# Crumpet disappeared



## MsChris

My first betta fish, Crumpet, is gone. He disappeared. I can only assume he died and was consumed by the shrimp in the tank.

I had only had him for a week and a half. He was in a ten-gallon tank with three Amano shrimp and one blue mystery snail. The tank is filtered and heated. The temperature was steady. I tested the water every day and the pH was always the same, there was no ammonia, no nitrites, no nitrates. He ate well but not too much. He seemed very happy and healthy. He was purchased at a local fish store (NOT Petsmart or Petco) that has an excellent reputation. I have never seen sick or dead fish in their tanks. I tested the water my betta came home in and all levels seemed perfect. I acclimated my betta very slowly following all the advice I'd read.

This morning he was acting normal. He had no symptoms of any of the common diseases I have read about. A few hours later I didn't see him and thought he was hiding in the plants. When I opened the lid and he didn't come swimming up I got nervous, but he was a small young betta and I still thought he was hiding. I moved a few of the plants and he still didn't come out. I took every plant and rock formation out one at a time until all that was left in the tank was the substrate (Tahitian moon sand), the three shrimp, and the snail. Crumpet was not in the tank.

He did not jump out of the tank. Although there were small spots on either side of the filter where he could conceivably have fit, he was not on the desk or the floor around the desk. 

He was not sucked into the filter. I took it out, took it apart, rinsed it out, and did not find any sign of him. It is a very mild filter, anyway. 

He may have been sick, but as I said, he was acting completely normal last night and this morning. He had no signs of velvet, dropsy, ich, fin rot, etc. He was eating and swimming normally.

The shrimp, who are normally very active, are just hanging out in a plant right now. Perhaps they are full from eating my betta? If my betta died and the shrimp ate him would there be any change in the water? I immediately tested the pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels and all were exactly the same as they were when I tested them before going to bed last night.

I'm really very upset right now. Even though I'd only had him for a week and a half I had become very attached to him. He was such a funny and personable little guy. I feel terrible. At least if I'd known he was sick I wouldn't be so surprised. If I'd found his body on the floor or something I'd have known he jumped out. Right now I don't even know for sure what happened. I feel horribly guilty. Also, I'm nervous about putting anything else in the tank without knowing what happened to him. 

Please, if you have any suggestions, thoughts, or advice I'm happy to hear it. I really felt like I did everything I could to make Crumpet happy and healthy in a really nice environment. I feel awful. I miss him already.


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## Anitax3x

I know this sounds weird but have you looked UNDER the tank stand on the floor or in the filter ?

He may be stuck have you checked EVERYWHERE in and around the tank. 

I have had jumpers who jumped around 6 inches through a filter opening in a hood and ended on the floor under the tank dead the next morning

Idk how but they did so I would check. It would take a while for the shrimp to consume him.


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## Anitax3x

I'm sorry for your loss :-(


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## MsChris

Thank you. I appreciate it. 

Yes, I really feel like I have looked everywhere. The tank is not on a tank stand. It is on a large oak desk. I looked on the desk and under it. I even got out a flashlight and crawled around on the floor. I took the entire filter apart piece by piece. No sign of my poor little guy. I read that it wouldn't take shrimp very long to eat him.  Thank you for the suggestions, though. I appreciate you taking the time to tell me about those possibilities.


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## LebronTheBetta

I'm so sorry to hear this... If the Shrimp did eat him, don't they look a bit Fat? It would give you a clue... So sorry...


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## BETTACHKALOVE

so sorry I am wondering if it could go in the filter and then through the filter and in to the water and than shrimp ate the rest....sorry if i am writing that. I had my fish stuck in the filter before ...

If he was eating and active i would think he was not sick . Something is definitely happened.

So sorry (


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## Aus

How strange, and I'm sorry for your loss.. 

