Betta Problems

[Psi]

My neighbour and I have recently had a run of incredibly unsuccessful attempts at keeping bettas - so far all have died but her latest, and that's fairly quickly running out of time.

The signs of illness have been consistent between each fish - while they're purchased healthy, or apparently so, each soon becomes more listless and its fins begin to clump towards the end, something which soon spreads towards the body. As this happens the fins also lose their colour, becoming reasonably dull and brown. My fish also developed cloudy, bulging eyes, but so far none of my neighbour's have done so before dying.

We've done a lot of research - my tank wasn't set up properly, so we initially thought that, or my lack of preparedness, was to blame. We questioned temperature (at one point I think the heater ceased working, but at the same time it's easy to get paranoid about that when the light doesn't shine for a while and the water seems cold); we questioned ammonia levels; we questioned pH; we questioned a lot of things.

When my neighbour's first fish died we thought perhaps it was stress, unhappiness at being alone, nitrate, pH, and the rest. She got another one and thought she'd managed it better, and this time the pH was to blame - but since she's bought another, the illness is the same (apparently) and the pH, ammonia, temperature etc., are all good. We thought maybe it was even the water in our places, but she's been boiling some water to remove what impurities she can, and using some of the water I've brought in from elsewhere that I've been using for my killifish that are now breeding, and still she's had no luck.

The water is dechlorinated, suffused with nitrate-converting bacteria, and, according to the research my neighbour's done, boiled to remove copper. I'm wondering if that's really a good way to remove copper (which would be present from the pipes delivering water to our places), given that it's a metal, not a gas like chlorine.

Can anyone help at all? We'd like to know what the story is and whether it's down to the water, or whether it's a condition that's rare enough for us to not be able to identify it despite how commonly it's striking our fish. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[*Fishkies*]

What is the betta kept in? What size is the tank?
Is it filtered? How often were water changes performed?
Does it have a heater? What is the temperature kept at?
What are the exact water stats for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph out of the water she is using?

Do you use a water conditioner that removes cholrine from the water and other harmful metals? Or any water conditioner?

Sounds like a bacterial problem most often, especially with the popeye symptoms and cloudy eyes.

 

[Psi]

What is the betta kept in? What size is the tank?
Is it filtered? How often were water changes performed?
Does it have a heater? What is the temperature kept at?
What are the exact water stats for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph out of the water she is using?

Do you use a water conditioner that removes cholrine from the water and other harmful metals? Or any water conditioner?

Sounds like a bacterial problem most often, especially with the popeye symptoms and cloudy eyes.

Its a 8litre tank, with a aqua heater at 26 degrees, no filter as the current has been way to strong so petshop recommended not using one, 20% water change every second day with gravel syphoned, cycle(nitrate cycle bacteria) added once a week, and aqua plus (water ager and declorinator) added at every water change. Ph is 7.0-7.2. and cabomba plant in the tank.

The cloudy eyes was only in my fish not present on any of the ones my friend has lost.
They also only lived for a few days to a week each.

 

[*Fishkies*]

Depending where you are located i would look into a small filter that filters up to 3 gallons. Such as the Red Sea Deco Art Mini Filter, I have one for my 2.5 gallon tank and it does not over power the tank.

Buy Here
Buy here
Here too!

The above sites have the filter for sale. I don't know where you are located, so it may differ on where or how you can find this filter, if your interested.

How much of the "Cycle" product did you add once a week?

I think you are siphoning the gravel do much. It should really only be done once a week. If you siphon to much, it takes all your bacteria that has grown on the stones and basically you have to start over.

 

[Psi]

Depending where you are located i would look into a small filter that filters up to 3 gallons. Such as the Red Sea Deco Art Mini Filter, I have one for my 2.5 gallon tank and it does not over power the tank.

Buy Here
Buy here
Here too!

The above sites have the filter for sale. I don't know where you are located, so it may differ on where or how you can find this filter, if your interested.

How much of the "Cycle" product did you add once a week?

I think you are siphoning the gravel do much. It should really only be done once a week. If you siphon to much, it takes all your bacteria that has grown on the stones and basically you have to start over.

I'm not sure exactly how much syphoning was being done (my neighbour wrote out the last reply just up there but I personally can't give you exact details). The problem with it being a bacterial problem based on syphoning is that I believe she's only recently purchased the syphon - that is, she didn't use to do it - and I never syphoned but still lost my fish after a week. Admittedly, I didn't use any bacterial suffusions, but she always has and yet lost two bettas prior to this most recent one (it died just a few hours ago), and yet the problem has been consistent. We were figuring it might be bacterial but the conditions are never the quite the same around each occurrence - first no bacterial additives, then in the next two there were, then there was in the next one but also syphoning.

I apologise with any confusion about who's had which fish - I (Psi) have had one, my neighbour has had three. Also (editted in) we're in New Zealand, so I'm sure such products would be available to us - it's a matter of finding the appropriate one, I'm sure.