NatureNut Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 Those of you who have been following my posts know I'm battling algae in my 33gallon. Now we're battling Betta survival in the 2 gallons. I bought 2 2 gallon Waterhome 2 acrylic tanks and fully cycled them before adding Bettas. These were designed to be in classrooms. One for my son's kindergarten and one for my husband's class. My husband never took his to school because he has some challenging kids that he doesn't trust with a fish in the class, so it stayed home. The Bettas for them were purchased from what I think is a reputable LFS and brought home just before Christmas. I have done weekly water changes, test their ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels regularly and run a 7.5 W heater in them. Their temperature is usually around 24C with some fluctuations due to external changes, but it's quite steady. Their ammonia and nitrites have never registered at all. Nitrates come up between 5-10 ppm (closer to 5 but with my test kit I can't tell exact level) by the time I do the weekly change. I run the water for them through a dechlorinator (britta on tap filter) as well as treating it with Step 1 from Pisces. The tanks have gravel substrate, are filtered, have fake plants and a rock formation for hiding. About 2 weeks ago the Betta we kept at home died. He slowed down a bit and stopped eating for a day or so before he died. Then this week my son's teacher told me she thought the fish wasn't moving as much as usual so I brought him home last night so he wouldn't be there over a long weekend with no food etc. (I move him in an insulated bag right in his tank... easy to move those 2 gallons around when needed) I did his water change last night with aged water, treated as described above and warmed up to room temp. He died overnight. I can see no outward signs on either of them of any disease/injury/whatever. I've asked at our Village office what water treatment they use and they said it's just Chlorine, but I treat for Chloramines anyhow just in case (BAD experience with that when we moved to Edmonton years back and lost all our fish twice before the fish store told us what had likely happened... we were relatively new to the hobby and didn't know better ). When I called after the first one died the store said it was probably just bad luck. That some bettas live 2-3 months after purchase while some go on for years. We've kept several in the past and had no problems. They all lived to the 2 year mark or more. Does ANYONE have any ideas about what could be going on? I'm going to test pH today in case it could be something to do with that or heavy metals or something. We also lost 4/5 zebra danios in our 33 gallon tank. I thought they were supposed to be the hardiest things around? The swordtails are fine in there and producing fry non stop, and the ottos are fine too. If we can't find anything wrong with our situation I'm interested to hear some sources for healthy Bettas. It's not fun having fish die at the best of times, but telling my 5 year old and now his whole kindergarten class really stinks. I know fish/animals die, but I also know Bettas usually have a better lifespan than this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureNut Posted February 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 I tested the pH of everything today. Our water from our taps is 7.4, the 33g tank is 7.4 but the two acrylics (betta homes) were 8.0... ugh? Their nitrates were between 0 and 5 (the day after an H2O change) and ammonia and nitrites were all 0. Could this pH cause problems with our bettas? Should I get some adjuster for them? :S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 18, 2007 Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 pH is rarely an issue for bettas, but a large swing in hardness could be. What are the 'rocks' made out of - are they actual rock, or plastic? If they are rock, I'd suspect that they are either leaching something into the water and/or slowly dissolving. This would raise the hardness, and probably cause the pH to rise. Higher hardness isn't necessarily bad, but hardness that fluctuates a lot will mess with a fish's system. My suggestion would be to ditch the rocks. The plants would be fine enough for decor. A few floating live plants (frogbit, giant duckweed, salvinia) might not be a bad idea, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted February 18, 2007 Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 Were they fairly large bettas? Often the ones sold at the LFS are a year or older. You will get some that survive a long time but most don't last too much more than 1 to 2 years. Barring any illness or harsh water changes (shock), that could be the only thing wrong with your situation. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureNut Posted February 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 The rocks are just the plastic coated gravel. We have extremely hard water here. I tried to test it once and gave up after adding 60 drops of the reagent (The chart only gave results for up to 18 drops or so...). I asked at my LFS about it and they said the fish we have are used to hard water and it shouldn't be a problem. That said, your concern was more over changes in hardness, and that shouldn't be happening. I wondered about the age thing. They were both large, and of course everything in the little cups were quite large. So they're probably full grown. Maybe I should get something younger from a private breeder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted February 18, 2007 Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 I keep my bettas(majority) in large jars in water in a tank. This way I have the tank water heated and with the jars the fish are seperate. Once a week I fill a bucket with temp water and add the treatment drops to clear chlorinesand cholrimines, also I add slimers.At least an hour after feeding, I use a straw on an airline to clean out the jars of any debris and 95% of the water (syphon into a second bucket). I emidiately refill with fresh new treated water. The fish get a bit of a tumble. The other two bettas are in giant glas jars (aprox 3 gal). Resemble cookie jars, glass, picked them up at Homesense. At the bottom I have black sand and a live plant. For these they get a water change every 2 weeks (50%). I remove some water then pour in some fresh in order to cause some turbulance to float up any nasties from the sand, then use that same straw/airline to syphon out the water and floaties. These are not heated. Some of the bettas get "bettafix" as they came to me with damaged fins but all are very active sprite little fishes. I also keep a chunk of almond leaf in ALL their containers as this has natural antibiotics an tanins, I wouldn't do without it. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureNut Posted February 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I took the little guy's body to the store I bought him from. They couldn't see anything that indicates sickness (no ick, hole in head or etc), and they seemed to think my water parameters should be ok. I'm not sure what to think. Looking at the fish on the shelves, though, with a few 'floaters' and some others looking rather depressed, it does make me wonder if it's the best situation for them. He commented that I might cover the tank when we bring him home to decrease stress. Sure, but isn't life in a cup horribly stressful? Especially right surrounded by a half dozen other males of your species that every instinct says you should kill? Anyhow... I'm off to the livestock thread to post for a betta wanted. I think I'll try my luck finding a young betta from a private breeder. thanks a million for all your thoughts and ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojosavard Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 Almond leaf? interesting. Where can I get same? thanks. I also keep a chunk of almond leaf in ALL their containers as this has natural antibiotics an tanins, I wouldn't do without it. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 I've got some I could share. They sold at the auction for 9.00 and 7.00 for a bag of 10. Where are you , I could always send you 1. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojosavard Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 Mighty generous of you. I just emailed you my address. how does one use almond leaf? Can I buy some right here in canada? Thanks for your help - this should help my son's sick betta recover (been in "betta revive" for 4 days now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 What I use them for: 1 1inch piece in each betta jar, 95% water change weekly,new leaf piece monthly. 1 whole leaf on water surface for bubblenest builders to build bubble nest under. 1 whole leaf in each tank allowed to decompose at will, offers tons of good stuff to the water collum, if you don't mind the tea colour. 1 whole leaf in quarentine/hospital tank. I would suggest you "google" almond leaf to read as much as you can, it's a great natural remedy and preventative threrapy too. Unless there is a LFS who carries them...you'll have to import them or get them at auction. I think you may find almond leaf tea bags in some stores though. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Mighty generous of you.I just emailed you my address. how does one use almond leaf? Can I buy some right here in canada? Thanks for your help - this should help my son's sick betta recover (been in "betta revive" for 4 days now) Could you PM me your info please, I didn't get your email. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojosavard Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Hi, i sent you my adderss via PM, dont know if you received it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Hi, i sent you my adderss via PM, dont know if you received it. Sent by mail Thursday. You'll probably get it Monday. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojosavard Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 just got the 2 leaves today. popped a 1 inch piece into each of my 2 kids' betta bowls. you are very nice. thanks. btw, i treated my sons betta with betta revive. he seems cured now. i have warmed the water in his bowl with a heat pad he looks happier now. :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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