Need Help! Dont Understand Whats Happening

[civicz51]

Ok, so im new to the frum, so im not sure if im posting this in the right place. If im not, please forgive me.

A few months ago, back in may actually, for my graduation ceremony and banquet we bought about 10 betta fish (all males) and put each of them in a an individual, small bowl tank. after, were allowed to give them out to people, and keep some. We (my mom, bother and I) kept about 4 of them. MY mom purchased a filter for each tank recomended by our local petshop owner. two bowls were placed upstairs in our living room, and the other one in a room downstairs. Now, for the main part. the fish keep dying! we had one fish die about 2 months ago. No idea why. We kept it fed with one to 3 betta bites a day (a type of betta food). The tanks were cleaned every 2 weeks, with the filters running smoothly. Then, upsatirs where our two other fish were, one of them died again. The conditions of the fish (what it was fed, its tank/bowl size) were exactly the same, with maybe a slight difference in room temperature. Anyways, my mom bought about a 3 gallon tank, and we put the last living fish in that one, for fear that maybe the bowls we were using were too small. These small bowls were roughtly about a quarter gallon. This new tank, is probaably about 3 gallons. This tank also had a running, working filter which was again recomended by the petshop. The fish was put in, and within days, died.

We now have bought 3 more fish. however, 2 of them have died in the small bowls again. These bowls were located upstairs in the living room. both were were females this time. As I said, these bowls are roughly a quarter gallon capacity, with about 2 inches or so from the top of the bowl filled wth water. We now have another male in the 3 gallon tank, and he has been there for about 3 weeks now, and is doing absolutley fine.

Can anyone please tell me what we may be doing wrong? I know something is clearly not right, since many of my friends have had one of these fesh for years, and I cant even manage to keep them alive for over 2 months. As I said, we regularly clean the tanks, replace the filter cartridges, and feed them as instructed by food container instructions.

 

[Flute]

I think your biggest problem here is the tank size that you're keeping your betta in. Quarter of a gallon is far too small. 3 gallon is better, but the bigger the better You can also then add plants and make the tank look fantastic for both you and more importantly the betta.
The reason why you've lost your fish is probably down to the ammonia caused by their waste. Such a small living space will allow ammonia to build up much quicker and to much higher levels, resulting in the fish dying. You also need to allow a filter to develop beneficial bacteria which will break down the ammonia into something much less poisonous. If you're doing fish in cycles (in a tank with a filter), then you need to several water changes a week, probably at least once a day. The quarter of a gallon cup would probably need changing several times a day, and as I said before, is far to small. Betta need swimming room, and need things to interact with.

If you head on over to the Beginners resource centre you'll find all you need to know on how to keep your fish happy and healthy

Good luck!

 

[Tolak]

I see a few issues here. First, I'm assuming we are talking splendens, not non-splendens species of bettas, so I will move this topic to the proper section.

Next, while bettas can be kept in smaller volumes of water it does take more frequent water changes, as well as assuring the temperature is kept where the fish need it. These two things can be tough without the proper setup; a room kept at 80F and daily large water changes. Many accomplished breeders have been doing this for decades, to make it easier on newer fishkeepers who don't have the experience or setup larger tanks are a good idea. This means a couple of gallons minimum, heated, and filtered.

As far as filtration, if you are replacing the filter cartridges you are essentially starting from the beginning again with a new tank. Please read the articles on cycling in the link Flute was so kind to provide.

The short answer is that lack of water changes in the smaller tanks, and replacing cartridges in the filters is causing an ammonia spike, stressful at the least, deadly at higher levels. Cooler water decreases metabolism, at room temperature the slowed metabolism with daily feedings could be causing constipation leading to a bacterial issue.

 

[Janina]

Ok, so im new to the frum, so im not sure if im posting this in the right place. If im not, please forgive me.

A few months ago, back in may actually, for my graduation ceremony and banquet we bought about 10 betta fish (all males) and put each of them in a an individual, small bowl tank. after, were allowed to give them out to people, and keep some. We (my mom, bother and I) kept about 4 of them. MY mom purchased a filter for each tank recomended by our local petshop owner. two bowls were placed upstairs in our living room, and the other one in a room downstairs. Now, for the main part. the fish keep dying! we had one fish die about 2 months ago. No idea why. We kept it fed with one to 3 betta bites a day (a type of betta food). The tanks were cleaned every 2 weeks, with the filters running smoothly. Then, upsatirs where our two other fish were, one of them died again. The conditions of the fish (what it was fed, its tank/bowl size) were exactly the same, with maybe a slight difference in room temperature. Anyways, my mom bought about a 3 gallon tank, and we put the last living fish in that one, for fear that maybe the bowls we were using were too small. These small bowls were roughtly about a quarter gallon. This new tank, is probaably about 3 gallons. This tank also had a running, working filter which was again recomended by the petshop. The fish was put in, and within days, died.

We now have bought 3 more fish. however, 2 of them have died in the small bowls again. These bowls were located upstairs in the living room. both were were females this time. As I said, these bowls are roughly a quarter gallon capacity, with about 2 inches or so from the top of the bowl filled wth water. We now have another male in the 3 gallon tank, and he has been there for about 3 weeks now, and is doing absolutley fine.

Can anyone please tell me what we may be doing wrong? I know something is clearly not right, since many of my friends have had one of these fesh for years, and I cant even manage to keep them alive for over 2 months. As I said, we regularly clean the tanks, replace the filter cartridges, and feed them as instructed by food container instructions.