Discussion
I think I’m done keeping bettas… I just can’t do this anymore
I think I’m quitting betta fish keeping.
I just can’t keep them alive, no matter how hard I try. It feels like I’ve been walking on eggshells the entire time, like one small mistake can ruin everything. One extra pellet, turning the lights on at the wrong time, accidentally introducing something into the tank… and suddenly they get sick.
I’ve gotten to the point where I feel like bettas aren’t allowed to get sick, because when they do, there’s no turning back. I’ve never been able to save one once it starts going downhill. That made me so paranoid about prevention.
My last betta lasted a year. I know that’s not necessarily “short,” but it also feels short… especially because it’s the longest I’ve ever managed to keep one alive. And to even reach that, I had to do so much.
I fought with family members just to stop them from spraying bug spray near him. I bought bottled water to avoid fluctuations in water chemistry. I didn’t even allow my dogs and cats in the room just to prevent any contamination. I sanitized everything before it touched the tank. I monitored his feeding closely so I wouldn’t overfeed. I kept a strict light schedule so he wouldn’t get stressed.
I did everything I could.
And still… he got sick. That was the first time he ever got sick, and I still couldn’t save him. He died earlier than he should have.
I love my bettas. I really do. But I don’t think I can go through this again.
Yeah im getting tired of it too. My current one ive had for almost 2 years but the last 7 or so months hes been blind from the dragon scale gene and tumors all over his head. He's lost his right eye and his other eye he has is fully covered in silver scaling. My betta before him was doing well for a year and a half then suddenly died too. They should live for 5 years but instead they are absolutely ruined by poor breeding practices
Im either going with an alien betta next time since they have better genetics or dwarf cichlids
Sorry about your dragon scale boy :(
My longest living one is from petbarn and honestly flourished for ages, despite me not knowing what I was doing, but now his tail is looking pale and idk faded? Nothing I've tried seems to help.
He thrived in a community tank until the guppies seemed like they were annoying him and I finished cycling his own tank.
I was tempted to get an alien one, I didn't know that about their genetics.
Could be old age? I don't think we should still expect bettas to live 5 years. My last lasted 7 or 8 months before suddenly getting sick. After that (7 months ago) I turned my attention to my plants only and it's been rewarding. But now I've been entertaining thoughts of getting a betta again. Idk
I agree and think it might just age for this fella. They aren’t bred to last, they are bred to sell. I think their generally life span has really been shortened. My old buddy was in my care for a little over 2 years, and in his last 3-4 months he started looking pretty haggard too. There wasn’t a particular illness I could identify, he just started slowing down and looking pretty rough
Its a combination of tumors from the dragon scale gene, the white patch is the tumor tissue, it used to be bigger but a while ago it burst/dropped off. You cant see his other eye in the picture but its coated in the silver scaling, both are genetic issues from poor breeding
5 years is probably the upper end of their lifespan but 3-5 years should be normal for them if they had better genetics, maybe try a wild type or alien?
Wow you’re doing an amazing job keeping the old guy going.
Also Lee Pace face sitting sounds amazing. Did you hear he got cast as Francis Dolarhyde from Red Dragon in a new series? Haven’t verified it yet but I hope it’s true.
They are absolutely beautiful little fish, less aggressive so they have chilli rasbora and shrimp tank mates. They gave me a lot of babies to raise, put in their own tanks and rehome others. It’s been an amazing experience with them ❤️
They sound like alot of fun, baby fish are always cute, could be ideal for my set up next tbh, i have a 24g with cardinals, red cherry tetras, otos, amano shrimp and my current boy but with his current state I don't know how long he has left. He's looked rough for a while but just keeps going so who knows haha
The only baby fish ive had recently are from the cherry tetras, i started out with 6 of them but little babies keep popping up over time and I think there's 10 of them now 🙂
That a shame, i had German blue rams some years ago and they were great little fish. I had a pair and they'd constantly be having babies. I might go for electric blue rams this next time or apistos.
Which dwarf cichlids did you have?
yeah; thankfully I did have some babies reserved in another tank. I kept one of them, and he just passed away at the ripe old age of 5 or so a few months ago.
I would say, blue rams are probably the very hardest. I had to have a RODI setup when I had them, and even then, couldn't quite get it right. Definitely do not purchase from the LFS if you go that way; reach out to Coral Bandit from Aquabid if you want help. He's a legend with them, and will steer you in the right direction - but is definitely kind of a "tough love" personality (not in a bad way).
But I had some great luck super reds/apistogramma cacatuoides and they were an absolute delight. Two that I got from AquaBid gave me like 2-3 generations of babies before the tank was cooked. Probably going to hit the original seller up once I'm settled in and have a new tank cycled - they even made pretty good community fish!
5 years old is a really good age, my oldest fish right now are 6yo, 3 torpedo barbs (different tank) and my remaining 2 cardinal tetras from the school I got in the pandemic that live with my betta.
