Anabantid problems.

Beeker

Beeker

Aquariaholic
Oct 8, 2004
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I seem to have a problem with Anabantids. I had 4 Peaceful Bettas which were doing quite well, but were awfully timid. They all eventually died, 3 of the 4 of them died from some strange white body fuzz that didn't affect any of the other fish that were in the tank. My Platies that are in the tank are doing great and multiplying, but the Bettas didn't make it. :sad:
In a different tank I had 6 Sparkling Gouramis. I only have 3 left. I don't know why. I don't see any sickness hitting them, I just find them the next day with snails all over them. Is there something about Anabantids that I should know other than leaving about an inch of air at the top of the tank for them? :huh: I love my Sparkling Gouramis and don't want to loose anymore, and I'd like to get a regular male Betta Splendens, but I can't stand loosing them. Please help. :help: I feel so confused. :confused:
 
The water has been fine. My town water has been the envy of many people on this forum.
I believe that the Bettas died from stress. They were unbelievably timid. I bought the Sparkling Gouramis from Live Aquaria. They were very young. Is it possible that poor genes could have caused it? All of the other fish I have gotten from them were healthy and good quality. I don't know if there was any problem with the personalities of the Gouramis. They all seemed to get along.
 
I think you may be onto something regarding stress. My burmese chocolates are the most shy, timid fish I have ever seen. I think the sparkling gouramis and peaceful bettas have similar personalities. I was very worried when my chocolates were in QT, because they were visibly stressed. I lost one out of the three before they were moved into a planted tank with otos and a female peacock gudgeon. It took them over a month to overcome their fear of the gudgeon (the gudgeon never bothered them either). They are a bit more brave finally, although still quite shy. Their shyness also makes them quite difficult to feed. I have to drop a few bloodworms in and then back away from the tank while I watch to see if they eat.

In the case of the bettas, maybe the presence of the platies was stressing them out. Were there other fish in with the sparkling gouramis? Were there plenty of hiding places in the tanks? Were the fish eating well? Did they seem pale in color at all?
 
no1 cares
 
Gouramis are very prone to a bacterial infection, which can take a few months to do them in. They kind of just waste away, which can be hard to see on sparklers. I had one die of it. "Peaceful" bettas are not always so peaceful. Four in a tank would be very stressful because they are only truly happy if they can defend a piece of turf successfull, to be King so to speak. They may not hurt each other in fights, but they will never feel as if own a piece of water. Sometimes female bettas can be housed together if they are really peaceful, but they too can be territorial. Sparkling gouramis establish a pecking order, and sometimes having too many in a small place can cause undue stress.
Just my two cents, not sure if it helped.
 
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