Why can't I keep a Betta fish alive??

Question

Here's the problem..... I got my husband a very cool betta tank for his birthday. It's a hanging globe with a little light inside. From what I understand Betta's like small spaces and are happy in simple surroundings. The globe is not very big... the size of a small fish bowl, and we put marbles in the bottom and a single little fake plant. Our first one died because the salesgirl at petsmart told us simple tapwater was fine. She forgot about the chlorine problem. So, I got the dechlorinator drops and a new betta. I put him in spring water. The food bottle said 4 little nuggets in the a.m. and 4 in the p.m. We followed that plan. After 6 days he was dead. Is it because the food floated down to the marbles and he didn't eat it? Did the food contaminate the water since there were a few nuggets in the bottom? My husband says we need a filter for the little bowl because we keep killing fishes. I think he's full of poo. After all petsmart has them in filthy little cups and ..

they seem to thrive. What is it we're doing wrong? Take the marbles out? Feed more or less? Different water? Thanks in advance for any input!!

Wow, this fish is much more complicated than I realized. They seem to be pretty sensitive actually. I mistakenly thought they were low maintenance....perhaps because of the way they're presented at petsmart and the like. I'm not really in favor of going full out with a big tank and all the filters, aerators, etc. We just want something to look at on the nightstand when falling asleep. Is there a simpler fish I should try? I don't want to keep doing this to the poor bettas ; (

Answer 1

If you can return that death trap and get a proper tank for your betta, which should be nothing smaller then 2.5 gallons with a heater and filter. The people who make those things don't care about how many fish are going to die in them, all they care about is the money they will make. Check this site out for the correct way to care for a betta, http://www.firsttankguide.net/betta.php

Here is another site, it shows how big the areas are where they live in the wild and how different it is compared to those little puddles that most people think. http://www.bettadreams.com/ricepaddies.html

The only thing worse then keeping a betta in an unfiltered little bowl is keeping it in a vase with a plant on top. Bettas actually breathe air, they don't take the oxygen from the water like most fish so having the plant on top only blocks the fish from breathing like it should. Bettas are also meat eaters and the only reason they eat the plants roots are because they are starving. While the plant does remove some bad stuff from the water if there are any rotting parts on the roots it is actually making the water worse. http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_in_a_vase.htm

Most other fish, like small tropicals like to be in schools so you should really have nothing smaller then a 10 gallon tank also with a filter and heater. Goldfish don't need heaters but they are very messy and get very big so you would need to have nothing smaller then a 10 gallon for each baby fancy and 20+ when they get bigger and of course a filter. I would just get a bigger tank something like this would be perfect for a betta, http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/product/productInfo.web?infoParam.mode=1&infoParam.itemKey=217190

Answer 2

No fish should be placed in spring water. Spring water is not purified and while the bacteria in it are okay for humans, they could harm a fish. Also, are you keeping the water warm, either with a heater or a heat light. Bettas don't exactly like small spaces, they can just survive in it. Go back to the treated tap water and since the bowl is so small deprise build up fast so you'll need to change the water every other day. The filthy little cups are only temporary and have you noticed how miserable the fish look in them. Really you should just buy a small tank 2-5 gallons. Then you could easily get a heater and filter and it would be a lot easier to take care of.

Answer 3

Bettas need a filtered heated tank about 2.5 gallons or more. They are sold in cups because it is the best way to keep them seperate between breeder to buyer as you can't dump them together in a sale tank like other fish. The fish don't spend much more than a week in the cups.

Answer 4

bettas are fairly simple to keep if you can supply the right conditions. i keep bettas in 2 1/2 gallon tanks with a couple plants -- mix real and fake big leaved silks that reach the top of the water -- no filter no heater (i live in fla and it never gets below 72 inside). i do freqent water changes between 5 days and a week because i think clean water smells better and i think the bettas probably think so too.

I adjust food for the bettas -- some eat 3 pellets some eat 2. if they spit out their food stop feeding them for a day or two and they will be fine -- its actually better for them. pellets tend to make them build up excess air which can cause swim bladder problems. if you see their little tummies getting fat put them on a diet. keep a turkey baster handy to remove bits of food they don't eat.

If you can meet basic requirements (water conditon, a small space of a couple of gallons, temperature, adequate food, some stuff to swim around) you will learn bettas in really small spaces are not happy bettas. bettas in small cups don't exactly swim around and blow bubbles. its like a fish purgatory. they are also prone to a lot more diseases. you can get really bad ammonia poisoning in a "betta bowl" in a very short time from leftover food.

bettas are actually very curious and personable fish. mine spend a lot of time in the front of their tanks watching whats going on in the room and watching me when i walk by etc. but they do have space to swim or drift around -- i found bettas love to just drift around between plant leaves. seagarden makes some nice big leaved silks perfect for this. anubias make great real plants and grow fine in a small betta tank.

Answer 5

What I found works best is to put a small Peace Lilly Plant growing in the water.
You clean off the roots so all the dirt is gone. The plant re-oxegenizises the water so the Betta can breath. That is why your fish keep dying. The oxygen is depleted from the water.
Once a week take the plant out and rinse off the roots; they will get a little algae growing on them and get a little slimy.
You still feed the beta daily or every other day. If you forget it will nibble on the roots and be OK for a while.
You should change the water every couple weeks. It will start to look cloudy and smell. I would just remove the fish and put him into the small container from Petsmart in some of the bowl water.
Clean off the roots. Clean the marbles and the bowl. Replave the water in the bowl. I would just use regular tap water but let it sit for 24 hrs with just the plant replaced. All the harmful chemicals that can kill your fish are evaporated.
I think the l fish that lived the longest in this type of system, lived about a year and a half to two years!
You can find the type of plant at any garden store/Walmart etc...
I had a clear plastic cup that nestled in the lip of he bowl. I cut a hole and put the roots of the plant through the hole so only the roots resided in the water. I used a handful of the colored marbles to support the plant and to decorate/hide the clear plastic.
The roots will grow. Just cut them back with a scissors.