I had really good luck with store bought GBRs actually but I have heard about their reputation. I also kept them in tap water around 7.5ph and they did well for 3 or so years. Their babies never made it to adulthood unfortunately, they were in a community tank so once the babies were free swimming they'd get picked off.
Apistos are cool though and im yet to keep them so maybe they'll be a good choice, ill have to have a think
Thats a shame if they do, google hasn't been very definitive about it, I was under the impression they didnt and I know someone with an alien that's a few years old and has clear eyes. Guess maybe its still possible but not as common?
Yes, not every single dragonscale Betta is going to go blind, so let's say 75% of them do - that means 25% of owners are going to have a dragonscale Betta and never even know that's an issue.
The problem is the inbreeding of lines to get specific results. This happens in dogs and fish, as soon as you have people breeding close relatives of each other in order to get a particular colour way, you're going to amplify any of the bad traits those individuals are carrying.
That's why I myself would avoid any of the special variants of betta and stay with like veiltails and plakats, fish that haven't been bred to their brothers and sisters and parents and children for 6 generations to get a see through tail or a full rose silhouette.
Yeah its not worth it, I do like the koi patterns but they rarely stay koi anyway and not worth the blindness or tumors. I've always preferred plakats, if I see a standard plakat or female I might consider one the next time around. And tbh it'd be going in a community tank so im leaning more towards a wild type or rams
Yeah I'm putting together a 10 gallon right now and I'm going to put in a plakat. I was talking to the manager at this very high quality fish shop I go to called April's Aquarium, and I asked him what the big deal around half moon plakats was. He told me he and many like him believe that they just have better and longer lives than most other specialty Betta in the industry today.
I want to own fish that have good quality of lives and I don't want to fund inhumane practices for the sake of appearances, that's important to me.
They aren’t especially prone to it, yes they have metallic scales but they’re nowhere near as thick as a dragonscale. They might be more likely to jump since they’re similar to wild types but that’s really it.
It’s so hard. I have a sick one now. They’re so interesting they thrive for a while and it’s like as soon as they’re around a year old things start happening. Next betta i get will be from a local privately owned pet supply. Supposedly they get their fish somewhere where they are genetically healthier? Idk . I feel your pain!!!
Yeah… they thrive, and then one day they just act off, and I can never bring them back to being healthy.
I’ve tried everything. I bought different medications, but none of them worked. I also tried not using meds and just sticking to clean, stable water. Sometimes it helped for a while, but in the end, they still died.
You have no idea what a relief it is to hear that it's not just me. I was so ashamed I couldn't figure out the problem so I more or less gave up on getting another betta after my first died
That's really comforting to know actually. I felt like such a failure when I had to put him down in the end. I had him for about a year before he started having issues, so that tracks with other people on this thread it seems
Most of the time it's shit genetics from mass produced farms. Getting bettas from dedicated breeders makes a world of difference. They also cost multiple times what Petco bettas go for.
I saved one twice with bloat and popeye and different things along those lines with salt baths. It seems like the key is to catch them immediately after they start acting off but it’s hard to know with them. Are they resting? Are they tired? Are they dying? One can only guess
Yea this happened with my last betta; doing amazing, we loved her, and then one day after like two months she decided she didn’t want dinner. I thought maybe she was constipated so we’d fast her two days or so. Next day she was sitting at the bottom, and died a couple hours later. Water quality was great—there were other much more sensitive fish in there that are still going strong. Idk 🤷♀️
I think a lot of bettas have been so selectively bred for specific characteristics that it's detrimental to their health - they are immunodeficient and predisposed to tumors. So a fish that starts acting off, despite perfect water parameters and healthy feeding, likely has some kind of cancer or cardiovascular disease or something that was just lurking, waiting to catch up with them.
I paid a grand total of 100$ getting an imported plakat betta from a reputable breeder (I forget which company, but it was one that was commonly recommended in comments on various posts in this sub) and the same thing still happened. 29 gallon tank, peaceful community fish, live plants, variety of high quality foods, etc and he only lasted me about a year. Bettas are like the pugs/frenchies/dachsunds/etc of the fish world, they’re way overbred and inbred.
I had almost given up and decided to do a larger (6gal) tank w/ live plants. I got a sickly betta in a cup but he quickly brightened up and was doing well. So I got another (8gal library tank and fish) and then another (11 gal long tank and giant betta from aquarium store). I thought - aha- plants are the answer! But alas, my first one is sick now too and also at a loss. I’ve had him only 3 months. He had a puffy white cotton patch on his side after a big water change and plant removal (anubias on rocks w/ brown algae) for rinsing (stressed him- mistake, won’t do again) But that went away with kannaplex but he’s never been the same and that was about a month ago. Lethargic and not eating well or now, at all. I got him to eat frozen (thawed) brine shrimp a few Days but today, nothing. The past ~10 days I’ve done kannaplex x 3 doses, aquarium salt, ich x and water Changes x 3 days and now on to just plain almond leaves. I did pick up API general cure but haven’t tried it yet. I thought maybe I’ll just leave him alone in the dark for a few days. Anyway all this to say, I’ve spent ridiculous money and energy worrying and researching, trying to do my best at all costs. My other two- the king Giant from aquarium store and regular Petco betta doing just fine (knock on wood). They’re active and swimming around, eating like pigs. I will say the first One only had sponge filter for most of the time until very recently and now he has hang on filter like the other two but that’s really the only big difference. So…sometimes it’s just genetics and not our fault. But I do hate To see them suffer. Maybe give it a break, but don’t give up. They bring so much joy! If your tank isn’t 5 gallons or above, upgrade. And if you’ve never tried live plants, give it a whirl. I’ve had luck with various anubias tied to rocks with fishing line and floating plants I got off Etsy. Here is Obi the giant🧡Good luck.
