Re: Dying Bettas

Question
Hello there, I have had a betta that lived for 1 year, then he died.  I purchased another one and it was doing fine, it lived for about 3 months, cleaned the tank and it died within 10 hours of the tank change.  About 2 weeks ago, I purchased another one, and everything was good, he was eating, coming to the tank when he'd see me, cleaned the tank (100% change) and the same thing, this fish is on the bottom, barely moving, and leaning against one of the ornaments.  Same thing as with the other one.
The tank is a 2 gallon with a heater, and I also used water conditioner to take out the clorine after the water change.
Any suggestions as to what is going on, or if I have a chance to save this little guy????
Thanks in advance.


Answer
Hi Nikki;

It sounds like he has temperature shock, which can also cause them to die. Is the water temperature of the new water the same as the old? When you put him back in the tank after cleaning it, do you acclimate him back to the tank by floating his holding container in the tank a few minutes? If the water in his temporary holding container gets too cool while you are cleaning his tank, he can go into shock or die when you add him back to the tank too quickly. Float him in the tank for a few minutes to equalize it slowly.

Change water weekly. If you aren't doing it weekly, the old water can be too far different from the clean tap water and your fish are going into shock. Water chemistry and quality changes over a period of time in your tank as waste is added to it from your fish. The longer you wait, the more different it is. Fresh water is good for him but too much of a difference can be dangerous.

The first betta may have died from old age. Bettas live to be about 2 or 3 years old and many of them are already almost a year when we buy them. That would make your first one about 2 years. Just be sure you aren't shocking them with temperature changes and too infrequent changes and hopefully they will do better.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins