Heres the deal...

Question
Alright. I have 5 betta in a 10 gallon aquarium and they are all compatible. (I
only bought the males that did not show aggression when put next to other
betta.) I have a full tank set-up, including gravel, a Whisper power filter,
gravel, plants (live Anacharis), and a few large rocks. When I started, I bought
three of the betta on the same day and put them in the tank all together and I
let the tank cycle one week prior to putting the bettas in. They all seemed fine
at first and then a few days later, all of them were very lethargic...I tested the
water but everything seemed okay. I added some aquarium salt to see if I
could perk them up a bit and it didn't seem to have any effect. I did a water
change and added stress zyme, aqua safe, and mela fix. I lost both of my
crowntail betta that night but my vieltail survived. I waited a few days before I
bought any more betta and then when I began buying more, I bought one at
time. I have been unable to keep crowntails. Out of the 4 crowntails I bought,
NONE of them survived so now I have 5 vieltails. I bought a vieltail a few days
ago and this morning I noticed some white spots on two of my other betta. I
thought it could be Ick so I put some Ick guard drops in the tank...but it also
could be a type of fungus. I don't know how many different types of
medicines I could use with the fish before I kill them! So basically, my
questions are:
Why do you think I am unable to raise crowntails?
How much of the different medicine drops can I put in the tank?
and
Is it normal for new bettas to act lazy when they are first introduced into a
new aquarium?
My bettas are all very important to me and I take great pride in them. So if
you could give me any pointers, I will appreciate it!

Thank you, Lauren

Answer
Hello Lauren-

Let me get this straight...you're not trying to keep 5 bettas in the same 10 gallon tank, right? Meaning, they're sharing the water without any dividers up? Even if your fish don't kill each other immediately (which is surprising in itself) that's pretty crowded for bettas. I keep my 5 bettas in a 20 gallon tank (with dividers, of course.)

To cure Ick quickly and safely, I use a medicine called QuickCure. You can buy it at WalMart and PetsMart (and other pet stores.) It contains formalin and malachite green, two powerful medicines that are hard to find on the market. I swear by this stuff - you can overdose slightly if you have a bad infection you're fighting. Adding aquarium salt may also help speed up healing time.

The reason your crowntails are dying is probably because your other bettas are killing them while you aren't looking, or because the ammonia in the tank is too high and is poisoning them (crowntails are weaker because they are usually inbred.) I'm thinking it's more of an ammonia problem if newly introduced bettas are unresponsive when you add them to the tank. Try moving half of your fish to another tank, or moving all of your fish to a 20 gallon. I wouldn't put more than 3 bettas in a 10 gallon tank, or 6 bettas in a 20 gallon tank. Giving them plenty of space will reduce the chances of aggressive outbursts.

Hopefully this helps,
-Amber Worman