The betta I have been posting about in the different forums about appearing swollen in his stomach. I found him lying dead this morning. I don't know what really killed him, cause he was happy until I put him in his betta kit since his nice spacious 3 gallon sprung a leak. I dunno if he was stressed from being in such a small space or what. I he was the longest living betta I had. I had him for about four months. I think I will now finally give up on keeping bettas, I never seem to keep them for long. It actually makes me feel sad that he died, cuase he was one of the first very personable fish I had and I was hoping for him to see my university dorm in a couple days. I have never felt for sad for one of my fish that died, cause usually I just take it very lightly, like "it died, everything dies, I cared for it so life will go on." Its different now, and my whole day has be very c**pola since this morning anyways, especially at work. I am now deliberating whether I should bother to buy anymore bettas after the other ones (like 4 or 5) that have deceased in less than 5 months or should I bring another fish that can live in similar conditions or should I just forget about it all. As I get over this, what do you guys think?
Betta Died This Morning
- Thread starter unknown_7
- Start date
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nitrous
Aquarium Advice FINatic
i believe u may be able to house a small amount of tetras in a 4-5 gal and they mayt be hardier than bettas but correct me if im wrong
Zagz
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sorry to hear about your betta. It is hard to decide whether or not to continue keeping a type of fish. IMO it is better to never give up. But you could look at that 5 gal kit and get something other than bettas.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have been in a similar boat as yours, unknown_7. I have tried and tried to keep bettas, but it has just never worked out like it has for other fish I have. I am so sorry to hear about this trouble, but you might try something different. Bettas are seriously overbred, so it is hard to find a specimen that is as hardy as they ought to be, so don't feel bad, but personally I don't keep them anymore.
I'd keep something else, like badis badis, maybe some of the small gourami species like licorice (a challenge to keep in their own right), killies, a tiny tetra species, or even a fancy guppy in the 5gal. I'd recommend dwarf frogs for this tank as well but I don't have such a good track record with those, either, lol! :|
I'd keep something else, like badis badis, maybe some of the small gourami species like licorice (a challenge to keep in their own right), killies, a tiny tetra species, or even a fancy guppy in the 5gal. I'd recommend dwarf frogs for this tank as well but I don't have such a good track record with those, either, lol! :|
QTOFFER
Aquarium Advice Addict
After three attempts, I've given up on store-bought bettas. I never had one live longer than a few months either. I think they are doomed from the start due to a combination of bad genes ans stressful shipping/display conditions.
I've had much better luck with bettas purchased from a breeder. If there's an aquarium society near you, that's probably the best way to acquire bettas.
I've had much better luck with bettas purchased from a breeder. If there's an aquarium society near you, that's probably the best way to acquire bettas.
Blazeherd2306
Aquarium Advice Addict
Wow, I thought I was the only person who had problems with bettas.
It's funny to me how some people who have no experience with fish, go buy a betta and have it live for like 3 years. And I, being an experienced fishkeeper have never kept one alive for more than 3 months. I'm trying out a third betta right now that I have had for 2 months without problems, so I hope he lives for a long time.
If he dies, I will probably give up on them, too.
That's probably why mine die. Most of the bettas at my LFS are in bad condition when they arrive, so it's hard to find a healthy one. I don't think the 1 cup of water they are kept in helps either. :?
It's funny to me how some people who have no experience with fish, go buy a betta and have it live for like 3 years. And I, being an experienced fishkeeper have never kept one alive for more than 3 months. I'm trying out a third betta right now that I have had for 2 months without problems, so I hope he lives for a long time.
If he dies, I will probably give up on them, too.
That's probably why mine die. Most of the bettas at my LFS are in bad condition when they arrive, so it's hard to find a healthy one. I don't think the 1 cup of water they are kept in helps either. :?
bummer! sorry to hear about your loss. i was considering a betta, but y'all just convinced me to go another way. it's too bad, cuz they can be so pretty. how about endler's livebearers? i don't know much about them except they're small and pretty, but i don't know how hard they are to keep.
RoK
Aquarium Advice Addict
crazycat, I've heard endlers are very similar to guppies but that's about all I know.
unknown_7, you could try a male guppy with a shrimp or maybe 2 ADFs. Would be easy to keep ADFs in a small tank such as a 5g with no fish since they don't have to compete for food and they don't have a large area to search.
Just my 2 cents.
unknown_7, you could try a male guppy with a shrimp or maybe 2 ADFs. Would be easy to keep ADFs in a small tank such as a 5g with no fish since they don't have to compete for food and they don't have a large area to search.
Just my 2 cents.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
crazycat said:
They are not hard to keep at all. I found that they do not like tanks under 5-6 gallons, but otherwise they are extremely adaptable.