But I don't think three shrimp could consume an entire betta in just a few hours. If they were a carnivorous species, and large - maybe. Or 30 starving shrimp.. But cherry shrimp (I'm assuming they are a small species like that) just don't eat that much to consume a whole betta in that time. And if they could, there'd be ammonia from all the debris, and a skeleton... Not to be morbid.

I think he's jumped..and is somewhere there - betta aren't big and it's surprising where they end up sometimes, from all the posts I've read on jumpers. And ..I hate to ask but.. is there anyone who'd take/remove him?

I just don't see the shrimp as the culprits, sorry.


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## BETTACHKALOVE

And also i am wondering if after a long time you able to see it at all. I think he would dry up ???

I had betta jumped out and landed on the floor pretty far away from his bowl. I was lucky because my boyfriend herd something and didn't understand what it was. Then he looked on the floor and saw something, which he thought was trash. It was deem in the room. He picked it up and realized it my betta, and put it in the tank. He saved him. It was long time ago.
Since it happened i always leave space between the top of the tank and the water level.
MsCris so sorry i know it sad, but it happened to a lot of us, and we are learning every day


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## MsChris

The shrimp are large Amano shrimp and Crumpet was a very small young betta. The shrimp were larger than he was. From what I've read it wouldn't take them very long at all. 

I really have looked everywhere around the desk. If he did jump out I can't imagine I wouldn't be able to find him. 

No, there is definitely no one who would have taken him. My partner and I live in a condo. No one else has been inside and she is very upset for me.


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## BETTACHKALOVE

Sorry i hope you will considerate to rescue another betta. Sorry that I am writing that, but I just feel bad for you….It not your fault and I know you feel bad but you can’t change anything and he is definitely not alive …
But i would really change the water in the tank before you put another betta there, since we not sure where is Crumpet. In case his remaining in the tank and it will decompose and can give fish bacterial infection.

If it would be me I would even disinfect the tank.


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## tpocicat

I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm kind of confused, aren't Amano shrimp algea eaters?


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## MsChris

Thanks for the advice about disinfecting the tank.

Yes, Amano shrimp eat algae, but they will also eat dead fish.


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## Nasha66

Shrimp don't eat bones, wouldn't you have found some?


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## MsChris

Maybe. Maybe not. Again, I'm not even sure that's what happened.


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## lelei

_Wow..MsChris that is horrible, I am soo sorry about your lil Crumpet, he had a wonderful short life, you gave him love and a great home, I will always remember that lil face peeking out from under the log..that was priceless..and in memorial I would try an use that as a sig pic RIP lil Crumpet..you will be missed!!!!_


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## MsChris

Aww, thank you so much.  I will change the pic. I love that one, too.


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## MistersMom

did you look EVERYWHERE in the tank? i had to take everything out once, and look inside of everything also... he may have been scared of the shrimp...


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## MsChris

Yes, everywhere. Definitely. I took every single thing out of the tank one at a time. I even broke my rock formation in half to make sure he hadn't gotten stuck in there. He wasn't afraid of anything! The shrimp always got out of his way. He was a brave little guy. 

I talked to the guy at my local fish store and he's convinced Crumpet jumped out and my cat ate him. I guess it's possible, though I'd never seen him jump and the holes on either side of the filter are very tiny. Also, there was absolutely no water on the side of the tank, on the desk, or on the floor.

Some forum members have suggested that something was wrong with him when I got him. Someone noted he looked chubby, but the pics I posted were taken before I'd fed him in my tank. 

I guess I'll never know for sure, which is frustrating. I miss him.


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## MistersMom

im so sorry...


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## Luimeril

some people have found bettas across the room from their tank. they're jumpers, and in the wild, their ancestors have to flop from puddle to puddle, pond, stream, ditch, ect.... check your whole room.

i'm sorry for your loss. he was a lovely fish.


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## ao

I think I understand how you feel right now. there's this little tingle that he might still be around somewhere. and it's horrible to not know where he is. 