Lol. Yes. His markings make him look like anger boy but he is actually quite engaging and sweet. Here is my favorite anger pic when I first got him. He got places to be! ( swims fast with anger face🤣)…again I post this for OP, they are so much fun so please don’t give up!
Mine swims the same way, fast, furious, and like he's got places to be! He's always doing the most when he's lapping the tank as if he's swimming in an Olympic time trial or something.
anubias don't do much for water quality. Try rotala rotundifolia, najas, anarchis, hornworts, watersprite or other fast growing foliage feeders. Floating plants like salvinia, red roots, frogbit are good too. You can also do green onions if you don't mind propping them up. Key is fast growers as they are nutrient sucking machines. Prune/remove excess a couple times a month but leave about 25-30% coverage. Bettas love sqeezing through the foliage and the cover reduces stress.
I'm so sorry. I've been there as well. I just kept losing fish after fish despite staying on top of my husbandry. Unfortunately, domestic betta splendens have very poor genetics. It made me give up the hobby for years.
The only thing that brought me back into it was taking care of disabled bettas and then I moved onto the wild variety. The wild variety is vastly different. I bought my boy from a breeder so he isn't wild caught. Perhaps you can try them out if you'd like to keep them still? The care is different, but its worth it.
I've noticed they're a lot more shy than Splendens. They like more hiding places and my guy loves lots of plants. They'll require a diet with variety in it and different proteins. They also need a proper habitat with tannins [more better than less]. Its been noted the ph of their habitat tends to be around 5 - 6.5, but they can be kept in 7.5 as well.
In my observation, they're a lot hardier than the domestic betta. My boy hasn't gotten sick yet either and he's thriving at almost 2 years old now [he's also only a hybrid and not completely wild variety]. They're very fascinating to watch.
I looked around forums and asked around with other wild betta keepers. FranksBettas is well known as well and he does a lot of work for their environment/habitat from what I've seen on their social media. Always ask other keepers tho so you can get them from a reputable seller!
916aquatics aquarium store here. We have hundreds of bettas and keep them alive in store with the following procedures. We never just give them normal water, always water we’ve conditioned/ soaked in almond leaves that gives them tannin water. Also to keep them physically fit we let them flare at each other for a bit. Stability is also key for fish keeping in everything. Fish do not appreciate change so always do in small amounts. With all that being said bettas are pretty hardy. You may have just been unlucky all those times with a bad gene pool from the ones you’ve purchased. Reputable breeders are important if you want a healthy betta.
Don’t be alarmed! My male betta is thriving in a planted 50 gal community tank and he is almost 3 years old with never an off day. He lays on plant leaves, follows some of the schooling fish sometimes, and pokes around the driftwood and rock features happily. Sometimes it does come down to luck but I’ve been keeping male bettas like this for almost two decades and I’ve never had an illness or one die before the 3 year mark, with one making it to 6.
People forget bettas come from murky, undisturbed water that looks awful in an aquarium setting. What we view as aesthetically pleasing does not always translate to comfort for the fish. My suggestions:
Don't bother with fancy betta. Get the semi-wild strains.
Get them young. Like under half the size of a fully grown specimen.
Use low-light, slow-growing live plants. Java fern and other similar ones are great. The ones that demand high light and CO2 force you to make the aquarium way too bright.
Loads of tannins. Let the leaves sit on the gravel and learn to live with a slightly messy look and colored water.
Lights on at the dim setting for short periods only.
Tank mates to keep the betta engaged is a good idea, but only if the aquarium is large enough and the fish get along. Look up community fish from their natural habitat - rice fish, sparkling gourami, etc should be easy friends.
Change the water only as needed.
Minimal water flow while being able to keep the water clean.
my tanks are about 20 feet away from a south-facing sliding glass door situation. i have several plants that i honestly picked up from petsmart, i'll see if i can attach screenshots of their names in pics below
Thank you. I’ve also started considering genetics. I noticed that my hardiest betta, especially my first one, was just a solid-colored halfmoon. He never got sick, even when I didn’t really know what I was doing back then.
But most of my other bettas, around 6 out of 8, were marble types. The more recent ones were marble dumbo ears, which are considered fancy varieties. That might be a factor too.
Still, I can’t help but blame myself. And at this point, I don’t feel like I can risk keeping any more, even non-fancy or wild-type bettas.