Answer 6

I have a male betta and after yrs. of keeping them on and off, I am finally getting the hang of it. You do need to use a water conditioner to remove the chlorine,chloramine and ammonia. I use Neutral Regulator by Seachem. I learned a lot from a web site that I found a few weeks ago. I do know that Bettas do not like water flow-so no filter. The info on this web site will really help you. Watch the water temp. and feed very little. I feed three Betta Bites in the am and some days 3 more in pm.If he doesn't eat each one, I take it back out right then. Use the advice and suck some of the waste from the bottom each day,if possible, with a turkey baster(used for this purpose only) Please use this web site-it's great!! Good luck. They are such pretty fish!www.colorburstbettas.homestead.com/bettacare~ns4.html

Answer 7

You are completely correct. But why would you let innocent creatures suffer like that. This may be just because she wants an attachment to her mom. Cycling is important. I would tell the employee before she even opens her mouth. This way she's had to do whats best. Force her to buy the materials there. Even cheap is better than nothing. Maybe trick her into buying minnows which are guppy like coldwater fish. Maybe sacrifice one sensitive fish to show her whats happening(last resort). There's nothing more to really say to help you

Answer 8

I question the light. I am sure the container it self doesn't matter, as they really don't require much. They don't need a filter if you keep the water fresh. They don't need air as look as you keep the tank fresh. It also could be bad luck or the fish allready had problems. Also, only feed him what he will eat. We feed 'Red' a couple of pellets 3-4 times a day, literally. If you overfeed him, the water will get nasty faster. The light very well may be heating the water or causing some other type of problem. We wouldn't like to live with a big light shining on us! Good luck.

Answer 9

1. make sure you wash the marbles
2. dont add declorinator if you're using spring water
3. get an air stone and pump, there might not be enough oxygen in the water
4. get a filter if you want, it does help clean the water and oxygenate it, but i had a goldfish for 3 years without one, so i know they arent 100% necessary. but they are a good investment if you're going to get different fish in the future
5. make sure you clean the water and bowl regularly, at least once a week.
6. get a testing kit for nitrite, nitrate and anomnia, they can be deadly if they are out of range

Answer 10

Betta splendens is a tropical fish... It lives in tropical water... in the upper seventies to eighties Fahrenheit.... Not in cold water, not in small volumes that vacillate wildly in terms of daily thermal range and water chemistry... This species if anything is TOUGH! But it cannot, will not live a quality life kept in cold, varying temperature circumstances. NOT. This fish can indeed live in small volumes of water... it is an obligate aerial respirator... needs to get to the surface to "gulp" air to breathe... though issues of diminished water quality need to be addressed in such tiny spaces. All Betta keepers should have an aquatic thermometer... and check their fish's water temperature... It should NOT drop below the low seventies F. and should NOT vacillate any more than 3-5 degrees in any given 24 hour period. As with your health, sudden and extreme changes in temperature (an environmental disease agent) weaken fishes resistance to other diseases.

Bettas are no dirtier than other tropical fishes, but they are often kept in totally unfiltered circumstances, or actually worse, ones that have no established "nitrogen cycling"... this last is absolutely critical... there are a few ways to "get going" this mix of useful microbes... most easily by moving water from another established freshwater system, having some live plants present, "old" conditioned gravel... there are even commercial products (some work, others are shams) that will magically "age" your system. However it is done, it is critical that your Betta's wastes be converted from the excreted and secreted (through the gills) ammonia, into nitrite and then nitrate... If not, your Betta is being poisoned... and yes, likely harmed... up to and including to the point of death. But, can't you simply dilute or change out all the waste water by changing it frequently? Yes... for one male Betta, in a nominal volume of a half gallon or so... if you religiously change all the water every 3-4 days, use conditioner (there is no need for distilled or other fancy water)... But, this isn't going to happen... the vast majority of people lack such discipline... or time.

Super-Size Me If You Can: Yes, Bettas can live (for short whiles) in very small volumes of water... they are shipped in a mere teaspoon or two of water... and often displayed, sold in "Betta cups" and such.... They cannot, will not live long or quality lives in such settings. You see cars stacked next to each other on car lots, being offered for sale... but they don't "live" like this... Neither do Bettas. Larger volumes of water are inherently more stable... like living near the ocean or a large lake... water gives up and takes in energy more slowly than any other known substance... it mediates the environment and is in turn mediated by it... The point? By having a bigger space of water, temperature and water quality will not shift nearly as quickly or as much. How much is too little? Perhaps a gallon... but, "bigger is better". Oh, and an important note re death by jumping out... though they have long finnage, bettas can and do launch themselves out of containers... keep your water level low (a few inches) or a cover on your system.

The popular "Betta Bowls", wall-mounted "Betta containers", "Betta Vase Set-ups"... are cruel hoaxes... If I could, I would have folks who promote, make such torturous devices be reincarnated as Bettas to live out their short, painful lives in these farces.

If you let the water sit for a few days before adding fish the chlorine will evaporate.