This is a discussion on fish electrocuted!! within the Tropical Fish Diseases forums, part of the Freshwater Fish and Aquariums category; -->
my heater broke and zapped my poor betta pretty good. he is hiding from me now. he is still alive, but i dont know ...
my heater broke and zapped my poor betta pretty good. he is hiding from me now. he is still alive, but i dont know if he will be ok or not. i have never had a fish get electrocuted before! what do you think his chance of survival is? any experiences with this happening before? thanks in advance! i feel so bad for him
I agree - if he didn't get zapped or cooked right away, then he's probably fine. Maybe just a little stressed out from the affair.
When using glass heaters, be sure to follow the instructions very closely. When you buy a new one, place it in the water and leave it there for 30 or more minutes before plugging it in. When you adjust the temperature, do it slowly. Never take the heater out of the water while it's plugged in. These can result in rapid temperature changes in the glass of the heater which can make it shatter. Or, you could always just play it safe and get a shatterproof heater.
How has he been getting along? Has he come out of hiding yet? Do you have plenty of plants and other decor for him to hide in? The more hiding places he has, the more secure he will feel in his surroundings and the sooner he will begin to act normal again.
Is he moving? I hope he is not dead and stuck under a plant or something. If he is moving and just hiding he is probably just terrified. Keep the light off (if you have one) and he will be better after he gets over his shock. He will eventually get hungry and come out to find some food. Fish can however live for a while with no food. I'm sure your fish knows this, that is why he has not looked for any food yet.
Just give him time, he will resurface soon enough. He is just taking a "fishy time out" . LOL
You poor thing, I so know how you feel. I was terrified to find that I had broken my glass heater, not from extreme temp change but most likely because I had knocked it hard against the glass back of the tank when I was cleaning it. Didn't notice it happened until later in the day when I went to check the temp, and it wasn't normal. Adjusted the heater, alas the light didn't go on... lol. Looked in the tank and found bubbles and water floating inside it. That instance in fact, is actually why I joined these forums in the first place to seek help. I don't know if my fish were electrocuted, and I'm sure as hell lucky I wasn't, since I didn't unplug it before removing it from the tank. My tetras are troopers though. :) Hope your betta is okay to.
fish electrocuted!! 