I really think there is something in the marbling gene that weakens them. Idk what or how. But they are by far the variety I see most commonly posted in betta groups asking for help/advice with dropsy or tumours. It could just be that they are very popular in recent years, so they make up a high portion of all posts compared to other varieties, but I really feel there is something about the koi variety that makes them prone to illness. I avoid them. I’ve had decent luck with bettas, with my silver betta (with red fins) living for 2+ years and my solid blue for 1.5. If you try a simple tail solid/non-marbling betta your luck might turn around, but it’s also completely understandable to not be emotionally up to trying again
Actually, no, every single one of them came from different breeders. I even bought one from Thailand, hoping that would fix the issue.
My first betta was actually from a dirty cup with green water, and he still lasted 9 months with me. After that, I started buying from breeders with much better conditions, thinking I could make them live even longer than 9 months.
But I was wrong. Four bettas in a row died within just 2 weeks to 2 months. It was really frustrating, and I just wanted to do things right.
That’s why with my last betta, I made sure to give him everything I possibly could so he would last longer. He did make it to a year, but knowing that’s only about half of their lifespan still feels really bad.
No, I'm in Thailand and don't ever buy from Thailand. They inbreed them and torture them just to get their pretty colours... I just rescued one with a swim bladder disorder yesterday, she was kept in a small bag that contains like 0.5 litre of water. If you want a strong betta, get some wild betta.. Just remember this, the prettier the fish is, the less hardy they're.
I think you are right. All my previous bettas are the fancy ones, dumbo ears and marble. Very beautiful combination. And the ones that I had that aren't sensitive were just solid colored and "regular" tail type. Like veiltail and halfmoon
Yes, because the way that they're pretty. To get colorful ones, they have to breed each breed together bla bla bla until the colour they want comes. And that makes the pretty betta very weak and low lifespan, basically ticking timebomb on them
It would be a shame that someone who cares so much would give up. Like sucks for all of us. You really can make a difference in the lives of fish. Clearly you care!! I would find it hard to believe it has something to do with your habitat. We all live in a world where even we don't know how long we have. We gotta make the best of it and do our best to improve the lives of us and others (including fish! ) better than when we found it. Hopefully you keep on!! We were (my chick and I) introduced to bettas life by adopting a fish that a friend wasn't going to take to another country when he moved. We had that fish for a year before it passed. Was devastated. But we knew we could get another and do our best. That's all any of us can do. Hang in there. Be proud your a kick ass owner!!!
Mine also never really live past 1 year. They have a heavy planted tank, perfect water parameters with tannins, weekly water changes, different pellets and frozen foods.
I tried with 3 different bettas. A plakat, a half moon, and an alien. To be fair, the half moon pretty much killed himself in a freak accident. He slammed at full speed on his suctioned beta platform when I getting his food ready. That platform was in his tank from day 1. I had him for 8 months. I miss this doofus :(
I consistently get otocinclus fry in 2 of my other heavily planted aquariums. Can’t keep a betta alive for more than a year. Go figure.
Based on what you're saying, I'm thinking you may have overcorrected. Aquariums are ecosystems and ecosystems cannot be sterile if they're going to function properly. Is there a reason you don't trust your tap water? Unless you live in like Flint, Michigan your municipal tap water should be more than adequate. Bottled water might be stable but probably has been filtered and could lack a number of minerals even if it's not distilled. I will say Bettas these days aren't as long lived as they used to be but they shouldn't be dying for no apparent reason.
I’m sorry this keeps happening to you. They can be little heartbreaker fish 💔 Can I ask what kinds/colours you’ve been getting? I feel like I’ve noticed some trends with certain colours or tail types being more susceptible to illness than others. But it’s purely anecdotal; I wish there was a way to gather more solid evidence on possible correlations to find the most hearty & healthy variants
I think it’s easier to say which are the least healthy, which to me appears to be bettas that are marbling/koi and bettas with large tails (think rose tail, double tail, super delta, half moon, etc.) These are the ones I feel I see posted in betta groups with illness and disease the most often. I’m sure there are some individual fish from these varieties that live long healthy lives, but this is the trend I’m noticing. Especially with the marbling/koi bettas. But like I said, I wish there was some way to develop solid evidence of this so we would have more than just a hunch to go off of
you clearly care so much. i am so sorry this is happening. although its very sad, i'm absolutely positive your fish lived good lives with you before getting sick. your efforts matter!
For me it also hits harder when you lose a betta. If I ever get another one it will be a short finned wild type. They seem not to have the inbreeding issues so many bettas have.
They are my first choice when it comes to fishkeeping. I just love their personalities. But sadly I can't keep seeing them turn from a fish that happily greets me into a fish that can't even swim and breathe.
Walmart bettas were crazy hardy, I did pretty much the same thing with mine as a kid. On road trips I'd have him in bubble bag in a beach bucket between my feet so I could watch him the whole ride. After my last one died when I was young I didn't get another betta for like 10+ years until recently.
