for a while that was awesome bc they love alkaline water, but most fish need a neutral or slightly acidic ph

He died last night--I never really figured out what was wrong with him

The tank was pretty small for a betta at 2/2.5 gallons. It had a built-in filter and a submersible heater--though I could never tell if the heater was actually working or not. It never felt warmer than the surrounding water. The temperature in the tank usually sat around 76 degrees F.

And yeah I changed the water at least twice a week. I used to do it more frequently but I thought it was okay to cut back a little after a few months. I did notice the water was getting really cloudy a few days ago and that's when I started doing a water change every day (trying to prevent my fish from getting sick...).

His condition deteriorated really fast. When I got home from work in the afternoon I noticed him sitting at the bottom and only swimming in small spurts, then sinking back down. I don't remember how he was behaving that morning, if he was lethargic or if he was his usual peppy self.

I ran out to get a piece of driftwood from the pet store thinking that the water's PH was getting to him, and when I got home that evening he was barely moving. It looked like his entire lower half was paralyzed. His dorsal fins and head could move but the rest of him was stiff.

I lowered the water level in the aquarium, thinking that he might have a hard time breathing if he was just stuck at the bottom, but when I read Shazza's post about the water movement I went to refill it. He didn't move at all at this point. Then I accidentally knocked into the heater's cord and the little heater panel floated out of the gravel and came down on top of him. I got him out from under it but I'm pretty sure he was already dead. He didn't even flinch.

I might try to get another fish at some point but I need to buy a bigger tank. Maybe I'll get a black moore or something.

it actually sounds like everything was pretty okay. 2.5g is a good size for one betta, and 76F is a good temp (and you normally dont feel the heater as warm - just go by the reading on the thermometer.) twice or once weekly water 25% water changes are ideal, which again, sounds like you were doing the right thing. my best guess is that is wasn't anything you did, that he may have just been ill beforehand and he was just now showing signs. unfortunately fairly common with betta since they're kept in those gross little cups for so long :( with those symptoms it could have been bodaciously anything. sorry dude.

just as an fyi though goldfish, even the fancy ones, need like 45 gallons per fish to thrive. they're really gross booty fish and need tons of extra water so they don't just drown themselves in their own shit overnight x:

We used to keep a couple comets and a black moore in a 50-gallon tank together. They seemed pop flyin' and healthy and they lived for at least ~4-5 years (we gave them to someone else when we moved). I was hoping a 10-gallon would be enough for one black moore.


Also re: the plastic cups--I actually picked him out from the pet store because he'd been there the longest. I got him in June and his cup was dated March. I felt sorry for the poor fellow. So it's very possible he was already sick. My coworker mentioned that too.