I've had an otto dissappear from my tank once. Not a trace was left. he was there when I left the house and completely gone when I returned. I poked around everywhere with my giant pair of tweezers and still found nothing. That incident left me so sad...and completely at a loss as to what might have happened. it was the day directly after purchase so I can only assume he was an unfortunate abused one my other ottos fortunately survived very well.


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## BETTACHKALOVE

If you have a cat that is the answer. Of course if cat found him or even dog they would eat it. That is probably what happened. It even happened to one of my coworker


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## sunlight

I am very sorry for your loss but i think you need cover for your tank if you going to have another betta. My bettas resting on the top of the water surface and if i come close to the tank they all on top so i think it is possibilities that cat can eat them very easily . And it a lot of stories like that. 
Sorry it not your fault though at all , don't blame yourself. Next time just be aware about that. Good luck with another betta.


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## MsChris

Well, the tank definitely has a cover. There was a space of about one inch on either side of the filter, though, which I have now taped over just in case that is what happened. My cat is terrified of the tank, though, and it is on a desk the cat never goes on. If my cat did get Crumpet it was after he'd already jumped out. Either way, thank you for the advice. Still not sure if Crumpet jumped out or not but there is absolutely 100% no way another betta could jump out, so that's good. Thanks again.


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## MsChris

And thank you to everyone else who has commented. I really appreciate the thoughts and comments. And aokashi, that is very much how I feel. I'm sorry about your otto.


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## lelei

MsChris, I know how u feel as well, not with a fishy, but with a hamster that we had previously..who ran away..(assuming)..cuz we came home, he was gone, and I never found him either, never knew what happened to him..there is an emptiness, that is hard to fill..but if you open ur heart again to another fishy,. u will find temptation hard to resist..i sure did


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## zombiegirl

I am so sorry for your loss. I lost one to dropsy today, but I was prepared for him to go. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be blindsided like you were :-( I hope you decide to give another betta a loving home.


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## MsChris

Thank you both so much. Leilei, I'm sorry about the hamster and zombiegirl I'm sorry you lost one today. I do plan to give another betta a loving home.  The tiny holes on either side of the filter are completely covered up now just in case Crumpet did jump out. I took every single thing out of the tank, got rid of the sand, put in new (rinsed) round stones, conditioned some water, and am basically starting over waiting for the tank to cycle. Just in case Crumpet had been sick or there was something going on with the water I didn't feel comfortable just sticking another fish right in, but I'm excited to meet my next betta when it is time.  Thanks so much for the comments. I know most of my friends (and definitely my family) think it's kind of silly to be sad about "just a fish" so it's nice to have found a place where other people understand.


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## dramaqueen

I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like he either jumped out and the cat got him or he died of something and the shrimp got him.


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## MsChris

*I found him.*

I finally found Crumpet. It just kept bothering me that I didn't know what happened. I had broken apart the rock formation from the tank but I had only broken it in half. I broke it into many small pieces and found his little body in there. I'm heartbroken. Now I feel like it's definitely my fault. I'm the one who put the rock formation in there. I put something in his environment that wasn't safe for him. It was made for aquariums and it truly didn't seem like something he could get stuck in but he was so young and so small and I guess he swam in and couldn't find his way out...or maybe he was sick and went in there to die. I guess I'm glad I know for sure where he went. I will never ever put something like that rock formation in a tank again. I'm so sad for him and I feel incredibly guilty. Anyway, so many people on this site have been so kind and supportive and I wanted to let you know what happened to him.


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## zombiegirl

Aww, I'm sorry. I'm glad you finally found him though.


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## MistersMom

he got stuck in it? im so sorry... i wish you luck with your next betta...


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## BETTACHKALOVE

So sorry  But don't blame yourself like that. You want him to be happy. A lot of accidents happen unwontedly. We all learning and want the best for our little cuties but things happen. Really not your fault. It just you learn hard way ...

I wish you good luck with your new betta.