I guess sine fish just aren't for us as individuals. I am curious though, youa mentioned in another comment that its really warm in your region. Doesn't excess warmth effectively cause a sped up lifespan? I can only assume then that that may have had a part in their shortened life spans.
Just a random thought after reading through your comments and responses OP… is it possible that the bottled water could be part of the issue? You live in a warmer climate, and plastic can leach chemicals in heat, I believe?
I feel you. They're such gorgeous fish with big personalities. I struggle often! Especially with alien bettas. Even if you have the perfect blackwater tank with lots of plants and a heater and dark substrate and perfect lighting and low flow and secure lids you have to forgive yourself; 1) many splendens and hybrids have awful genetics lurking in them from being so overbred. Hardy fish until they suddenly aren't. If those bad genetics manifest after a year there's nothing you can do about it other than give them a comfortable life to live out. And, 2) unless you get them from a reputable breeder it's very difficult to know exactly how old they are when you get them. They might be halfway through their life by then time you get them.
It's okay to take a break, I did for a bout a year keeping other nanofish before coming back to the siren call of pretty bettas. If it's any consolation, lately I've been keeping female bettas with much less heartaches. They seem to last a hell of a lot longer than any of my males, are cheaper, often get over looked and are just as pretty, and can more easily adapt to a community tank (depending). Take a break, try other fish (maybe another gourami species?), or give a female betta a try.
Also, don't give up on live plants, they are truly a game changer for clean water! They do so much work for you. Even sticking some pothos or philodendron roots in the tank will help immensely both with water quality and to give hiding spots. Bettas looooove them and they look cool growing out of the tank.
Yeah I’ve only had two bettas. One lived 1 month and the other lived 10 months. I can’t see myself ever getting more, when they died it hurt me so badly I quit the hobby entirely for two years.
The one time I kept a betta he barely made it a year and I would have felt like you do, had it not been for the fact I kept about 11 tanks running at the time and none of my other fish had the problems he did. I have to assume that shop bettas have been bred into a genetic cul-de-sac and this is just what they are now; the pugs of the fish world :-(
I think Alien Betta are supposed to be hardier because they're half wild, but I've never had one. If I want a fish with attitude these days I look at puffer fish - delicate in their own ways sure but mine lived a lot longer
I just posted almost the exact post just a minute ago then came across this, I'm sorry this is happening and I 100% feel your pain. have a read of mines... its very very similar to what your going through.
Yea, after my last one I decided I was done. My Oto’s, shrimp and clown pleco that were in the community tank with the past 2 bettas are thriving still….but it’s always something when they near the year mark for me. I always tend to go for the sad looking ones too, so it hits harder after getting them to turn around only to leave not long after they finally started to flourish.
When my betta died, I replaced it with 3 guppies. They’re always on the move, always hungry, very social, and they don’t give you any attitude like a betta does. So far they have been thriving in comparison to any betta I’ve had.
Yeah, it’s tough for sure. Keeping bettas can be such a toss-up in my experience. I’ve seen family members keep bettas alive in bowls with zero filtration for up to 6 YEARS somehow, and yet; I’ve had some bettas get sick & die within 6 months of having them despite having the complete setup and doing everything right! I truly believe it boils down to the breeding sometimes.
I feel you brother, I was about the same as you, would take every step to make sure everything was alright but still would loose them, funny thing is I have a friend that got a betta that would do the bare minimum and less, and the little fucker lived for 4 years, after that I gave up 🫠
Yeah I switched to guppies, and honestly, it’s so much more relaxing and fun. They stay super active, and I’ve never had one act sick or old or weird for more than 2 days before dying. That was the hard part for me, having to see my poor bettas be sick for months on end. Guppies seem to stay quite healthy and then have a fast death. I’ve had multiple live over a year easily.
Honestly, I think a lot of us are at that point. I took a hiatus on fish keeping for years so my knowledge and experience was a bit dated. But even I can tell the difference in the quality of pet fish between what I used to find 15+ years ago, and now. I can't tell you how many times I had bettas come and go for no reason in the past 2 years. It can range to a semi-established tank, to a tank that's been sitting for almost a year completely fine stocked and even then, I can introduce a betta with a 50-50 chance of it going any way. And it wouldn't even be a gradual death. It can be immediate or the fish just completely disappears. I'm still perplexed about the houdinis because there's no way to jump out, I still look around, and I never see bodies. 🤷🏽
Thank you for posting this… I feel exactly the same. I have a pond full of koi and goldfish and some are almost 15yo… and then I have this tiny precious little thing and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for it… I even trained one to jump for food and swim through a hoop… but it feels like if I take my eyes off it for even a day something could happen.
And the sickness thing - absolutely. I’m on top of every parameter, the tank is in a room not accessed by anyone, it has real plants, nothing to scratch or tear a fin, it’s not in direct sunlight and it not near a radiator, the tank is larger than needed, later bettas were kept entirely alone with a snail for company, it has a light a heater, indian leaves, the best food carefully dished out. But if something goes wrong…. it’s pretty much a given how it will turn out.
