Betta help!!!

[roseybarb]

I can't figure out why I can't keep a Betta alive for longer than 4-6 months! Can somebody help me out on how to care for a betta? I've read other websites and have done things as suggested, but the darn things still seem to kick the bucket on me sooner than they should! Right now I'm down to 5. I have 3 in a 2 1/2 divided tank (they seem alright). It's the 5 gallon divided that I seem to keep losing them!! I change 1/2 the water every 2 weeks. It has a sponge filter.

Any ideas? One of the guys in there is looking rather grim right now as I write, and has looked this way for quite a few days.

Do you think I should use 1/2 bottled water in the small tanks? I have very high ph (about 8.0 naturally) and hardness. Would this have anything to do with Betta deaths?

 

[wetmanNY]

Bettas aren't fussy about pH, but the higher the pH the more toxic the ammonia. Even a whiff of NH3 could be depressing their immune systems. Have you tested for ammonia? It should be undetectable.

Water that's high in minerals mayalso be high in copper and other metal ions. Since you don't have carbon in a filter, maybe you should have duckweed in the tanks and keep removing it with your net...

 

[goldfries]

bad stock.

 

[Rava]

Do you use a water conditioner? I don't know what everyone here uses, but I use NovaAqua which removes several different chemicals. You can find bottles of it most any pet store. Also, I would have to agree with bad stock. Bettas are hardy little fish, I've never heard of them dying so quickly! Try buying them from somewhere else, and watch them for awhile before buying. Make sure they seems to be moving around a little, and their fins are in good shape, and they have no obvious problems. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[roseybarb]

Thanks everybody

I do use a water conditioner. For the longest time I used Stress Coat, and just recently switched to Aqua Plus. I don't see that to be any correlation as the bettas were dying before and after I switched conditioners.

It's a mystery and could be bad stock. I'll keep you posted should I come up with a break through.

I consider myself a pretty experienced tropical freshwater hobbiest, yet I can't seem to get a Betta to come close to living their life-span

Couple more things: I have an amonia pillow in the bottom of the 5 gallon tank and an amonia gauge. Amonia reads 0 on gauge. I will test tomarrow with a kit