betta life expectancy

acocacolagirl said:

Does anyone have an idea what the life expectancy is of betta in a 2gl tank? We've had him a couple of years, but he is looking a little dull in color and fins so I am trying to prepair my daughter for the ineveitable.
:tropicalfish:

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I could be wrong, but I seem to recall a range of 2-3 years.

from what i know 2 years is about max your gonna get out of a betta...

2yrs is pretty short, 3yrs is the average and 7yrs is not unheard of.

Too many factors including diet, water quality, ect. but it seems like 3 years is pretty normal in the aqaurium trade.

Danyal said:

2yrs is pretty short, 3yrs is the average and 7yrs is not unheard of.

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thanks for correcting me ive never owned a betta,just goin by what id heard lol

I have own 4 Bettas in my life...

The 1st lived 5 yrs and was in a unfiltered, non-heated fish bowl of ~1.5G (I was 9 when I got him)

The other 2 lived in 5 and 10G, heated, and died around 11 and 12 (the 12 yro jumped to his death )

The 4th, I still have and he is new, about a year old.

All depends on his/her condition when you get them, and your own treatment...

Removing him and doing a good gravel vac and wc is a good thing just take a little of the tank water he is already in net him with it into a clean bowl that has not been washed with soap or you could even use a clean ziplock bag that might be better to put him into with the old tank water added and then do a wc and gravel vac on the tank. GUNK is never a good thing could be the reason he is looking the way you describe. 25% wc is usually the best. What are your water parameters ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? You should test those atleast once a month. API drops are the best. Remember to dechlorinate the new water and then reacclimate him back to the tank just remember to make sure the temp of the new water is the same as the old tank water if you use a ziplock bag you can just put the bag with the betta into the tank and let it hang in there for a good 20 mins to 1/2 hr when you return him back net him out slowly and don't dump the old tank water in with the new it will make the adjustment back to the tank easier for him. A water change done routinely is a must for bettas. LFS have the adjustable gravel vac that you can adjust to clean smaller tanks if you don't have one might be good to invest in one. Good luck!