sleepy betta fish

Question
I have had betta fish for my daughters for a year now and they have just started dying on me. i have replaced 4 in the last month. They have lost any signs of swimming and have been sleeping on the bottom without swimming around or spreading their fins.they are in a divided tank with a mirror on the back.My daughters now call their fish boring and have stopped showing them to their friends as they are never active anymore. I feed them pellets and dried blood worms and use water conditioner and salt.
How can I stop them from dying and just lying around?

Answer
Hi Lesa;

They might be too cold. If the room temperature is under 75, they need to be warmed up. Put a desk lamp on them to help raise the temperature. Bettas are tropical and need their water to be at least 76f all the time 80 is even better.

Could they be overfed? Bettas stomachs are only the size of one of their eyeballs. They need very little food. It is good to withhold food from them one day a week to help their digestion too. If overfed they develop constipation as well as swim bladder disease. Swim bladder disease can cause them to stay on the bottom of the tank.

Bettas need frequent water changes too. If their tank is under a gallon for each fish, they need their water changed at least twice a week. If it is a gallon or larger, once a week is fine. Use plain tap water with water conditioner added. It is very important that the new water be the same temperature as the old water. If it is too cold or too warm the fish can die from shock.

Here is a good web page on betta care in case we missed something;

http://www.siamsbestbettas.com/care.html

Followups welcome......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins