Why did Blub die?

[Silverwind]

As a surprise for when she came home from cadet camp in August, I bought my teenage daughter a Betta fish. We housed him in a 1 gallon beverage dispenser that looked like a mason jar. We cleaned his tank every 3 days or so and fed him one or two granules of Betta food, and would scoop out any granules he didn't eat. We found it difficult to keep his tank warm enough, but we kept Michaela's room quite warm to keep his water at around 21 degrees celcius. He had a little light that we turned on in the morning and off at night, and a thermometer to keep track of water temp. He seemed to be doing well, even up until this morning it looked like he was starting to build a little bubble nest around the thermometer-Michaela said she saw him blowing bubbles at it, and there were a few bubbles there. And then he is dead this evening

[hazelrunpack]

Sorry about Blub, Silverwind.

I don't know if enough about bettas to be able to even make a suggestion about what might have happened--but I'll bet if you google betta care, you'll find some groups that specialize in bettas. Maybe they'll be able to advise you?

[Silverwind]

Thanks. We're all pretty bummed about him. He was such a pretty fish, and it seemed like things were going well. I'll do a google search and see what comes up.

[Silverwind]

Well, I think that one of two things happened to Blub...either his water was just too cold, even though everything I have read says that the temp he was in would just cause his metabolism to slow down, not kill him. Or there was something wrong with him from the start. It could be either one. We got Michaela a new fish, and added a small heater to his tank, so I know he is warm enough. His name is Diablo, and he is much spunkier than poor Blub ever was, even before we brought him home.

[hazelrunpack]

Aw...maybe there was just something wrong with Blub from the get-go. Poor little fella!

But yay for Diablo! Glad he's doing so well. Any chance of some pics?