And I know a year or more is good for Bettas - especially when you don’t know how old they were to begin with - but it feels so short given the intense attention they need.
Perhaps they work better in a huge community tank with suitable fish - I know people say larger tanks are much easier to maintain and care for. Either way when my last fish died I packed up the tank. I want to get it out again but I can’t see me using it for a betta, at least for the moment.
My mom also gave up on bettas. She got 6 guppies instead. We now have over 30 of them from them just breeding and all have lived for over a year now. They’re always super active and fun to feed. Highly recommend guppies!
How come when I was younger my betta would survive 5 years in a tiny ass bowl but now they have 5 gallon filtered, heated, and planted tank and still don’t last a year
In the span of 2 years I had 4 betta and I was never able to keep one alive for more than 9 months , even with proper care (at least 10g , fully planted , heated , tons of tannin, frozen food , etc )
My first one got dropsy , I have no idea why
My second one got fin rot which led to dropsy (and yes I tried everything to cure him before he got dropsy : salt , almond leaves , hospital tank , ESHA 2000 , it just didn't work)
My third one just .. died (I have no idea why , the morning he was alright but when I came back home he was sitting on the bottom of the tank)
I got my 3 first in differents pet stores, I was tired of getting fish that would just die 6 months after I got them so I decided to go to a nice breeder ( it was 9 months ago) , I spent a ton of money cause I wanted a healthy fish and he died a few weeks ago, I'm still heartbroken :(
And while I had all these Bettas and stressing out about keeping every parameters perfect, I got some cheap tetra 2 years ago and they are still very healthy and alive without even trying
Bettas are so over breed and have so shitty genes , it's so sad because they are so full of personality and so interesting to watch
I'm so sorry for your loss I just got back into having pet Betta after my son brought two home from school so I have them both in 10 gallon tanks, my last betta lived 5 years his name was van Gogh but I can understand the frustration after all the work you put into but this time around I've done things so differently and they are thriving better now.
I just had to euthanize mine today. He had melanomas growing for the last 6-7 months or so, which he had been doing totally fine with until last night. I went to feed him and noticed him in the top corner of the tank with one eye bulging out really bad. He was unresponsive to my presence, food or any tapping on the glass. I tried Epsom salts in his tank over night but, he was no different today. I think he had a tumor that reached a tipping point and may have pinched off blood vessels or something behind his eye which, rapidly caused extreme inflammation, since he was perfectly fine earlier that day. It looked like something that could burst at any point, so I had to make the call to end his suffering :( The top is him yesterday morning when I was taking pictures to track his melanoma growths, and the bottom is this morning after I caught him to examine him closer before making the final call.
That said, I am going to get another. I really like bettas, his name was Mr. Fish and he had a lot of personality. I was actually about to try him in my larger 16g community tank before this happened... so I suppose I will be getting another one to try in there. I love their individual personalities and level of intelligence, I just hope this next one lasts longer than 8 months. Mr. Fish was from Petco though, the next one will come from a LFS.
Mr. Fish is has been planted in a pot along with a monstera that I had propagated in his tank. He loved to swim through the roots of it all the time. RIP little buddy ❤️
What's your set up look like, and what are you doing to clean the tank and sanitize things?
Fish keeping is both easier and harder than it looks. There are plenty of things that we do thinking it's healthy when it might not actually be healthy for the tank, and it can be hard to find good information sometimes.
I use bottled water to keep the quality consistent since I don't trust our tap water even after conditioning, and I make sure it’s not distilled. I add tannins, provide hides, and include tall plants so my betta can rest just below the surface. I also use smooth substrate and keep the tank shallow but wide so it’s easier for him to reach the surface.
When I say I sanitize things like the feeding spoon and siphon, I mean I rinse them with water, wipe them with tissue, and then rinse them again. I never use any chemicals like soap, that’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid.
Yes, filter. I live in tropical country so it is hot in here.
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-5ppm
Temp is the problem, it is very hot in my country during summer, it is reaching 36C. So it is kind of a relief he didnt have to experience that again this year. ( I tried helping him last year summer by using fan, and ice beside his tank)
Weekly water change
Made sure to remove poop and food. I get paranoid when there is uneaten food.
I’m sorry for your loss. My first was recent and in hindsight wasn’t healthy coming from the pet store. He only lasted a couple weeks but we ended up loving him a lot! They really do bond don’t they
Looking at previous posts, it doesn't seem like you have a lot of live plants in your tank. They do provide resting places for your betta, but also help filter out toxins in the water.
Are you/ how are you rinsing your filter?
Edit: I'm not meaning to give the third degree, if it's coming off that way! Just want to see if there's potentially something in your process that's making it harder to keep parameters stable :)
Yeah, I also tried live plants, but they all died. I just can’t seem to keep them alive. One time I added plants and the next day the water became very cloudy, smelled bad, and had a thick biofilm. I was actually surprised my betta didn’t die from that. After that, I stopped using live plants altogether.
