Ok, I bought an Live NH3 test meter for ammonia. Nothing has appeared on the strip so either the water's ok or the tester is not working. How can you tell? What else do I need to test for? I don't want my other betta to die - he seems completely fine and happy but so did his mate before he died. How could the water quality change that suddenly?

Test for ammonia and NitrAtes. The test tube kits are more acurate.

Tom

The water quality can change suddenly for many reasons... among the biggest problems are dirty filters with media that is no longer doing its job... another reason may be recent water changes... can also introduce pollutants via new plants or sticking hands in water or even handling the food you feed them. Many variables, that's why test kits are important... the more comprehensive, the better when you're trying to determine why an apparently healthy fish suddenly dies.

Bettas are very nice fish but I so far have never had much luck with them. I had 2 2 years ago and both died within 6 months despite have them in cycled tanks and doing all that is needed. I do great with other tropical freshwater fishes though.

Happy holidays!

Tom

These fish only live to be about 2 years. It may have been old. I lost one after almost 3 years, and my husband lost his at 2 years. Both lived in 10 gallon tanks alone. Mine got tired and just ate less till one morning he was gone, but my husband's betta was eating and well until he was found the next morning dead. They too can proably have a heart failure or something. If water and care is good no diease then proably age would be a factor. Only a few Betta's make it to age 5 years.

Just one more thought. Putting them in divider keeps them constantly stressed. Stress creates adrenal cortisol hormones which can kill eventually. Not saying this was it exactly, but a stressed fish can get sick rapidly... (picked on gourami in three days, dead) same for cat fish I put in with that same gourami... Gourami now only with female betta in one long 20 gallon heavily planted driftwood tank and he still is agressive, but she gets the clues and speeds off.)

Better to have betta alone in private tank. You can put the seperate containers close to each other and card them. Put card in between and on occasion remove for brief period so they can flare. Not often though. in nature they'd be run off and alone again. I have one of those cat toy led light things and (not in eyes) move it over rock wall and they chase it (all the fish do, think its food I guess) great for exercise. Read on another asian forum, they exercise lone fish with pencil or pen tips, moved around so on.

When you found him was he stuck? What size tank, filter, (gentle) heated, temperature, agree tube water kits more accurate. He may have been weak to begin with (esp if gotten from store in cold dirty bowl) and stress from neighbor was the final blow. Water quality adds stress if bad as well. Best Sherry

Also, plants help.. They love them as for the most part they are from areas with plants, darker water ie not bright and in the 'spot light' with no where to hide, and feel secure, that stress again.... (some don't though in the wild some even come from cooler streams so on)

My betta who I've had for two years (not sure how old he was when I got him as a gift from a pet store) died suddenly. My roommate was watching him while I was home for the holidays and though I had gotten him a new tank recently (non-filtered, 2-gallon) I used the same plant and rocks and added a new rock with a hole in it so he could sit in it (he loved this) and a little stone skull that he liked to swim around too. I hope this didn't have to do with his death?

She was worried it perhaps got too cold in the house (he was used to his temp going to as low as 60 sometimes... if it were up to me I'd heat the whole house to keep it as his most optimal temp but it's not practical when I'm sharing the utilities with someone :( )

Anyway, she did notice he perhaps didn't eat the last day of his life, but he passed away suddenly and it completely broke my heart. He even survived a tank accident when he was younger and a rough move with me six months ago in my jeep (i stopped every so often to check his temp and cool it off with ice cubes---- i took care of him as much as I could and am broken hearted. Do you think he was just old? Do they die suddenly like that? He was peppy when I left and my roommmate said he was swimming along fine when she left him last....

Thanks for letting me share...

VV

Hi, I once had a betta who did get stuck in the decorations, this time it was a large sea shell and he caught his gills while passing through one of the holes, so that might be it if you found him caught. The stressing thing makes sense, I dont know if it shortens their lives or not but the six sided aquairium had mirrors on the three back sides, he would flare up and get aggresive on hiself, but after a while he didnt seem to pay much attention to the other fishes in his tank. I once new a lady who kept a betta next to her livingroom chair and she would actually pet it and rub it, it seemed to like it. Id imagine you would have to pay attention to clean hands though. chris

plz my fish is dying im serios
he was fine he was swimming but when i changed
the water he laid their 47 hours straight. hes eyes
are black .the whole thing is black. help me before
he dies. i love him i had it for a long time a little
less the a year. helppppp!!!!

Death.

ok so when I first got home last night, I noticed my betta was swimming and being his perky self. when I went to bed and got home the next morning, he was on his leaf hammock resting there peacefully. I opened his tank which always triggers him to wake up to eat but he didn't. he had gotten sick before and recovered but didn't make it

what just happened? please tell me.

Same happened to mine,except the heater suddenly didnt work anymore almost like the heater shocked the water and killed twizzler in the process,she was a king betta.

I came home today from work and my betta was stuck in a few rocks I had placed and it looks like my setup fell but it wa very sturdy idk how it fell he's not that strong and later tonight I was with him and I watched him pass and I'm very sad about it I will invest in so sand and buy another one because I loved him he was smarter than my cats every day I'd feed him and he would jump out of his bowl happy as punch to see me I just don't know how he got into the tiny crevasse

LIVED ONLY FIVE DAYS.. i got a betta fish from my brother for my birthday. It feed it morning & @ night for 2 days, although it didn't seem interested to eat. The unbeaten food remained in the bottom. It was so spirited the 1st 2days. I didn't leave him alone, I use the fish bowl on my lap & play with him, sleep with him. He use to jump when I stick my finger near surface to eat the food. He seem so happy when I'm around. He use to sit at the bottom when I'm not around & swim up when I come taping the bowl. 3rd day night I cleaned the bowl & added aged water as suggested in web sights. The same night he seem fine but I noticed a hole in his tail after few hours. I didn't handled him roughly.. I didn't even used fishnet to remove him. I let him swim into a glass with his will. Next 4 th day I noticed his was sitting still in bottom n looked little gray n his tail was rotten n shredded. From morning I didn't came to say hello to him. I came at 11:30am to see him like that. May be he missed me so he was sitting in bottom ( he sit like that when he is alone n sad) I put food to him but he wouldn't eat. Then I panicked n cried so much. I didn't leave him alone the whole day.. May be that's y he lived 2 more day. I searched every website " how to treat fine rot." every one told he need med n heater. But it's a fish bowl I can't get heater to that. I can't afford. I got an idea of my own " putting the bowl into a mild hot water container" I use to check the heat before keeping the bowl in it. And it worked. He liked it ( caution " only mild water") may be it bought him 2 more days to live. Every time I keep him in the mild hot container his skin color come to normal n when he get cold he use to turn gray. I did it every 2 hours or 1 1/2 hour ( until his fin rot get cured n grow new one). Another thing I noticed that he got fin clamp but on 5th day I saw the wings to got rot. He got infection I guess. I used to water.. May be it has too much clorine even though I aged the water. Afternoon till evening he lost his tail n down fin. I didn't changed the water but I removed all the shred from water using net. He turned gray till stomach N under his jaw. His gills looked unusual. He still didn't eat any thing. My brother told let try bore water at least anyway he looks like dieing. So I prayed to God for one more day. That night I kept him close to my bed so that he won't feel alone. On 6th day 3:45am suddenly I woke up n thank God he was near surface ( on 5 th day he stayed on top) I frequintly checked n I saw he lost his left wing n swimming side ways.. It hurt to see him like that. At 4:30 I treated him with mild water then I removed the container before it get cold. I checked every 5 mins but I only closed my eyes for 8 or more mins.. in middle I heard swift movements n water splash then went silent so I checked. @ 4:45 he was floating vertical facing bottom & tail up. I cried continusly for 2hrs.I buried him @ 5am in my front yard crying.

First off, I am sorry you lost your fish. There are a few problems I see here:

1.) Betta Splendens should never be in a bowl, or a vase, or a half gallon tank like you see at the store. The smallest recommended tank for a Betta is around 5 gallons. They need room to swim and to grow so they don't get stressed. Many people will put Bettas in small bowls because they are very resilient, but that doesn't mean they are thriving, only surviving. Small containers are actually terrible for them.

2.) Bettas are considered a tropical freshwater fish, so they require a heater. Mine is constantly set at 78 degrees F. Again, the water can be colder, but it doesn't mean the fish is happy.

3.) Water in a fish tank requires that it be properly cycled and the ammonia and nitrate levels need to be constantly monitored. Buildup of fish poop or uneaten food can elevate those chemical levels which makes the water very dangerous and prone to disease.

4.) Betta fish like to have shady spots to hide in a tank. I have a pirate ship that mine likes to swim through. It helps with their stress level and keeps them happy.

5.) You need to condition your water when first starting a tank. You can buy water conditioner at PetSmart or at any pet store. I personally use API Quickstart and API Stress Coat as well as change the water weekly.

Overall it appears that you just needed some more advice from a specialist. There are entire websites on the subject, one I use is called bettafish.com. I will tell you that keeping a fish correctly is not cheap. I spent 250 dollars on my first betta fish setup between filter, heater, tank, decorations, rocks, food, cleaning supplies, etc.

Probably high ammonia levels.. the gravel likely had some beneficial bacteria which breaks ammonia down into nitrate which is safe in low amounts to fish. When you remove the gravel, you take all of the beneficial bacteria with it...

Unfortunately I cant say what went wrong. Some of these comments are very misleading.

I would just like to straighten things out here

Fact #1 bettas can live in a bowl or tank. However with that said, the bowl or vase water needs to be changed every 3-5 days. This ensures that the betta has fresh/clean water to live in where it isnt getring sick from waste material. Please take into consideration that for every inch of fish, there needs to be at least 1 gallon of living space.

Fact #2 bettas actually have a lifespan of 5-7 years (betta splendins). I have my male delta tail of 9 years and still actively swimming. And he is in a well maintained glass vase with a water lily in it.

Fact #3 bettas prefer temp ranges from 72°F to 84°F. In cool water or water that is too warm, bettas usually tend to become lethargic amd spend time at the bottom of the holding receptical.

Fact #4 bettas only need food maybe 2-3 times a week. And the bettas stomach is only as big as its eye. With this said, a small pinch is usually enough for a bit (1-2 days in between feeding times). Excessive feeding can throw off the pH levels dramatically which can kill the fish. Also feeding times that are consistant may cause the betta to become obese. Bettas are incredibly intelligent and they recognize things like faces amd food containers. The betta may not swim around and wait until its fed. In the long run your betta will have a shorter lived life.

Fact #5 putting your "digits" (fingers) in the tank or living receptical frequently causes stress to the fish. This can cause the fish to lose coloration and scales (vibrant coloring). Also the chemicals and natural body oils on your hand may also make the fish sick, causing a stunt in its lifespan.

Fact #6 bettas do not require too much attention. Even moving too much or too much activity outside the tank can cause the fish to stress out. Just sitting and watching for brief periods of time is recommended.

Fact #7 read the backs of betta food before buying. Too much crude fat and crude protien and the betta can become constipated.

Fact #8 turn the lights in the holding receptical on and off according to the daylight cycle. This will help reduce the amount of algea in the tank/bowl. Also plekos are very good for algea cleaning. Snails are not the best option in this case apple snails tend to not clean as much and they may try to eat the betta (nipping parts of fins and tail. Tragicly I have lost 3 bettas to apple snails. The snails either pin the snail into a corner of the tank when the betta is resting or they wait until the betta rests to move in and try to get a bite.

All bettas are different. But by following these facts and steps. You can successfully own and care for a betta.

Mine died suddenly I just fed him and he was swimming my mom did the right water