Hi, I genuinely don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Two bettas I’ve had only makes it about a month and then passes away 😔
My first betta came to me healthy and active, but he died after just one month. My second one lasted 1 month and 16 days, and now he’s starting to decline too… he looks like he’s fading the same way…
Both tanks are 10 gallons and 12 gallons. All parameters test within normal range. Their diet includes pellets, artemia, and bloodworms, plus one fasting day per week. Heater is set to 82°F. Both tanks were cycled for a full month before adding the fish. I also have emerged plants, floaters, and submerged plants in both setups.
In both cases, they didn’t show obvious signs of disease like fin rot or bloating. They just gradually became weak, almost like they were wasting away. I really don’t understand what I did wrong. I tried my best, but seeing both of them decline like this makes me feel awful…
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1r2p4u0
Posted by Far_Teacher_6460
4 Comments
Sorry for the loss of your fish. How long did you wait before adding the second one? Maybe first one was infected with some kind of parasite (ie gill or skin flukes) and if you added the second one straight away he also got them… I had this issue with my first guppies from the store, as they all were infected with flukes, and I didn’t wait to buy new ones after the last one died so the new batch got infected immediately and they all died. So I waited a month with no fish, and bought more guppies (from a local aquarist, never again from a store) and they all survived just fine this time around and now I have like 100 guppies in my main tank. Did he ever display any sign of discomfort, ie scratching, flashing?
I would wait at least another month before buying a new betta, so that any parasite will die out without a host. Other than that your tank looks great so I believe the water is just fine.
Another thing that I heard is bad for betta (even though I never had this problem with mine), is not having a lid on your tank. Breathing in dry, cold air from the outside can be bad for their breathing tubes or whatever (called a labyrinth). These days I use a lid though because I don’t want to risk it, especially in winter.
Finally, I would make sure the food you are giving is good and not expired, and that you aren’t overfeeding them.
Can’t think of anything else really 😐
sorry to hear about the bettas man, i want to share the same incident that happened to me as well, few years ago, i brought a red bettas just like your’s, after 6 1/2 month, (before 4 days to passing) the body got faded to white or grey white except fins, i showed to some shop keepers, no one has any idea.
https://preview.redd.it/1qc8w9inh1jg1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a9a1c2c35eb110fb41ceef3fded76ba4f0b57ca
Later, i assumed myself it might cause of using borewell water(there are also limescale near surfaces), that day onwards, i filtered and mix with ro water.
Please Kindly Let us know the cause, when you found, what happened to your betta.
I’m convinced bettas these days just aren’t as genetically hardy as they were 10 years ago.
They seem to get sick and die much faster than they did. Heck I’d see people keep one in a baren rose dish for years and they didn’t die.
I think inbreeding has created a lack of hybrid vigor in them.
Would you mind sharing your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH) as there is likely a clue in there.
I would not add anymore fish until the root cause is identified.
What is your water change and tank maintenance schedule? Are you taking old water out and replacing with fresh dechlorinated water or just topping off evaluated water? How often?