AJanzen Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Hey everyone, wanting to put the question out there as it has plagued me for a while now. I used to keep quite a few bettas around the house, usually about 5-7 but became extremely discouraged when they kept dropping off. I've tried them in 1gallon bowls, 2.5gallon aquariums with filters (some planted, some not), some mixed in with tropical fish in a 5 gallon (the tropicals were always plain, extremely non aggressive). What is the natural lifespan of a betta? Always bought from an LFS so thought maybe they were just older fish already. Best luck I've had was with a halfmoon from BigAl's that cost me $60 and lasted a year and a half in an unfiltered, un-aerated half gallon bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polleni-puffer Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 1-3 years on average for pet store bettas. The longest I've had one live was 4.5 years or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimmi7 Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 I have had my blue male for almost 2 years, my blue female for 1.5 years and just got a very pretty orange and blue male this past month. My cousin has my old red male an it's almost 2. I notice the older they get the more lazy they get lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquabrain Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 I used to keep quite a few bettas around the house, usually about 5-7 but became extremely discouraged when they kept dropping off. I know what you mean! I've never had any luck with regular petstore bettas, either. My record for keeping one alive is 5 months. However, I have a plakat female (from a breeder on this forum) that's about 2 years old, and still going strong. So I blame genetics. (I never blame myself :P) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epiphany Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 I had 2 bettas from petland, one lasted just over 2 years and the other just under 3. Both were in a 2.5g tank with filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanmer Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 This Christmas I lost my betta "Elton John". He was six years old. I have one betta, who is the king of my 110g angel tank, that has to be 5 1/2 years. Both were pet shop fish. Elton was in a large bowl with plenty of java moss with filtration. He was quite lazy. The one in the angel tank is the most active betta I have seen. He is constantly on the move. These two bettas were in totally different environments, not sure why they are so long lived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanie1978 Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 I had one live 8yrs. I kept in a 2g by himself with heat, low pressure filter and light. They are very responsive to light I have found, my were sluggish if I didn't have the light on for at least 6-8 hours. Human interaction I found is key as well, placing them where they could see us the most. i.e living room etc. Varying their diet with a good level betta only pellet mixed vegetable pellets, some blood worms and the odd spinach leaf (1-2 times a month). They were all local stores (pj's, walmart). Mine like to have a variety of resting places too, large smooth rocks, floating logs, a large flat leaved plant (plastic/real). Not sure if this help, good luck with them, they are certainly a beautiful fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 All the ones that I have kept have been long lived 4+ years OR killed by an event/accident. Yay for none killed by disease or sickness...(minus the one that came with the dreaded callamanus worms). They are extremely hearty in my opinion or maybe I've just been lucky... Hmm...some culprits jumping forgetting to treat the water once osmotic shock (new lesson this year) babies chewed up by the filter vase breaking one came with an internal parasite culled... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanie1978 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) Well if we're sharing I did have one die by non natural means more like cycle of life. Our second one was in a 3G acrylic hex tank in the livingroom and while we were gone one afternoon my very jealous large garfield type cat (who would turn up his nose at fish, I've had some strange animals LOL) decided to committed fish-a suide. He knocked the tank off the end table and squished the fish into the carpet. We can home to a watered carpet and a very flat intact fish and one very smug kitty. I guess the kitty didn't like that we interacted with the fish like we did with him. Edited March 8, 2012 by jeanie1978 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 IMO there's nothing wrong with petstore Bettas...as a matter of fact, that's where I get most of mine...and then breed them. I've got around 27 right now, granted 11 of them are juveniles from early fall, but they're all individually Jarred now, but they are all happy, healthy and seem to live decently long lives. Some of the Bettas i've brought in over the years have lived for 6+ years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McTurtle Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) My past bettas lived about three years in a heated 1 gallon tank (each). They don't seem to care too much what temperature they're at (within a reasonable range) but they don't like their temperature to vary. They also seem to like to be on the kitchen counter or on my desk, where ever they can see me for a while each day. I think they need the stimulation. That said, I've had lousy luck lately. One died after 6 months and another after 3 months, but I think they never really recovered from a bout of ick. I also think there's something up with my tap water, so I'm looking into filtering it and setting up a system to let 5 gallons or so degas for 24hrs before I use it. All my bettas have come from pet stores. Edited March 15, 2012 by McTurtle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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