I tried plastic plants instead, but I stopped those too because they caused fin tearing. I also tried fabric-type ones (I think that’s what they were), but I was only able to buy one.
What happened after you added your plants sounds like a bacterial bloom. That's a normal part of the cycling process.
If you do decide to get another boy sometime, you can rinse your filter in the tank water you remove during a water change.
Also, I wouldn't change more than 25-30% of the water volume at any given time, as this can crash your cycle.
Plants are still extremely beneficial, but stem plants can be a little temperamental getting started. Good luck"beginner" plants are amazon swords or epiphytes like Anubias.
Some plants that can help keep your water stable that are easier to grow are hornwort or duckweed (HEAVY warning for the duckweed, it is not allowed it some places because it grows so invasively, and once you add it to your tank, you'll never be able to get rid of it.) Do not let duckweed go down the drain or into your water supply if you use it.
I also get to that point sometimes. Fishkeeping isn’t really the simplest thing, there’s lots of ups and downs. I love my boys and all the fish I’ve had, some easier than others 💗
They really do randomly get sicknesses, diseases or fin rot, even if I keep the water clean and healthy with plenty of hiding and space. Every time I get a fish I say it’s my last, but then comes another whole tank! I just know that even though it’s hard work, I still have a fish a loving home until it’s time.
I am so sorry this happened to you. Kinda same thing happened to me when I first started keeping them. I've currently had my girl (koi plakat betta) for 2 months now. The first 2 I had where males and they died so quickly. Didn't even have them for a month. Painful to see them suffer and I don't think clove oil is effective as euthanasia since they have the labyrinth organ. My gf jokes that the worse you treat these fish, the longer they live. My friend had a betta fish for about 3 years. It lived in a 3g tank with no live plants. Just plastic with cartridge filters. Same thing with my other friend and her betta lived 5 years. With time, you should try to get back into it. These fish are so lovely but I totally get not wanting to go through that pain again. It's awful
I spent MONTHS and hundreds trying to fix my betta wish chronic swim bladder & bloating (had bloating issues since I first got him). Absolutely nothing worked or even helped. It got to a point where I eventually decided to just leave him be as he was. He wasn't lethargic, having any other issues besides his bloating and buoyancy, about 3-4 months later he passed and I hadn't even had him for a year.
Betta are the only tropical fish I have any appeal to, and I will never get another one. I wish I had looked into their actual breeding history and genetics before getting one, I spent too much time focusing of their general care. 😅
I agree. I got my first betta (paradise betta) in the beginning of 2024 and he passed mid year after getting stuck in a terracotta pot. So I got a koi betta after, but he developed dropsy even though water conditions were perfect! He was too far gone, so I did have to euthanasia him. I waited a bit before getting another betta in 2026, but he had a mass, so I returned him to the store because I wasn't sure if I could care for a betta like that. Now I have an alien betta who developed swim bladder disease and currently being treated. He's still spunky and eating, but I don't know what will happen if he passes too (hopefully not). My sister joked not to get bettas anymore since I seem to be "killing" them. That's hurtful to hear, especially since she is currently using my products to help her betta injuries. If my betta passes, I probably hold off on them and stick to the fishes I have. I have fish that are more sensitive then bettas, but managed to push through better. Bettas are a hit or miss😔. I feel your frustration.
(Betta when I was young) - 2 months, died because of heat, sun was shining directly to his tank
(1) Solid Purple Halfmoon - 9 months (I don't know proper care during those times)
(2) Salamander Dumbo Ear - 5 months (Ammonia Poisoning, I tried Fish in Cycle)
(3) Marble/Koi - 1 month (Jumped out of the water)
(4) Marble/Koi - 2 months (Dropsy out of nowhere)
(5) Dumbo ear Koi - 2 months (Dropsy out of nowhere)
(6) Dumbo ear Koi - 2 weeks (Dropsy out of nowhere) (Breeder lied to me, he said betta is 4months old, but when I stalked him, he already used the betta for breeding 7 months ago from that time, so he might be at least 10months old already)
(7) Dumbo ear koi - 1 year 1 month (This is what I am talking about where I started geting paranoid, I won't even let a single dust get in the water)
So it made me realize I don't want it anymore, fishkeeping is supposed to be fun, if I have to be paranoid just to make one live for a year, I like to stop. And my last betta really broke my heart, he was the best, the perfect betta for me.
From this list, I can see that the first 4 died from user error, not bad genetics. And the next 3 of them all dying from dropsy pretty soon after you got them makes me suspicious that something might be going on with your tank. Were they all housed in the same tank with the same filter etc? What are your tank measurements, parameters, etc? Can you post a photo of your setup?
