Cursed! Killed 3 Bettas! Help me!!!

[Kurtanius21]

I am so disappointed. I am doing something seriously wrong.

I am a Betta fish wannabe owner. I inherited a Betta fish from a coworker. He was in a 3 gallon tank for about 6 months, then died. I have no idea what his age was before inheriting him, so I was ok with his lifespan in my newbie hands. I am a first time fish tank hobbyist.

But in trying to replace him, ive killed 3 Bettas in the last week! I’ve replaced the water, even tried using anti-fungal API products and their anti-bacterial line. I’ve done some reading online to diagnose what I’m doing wrong.

Tank setup. It’s 3 gallons, with 2 live plants. I got a cheapo filter that came with the tank and a small heater set to 77 degrees.

Death: the fish get covered with some sort of fuzzy white mold looking stuff. I have read online that it could be either a fungus or some kind of Columnaris bacteria. I tried both API products and they haven’t worked to save the latest Betta. These Bettas all die within 3 DAYs of putting them in the tank. Each time I thoroughly remove all the water for the next one.

Thoughts: did the 2 live plants I ordered carry the parasite?

Did the dead fish’s rotting corpse from the first death permanently contaminate the gravel with Letha bacteria?

What can I do to fix this awful trend? I really want to keep a Betta, but I am sad to be killing them! Please help! I have tested my water, and everything seems ok, except for a high PH of 8.

 

[OrionGirl]

What are the exact test results? Did you inherit the tank as well as the fish? Is the fuzzy growth on the fish before, or only seen after they die?

 

[fishorama]

I would do a serious tank cleaning with bleach, lots of dechlorinator & a new round of cycling (see "before your get fish" in the newbie forum) before trying a betta again.

Something is wrong; like OG asked, what are the test results? (you can often get them free at a shop, but you need a liquid test kit of your own). Dead fish can quickly grow fungus looking stuff...not necessarily a cause of death.

How often to change water & how much each time?

 

[VampireCrabs]

I would upgrade my tank to a five gallon, take the plants out, leave the gravel out and just have a bare tank. See if a betta can survive in that. If they can add the gravel back. See if they can survive. If so then I would take the plants out for good.

 

[VampireCrabs]

I am so disappointed. I am doing something seriously wrong.

I am a Betta fish wannabe owner. I inherited a Betta fish from a coworker. He was in a 3 gallon tank for about 6 months, then died. I have no idea what his age was before inheriting him, so I was ok with his lifespan in my newbie hands. I am a first time fish tank hobbyist.

But in trying to replace him, ive killed 3 Bettas in the last week! I’ve replaced the water, even tried using anti-fungal API products and their anti-bacterial line. I’ve done some reading online to diagnose what I’m doing wrong.

Tank setup. It’s 3 gallons, with 2 live plants. I got a cheapo filter that came with the tank and a small heater set to 77 degrees.

Death: the fish get covered with some sort of fuzzy white mold looking stuff. I have read online that it could be either a fungus or some kind of Columnaris bacteria. I tried both API products and they haven’t worked to save the latest Betta. These Bettas all die within 3 DAYs of putting them in the tank. Each time I thoroughly remove all the water for the next one.

Thoughts: did the 2 live plants I ordered carry the parasite?

Did the dead fish’s rotting corpse from the first death permanently contaminate the gravel with Letha bacteria?

What can I do to fix this awful trend? I really want to keep a Betta, but I am sad to be killing them! Please help! I have tested my water, and everything seems ok, except for a high PH of 8.

I just watched a video that I found may help you: (SWEARING WARNING!)

Did you buy them from PetSmart? They might have scooped water up from one of those tanks and plopped the betta's in.

 

[Rbishop]

Thread is over one year old.....