Why do my Betta's keep on dying?

Question

I have a 20 gallon tank, we keep it clean but my female betta's keep dying very slowly. It could take them up to 8 weeks before they die, and they only die one at a time. They lose energy, their body will become curved, and they will only stay at the top of the tank in one spot until I feed them. Does anyone have any idea what's going on?

Answer 1

Are the female bettas the only fish in your tank? And are you getting them all from the same source?

One thing that sticks out in your description is the spinal curvature. There are a few things that could cause that, and I think determining which it is will be the key to your solution. If you're feeding them a diet of betta pellets as a staple food, you should be able to rule out scoliosis (curvature due to a vitamin deficiency). That leaves an internal parasite called camallanus, or fish tuberculosis.

If you have any other fish in the tank, observe tham when their resting to see if you notice any thin red worms hanging out the vent (anus). Here's a photo of what these would look like: http://www.gaem.it/pubblico/articoli/malattiepesci/camallanus/camallanus03.jpg You'll only notice these if the fish has stopped swimming for a few minutes - once they begin to swim, these will pull back inside. Even if you only had one fish that was infected, the worms will have laid eggs in the tank and could be infecting the other fish, or you could be bringing in worms or eggs from where you purchased the bettas. Here's an article about this parasite which include information on treatments: http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/CamellanusTreatment.pdf I've used the levamisol treatment sucessfully, but you'll need to goto a veterinarian or farm store to get it - it's used mainly for larger livestock. One thing I did differently (suggested in a website where I first saw the treatment mentioned) was to trat the tank twice, about 4 days apart, to catch any eggs that hatched after the first treatment.

As far as fish TB, this is reportedly able to be treated with kanacyn, although I've never personally had to treat fish with this condition. You can read more about this cause in these links: http://www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html#External , http://www.fish-disease.net/diseases.htmOne thing, if it is fish TB, you should use caution when working around the tank, since this can be transmitted to humans.

Answer 2

How long has the tank been set up? What kind of filter and heater do you have in it? When you say you keep it clean, what do you mean? How often do you do water changes? What do you feed your bettas?

If you can answer those questions then we can be more helpful in our replies.

Answer 3

the funny thing i sI had my bettas in a tank with high currents, it had a part with really stil water though i made sure and they would actually try swiming against the current and like to float around in the bubbles produced by my airstone, maybe the water is too cold

Answer 4

Sounds like you have too high of a current going in the tank.

In my experience with Bettas, I found that they WANT to be in a smaller tank, all by themselves, with no current... which means no filtration system. It makes sense when you think about it, Bettas naturally live in puddles.

Answer 5

fighting prehaps, little battles here and there can cause niks that if left unknown/untreated will kill the fish.

Prehaps adding alot of aquarium salt into the tank and hope that helps prevent any more problems.

Answer 6

its fighting going on in the tank my cuz had da same prob.
get half the fish and no filtration system and put aquarium
salt so thay can get better

Answer 7

your murdering them, Thats whats going on.