Now that you found him in the tank where he was for so long I would really disinfect the tank. I would change everything in the tank.

Use 10% bleach. Let it stay at least 15-20 min. Wash it with hot,warm,cold water thorough, wipe and wash it again. Let the tank sit in sunlight for a few days to neutralize the bleach. Rinse it again.


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## tpocicat

I'm so sorry for your loss. BTW, I use small terra cotta pots turned on their sides for caves. A good place to hide when they want to, but they won't get stuck, and (bonus) they're cheap.


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## ZackyBear

If the hole is smaller than a quarter then it's possible for a betta to get stuck. I'm sorry that this happened :c


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## MsChris

Thank you, everyone. Yes, after looking around online this has happened to quite a few people. I don't know how I missed this piece of information in my research. At least I found out what happened and I will never let that happen to another betta. Oh, and he wasn't in the tank the whole time. The rock formation was in a bucket. I hadn't put it back in the tank because I broke it in half to check for Crumpet when I was first looking for him. Thanks, though.


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## teeneythebetta

Aww I'm so sorry.

This is but isn't related... But my friend in 5th grade had a fire belly newt. She never cleaned the poor things tank- his water was gross and stagnant. So I put him in a plastic container and left the lif open a smidge for air. I walked away to get cleaning supplies and he was gone. We never found him, he either crawled away and was eaten by a cat or dog- or he dried up in a VERY good hiding spot.


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## BETTACHKALOVE

so sad with bettas definitely need covers...also poor thing just want probably to escape from the dirty water


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## MsChris

Thank you to all of you who helped me feel better about what happened to Crumpet. I thought you might like to know that I didn't give up on bettas. I have a new betta. Her name is Crumpet and I posted pics of her in the pics section. Thanks again.


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## flyingbetta

awwww that's so sad. if you get hollow stuff like the rock decoration you can fill it with aquarium safe silicone so that they can't get inside


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## lelei

Aww..that is great MsChris I am glad to hear you have a new betta Can't wait to see ur pix


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## BETTACHKALOVE

aww....is it she? I am glad you got another betta!!! Good luck , i hope you can enjoy him/her for long time


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## MsChris

Aww, thank you! Yes, she is a girl.


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## konstargirl

I'm so sorry about crumpet, but glad you got another betta. looking forward to see pictures!


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## MsChris

Thanks! I made an album!


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## BETTACHKALOVE

Hey just want to make sure your betta doing good


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## MsChris

Yes! Thank you. She is doing fantastic. You are so sweet to ask!


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## MsChris

Yes, thank you. She is doing fantastic. You are so sweet to ask!


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## teeneythebetta

Congratulations on your new addition! I love female bettas!!


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## MsChris

Thank you!! She's a sweet little fish.


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## mursey

I just read this whole thread- just want to say we all have things happen to pets that we blame ourselves for. At least we are trying our best to learn and move on and not make the same mistakes. I wish you good luck with your new one! I lost a platy a couple weeks ago and I didn't think it would make me feel that bad but I cried because I thought she suffered . ... I am sure I did something wrong but I never figured it out. So . .. basically I'm saying it happens and try not to feel too bad anymore. Just learn and move on, think of it as using your experiences to better take care of your new pets in the future.


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## MsChris

Thank you! I really appreciate it. Most people I've talked to think that Crumpet wasn't very healthy to begin with and that he went into the log to die. That's sad but it makes me feel a little better than if he was healthy and got stuck and couldn't find his way out. You're right, though, about doing your best and trying to learn. So far Cleo seems very happy and healthy! Wilson the snail is thriving and the shrimp are doing great, too. 

I'm really sorry to hear about your platy. I hope he didn't suffer. I'm sure you did everything you could. You sound like such a great pet parent. Thanks again for takin the time to comment. I was incredibly upset about Crumpet when it happened and people on this site were so nice and helpful and supportive. It truly did make me feel better.


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