Hey Guys! New Here.. Questions..

[KalKent]

So, about a year to the day last year, I decided to get my girlfriend a Betta fish for her birthday. Needless to say I got attached and got myself one as well!

My brother also took notice and he and his girlfriend bought 3 of them as well. My fish, Kal.. who seemed to be healthy and was a vibrant fella, passed away about a week ago.

About a day before, I noticed him just gliding along the side and didn't think anything of it, then the next day I knew something was wrong since he was vertical and not moving. I said my goodbye's when he passed and me and my girlfriend got another one last night.

We have a problem, AGAIN. We think my new one's dying already and I feel like crap that that's two Betta's that died/dying on me. Ever since I invested in a 3 gallon tank, we've had problems.

Ironically, my brother got the same tank I have, and his 2 fish passed away in that tank as well. It's a $30.00 tank and is very beautiful with a nice filter system, as well as nice lighting that switches from reds, to blues, to greens and vibrant colors. We got them at Wal-MART.

My girlfriends fish is still going VERY strong after a year, and is in a simple 1.5 gallon tank. I had my fish in one as well and had no problems. My brother's fish is also alive and well in the smaller tank, but we lost 3 betta's ever since we got that long and vertical, deep 3 gallon one, and another one seems to be passing. It's no coincidence? I let the water sit overnight and washed the tank thoroughly.

Could this be a bad tank for betta's? Thanks in advance, guys!

PS: Here's the tank: One customer reviews says Betta's struggled with lighting..

http/www.walmart.com/ip/3-Gallon-Aquarium-Kit/13448744

 

[Ashley1991]

Hi welcome to the forum im sure someone vsn help you out

did you cycle your tank at all?

 

[Katty]

I feel like it shouldn't be anything to do with the tank in particular. To start with, turn off the wacky lights if you haven't already, it might be stressing the already sick fish out.

Hmm, after reading and rereading what you wrote, you said you let the water sit overnight. I'm guessing you did that to get the chlorine out of the water. Did you use any tap water conditioner for aquariums at all? Letting water sit will not get all the chlorine and definitely not the chloramine out.
Had the tank been cycled?
How often do you change the water? and how much?
What did you clean the tank out with? (water? soaps? old shop rag?)
Do you have a heater in there? If not, what temperature is the tank/your house?
What and how often are you feeding it?

 

[BethK]

What are your water tests showing?

pH:
Ammonia:
Nitrate:
Nitrite:
Temp

 

[KalKent]

Hi welcome to the forum im sure someone vsn help you out

did you cycle your tank at all?

Thanks for the welcome I did not cycle the tank once my fish died, but I cleaned it thorough with warm water and gave it multiple wipe downs. He seems to be hanging in there, but this is the first time I'm experiencing this and I don't want to think I'm doing anything wrong since I had fish for over a year in a half and just having problems now. I'm going to cycle it later today and test the waters to see what the heck is going on so
I might have to transfer him for the time being.

I don't think I'm doing anything wrong but if I am, I don't know what it is and it's driving me crazy. I'm just going to have to pay more attention to the water levels and maybe clean the water more often than I normally do.

I'll keep you guys posted. He's just hanging out near the sides of the bowl. He's not really swimming or anything, but he's alert and would make a couple moves here and there. I'm stumped and not sure, seems he's givin me mixed signals.

 

[Ashley1991]

if you do a water test (ammonia,nitrite and nitrate ) then post the results here then people can help you more.

if you cleaned the tank and filter out with warm water with no declorinator in it you killed the bacteria and you are now in a fish in cycle

please someone correct me if im wrong

Ash

 

[KalKent]

He passed away this morning. IMHO, I believe it was more of water from the tap rather than the spring water I always used and all the chemicals and chlorine weren't evaporated and moving him out of his habitat caused him to not react well. I feel terrible. I'm going to thoroughly wash the tank, take down the info and get new rocks and make sure the water temp is near what it's supposed to be (spring water) before I get another.

 

[Larkspur]

I use tap water for my bettas. I just condition the water first and let it sit a minimum of 4 hours before doing water changes. I've never used bottled water.

 

[Katty]

You don't need to use bottled water, but never use water straight from the tap. Letting it sit may not remove all of the chlorine in it. Water departments often use a chemical called chloramine specifically because it won't come out of water on it's own. You must use a dechlorinator (like this) before using any tap water, whether or not it's sat around for a few days. Unless your tap water has some serious problems and even you won't drink it, I'd recommend just using tap water with conditioner.

I don't know what skill level you're at, but I recommend doing a ton of research before starting again so know how to handle any problems before they turn disastrous. Edit: Check the resource center (link in the post after this)

 

[Assaye]

Bettas need the same care and attention as all other tropical fish. I am sorry to hear that your new boy passed away. Please have a read of our basic guide to setting up a tropical tank before considering more fish. It is also essential to know about cycling a tank, as there are some toxic chemicals in fish water (produced by the fish wee and poo, among other things) that we can't detect without a special test kit and are very dangerous to the fish.

Resource Centre - have a read!

There is a lot to learn and we have people who come here after decades of fishkeeping and learn new things, even from our basic beginner guides.

I'm not sure about the link Katty posted - some of the info is OK but suggestions such as using plastic plants and half gallon bowls are things many betta keepers would not agree with due to the risks to the betta from damaged fins and potentially toxic build-up of ammonia.

If you follow the guide I posted, that will get your tank ready for the fish. A few things you need to do differently from other tropical fish:

+ Make sure your decor is natural and makes the fish feel safe and secure. Live and silk plants are excellent for this. This goes for all fish but I'm not sure is mentioned in the guide.

+ Get a good, species specific food. A decent betta pellet or flake is important and you'll want to get a rounded diet that includes things like bloodworms and brineshrimp. These can be purchased live or frozen. Freezedried should be avoided (IMO) due to extra risk of constipation.

+ Gentle filter. Any filter will do, as long as you make sure the flow if gentle with a sponge accross the outflow or by pointing it at a wall.

+ Heated to about 80-82F

 

[Katty]

Oh I didn't know about the resource center. I just googled something and picked the one that looked like it had some alright info all in one spot. I'll remove that link I left since the resource center looks like the #1 place to look and I don't want to confuse them.

 

[KalKent]

Oh I didn't know about the resource center. I just googled something and picked the one that looked like it had some alright info all in one spot. I'll remove that link I left since the resource center looks like the #1 place to look and I don't want to confuse them.

Thanks for all the insight, guys. It will def help me out into expanding the life efficiency of my next betta. They are such wonderful fish and are hands down the most beautiful. I'll keep an extra close eye on things the next time around!