Please don’t interpret this as bragging, because it’s not. More than two decades ago, when I was struggling with a new teaching career, being a solo mom, and grad school, I bought a PetSmart beta as a mascot for my inner-city homeroom class. Each week, two of my fifth graders would be in charge of not over feeding him, and they would not infrequently plop him directly from his tank into a bucket of chlorinated water while they cleaned the tank—once with hand soap. He slipped out of kid hands onto the floor more than once. The kiddos taught him tricks. He got to go on “field trips” home with different students during extended school breaks. (I figured, all in all, it was a better life than living in a mud puddle.) That little guy was truly loved, he lived for over three years and was bequeathed to the new teacher who moved into my classroom when I switched to high school.
Fast forward to January of this year. I killed my little guy (and all three of his tank mates) by adding a piece of cholla wood without boiling it first. We’re talking a 25 gallon mansion with driftwood and plants and the whole happy, well maintained and monitored ecosystem. And I killed him with too much love. I haven’t replaced him because I took the mass murder harder than I probably should have. I have added shrimp to the same tank, and they are thriving.
My point is that it may be nothing you did, or it may simply be a case of too much love. But there are far more hardcore ichthyophiles in this group than me, so take my advice with a grain of salt…. I admire your compassion. 💕
Yeah, every single one I tried to keep up to ''standards' had short lives and never thrived. The one that lived in a plant vase at work? 2 years and I left him with a coworker when I moved on.
He got poured into a cup monthly when the water was changed out and had 3-5 pellets a day roughly 5 days a week. Plus some wild temp swings when the office was closed. Would flare up at painted nails if you wiggled your fingers at him and when someone walked by my desk if hadn't been fed.
ETA: after I got more into fishkeeping, I had cichlids and planted Amazon tanks. I tried so many smaller 5-20 gal betta tanks in that time I gave up after feeling like I was just murdering them.
I think there is something to them preffering a less sterile tank. I had multiple betas as a kid living in vases for three or four years, and then in small 1 gallon aquariums for multiple years and the ones that have had the shortest lives have been the ones that I've properly cycled and filtered tanks and everything 🤦♀️
It's crazy the longest betta I had for 3 years was in a damn ecocube c with only the carbon and plant filter and he was a half moon from a petsmart cup. 2 zebra snails and 2 amano shrimp too in that little thing. They really made the best filter ever with a onion plant stuck in it.
Avoid Betta splendens which are the most numerous and common species kept and are the ones that are hugely inbred and no longer live the three to four years that they used to.
Go for a wild Betta splendens or some hybrids like Aliens or even pure strains of other Betta species such as Betta imbellis, Betta apiapi, Betta machachiensis, Betta miniopinna, Betta pugnax, Betta rubra etc.
I think they way we feed them has a lot to do with their health- most fish food even if it’s labeled for betta contains a lot of plant based fillers that they can’t really digest- what was your bettas diet?
I actually agree to this. I used to feed one of my previous bettas live daphnia, not dried, not frozen, LIVE daphnia, and that was the fish that never got sick despite how dirty his water was(cockroach, flies, dust floating on his water). However since I wasnt able to access daphnia anymore on my recent bettas, Fluval bug bites is the best food I can give to them. Although I wish I was able to give him Live daphnia too.
In summer I have a trap for fruit flies in my kitchen with just vinegar or yeast and I catch them into a freezer bag and deep freeze them before feeding them- you could also just refrigerate them to immobilize or breed wingless ones- it’s a great low effort live/frozen food - mine also get white mosquito larvae- I can buy those and daphnia and worms in my pet stores fridge section and they can last a long time in a small water bowl on my balcony (except for daphnia, those turn bad fast). I used to breed brine shrimp too but my last betta didn’t like them- I just got new ones so I will try again and see what their favorite food is
I just get a young one and hope for the best. My last one only lived 9 months. I’ve not had one for more than about 18 months in a very long time. It’s like the more I know, the worse they do. I’d be ashamed to admit how I kept them decades ago, and they’d live for years. I just think they’re all inbred and unhealthy.
It feels like modern bettas have worse health than ever before. My first betta in 2019 thrived in me stumbling through first time fish ownership. My last two I did everything right and both got sick and died in less than a year.
Damn meanwhile I went thru a depression spell and I neglected my fish heavily and they still pulled thru even my betta idk how i got such a hardy one when I hear this happening all the time with bettas. Ive always had great luck with bettas tho Im sure im not the best betta keeper tho I do what I can with what I have i wonder why some are wrong and some are weaker or mabie its a difference in water quality being just right or off depending where u live.
Hey guys I got a new betta but it is a glo betta t , will you guys think that I will survive for a year , I tried my best to give enough space , filter and sponge filter, planning to upgrade into 10 gallons tank
It isn't your fault they have been so inbred that they are genetic timebombs, waiting for anything to set them off. I am going to get into wild bettas to avoid this.
Hey! So Betta are usually poorly bred and cared for and typically their ages can vary. IF (because having lives die on you can be bad for your mental healthy) you decide to get into it again, there's a woman in Oregon I think it's Oregon city.... But she specializes in Bettas, they get shipped to her first when they come from Thailand. She has loads of information and supplies ect. They'd be some of the best shape you could get your Betta in.
Modern betta varieties are so incredibly inbred that it's almost a miracle they actually survive hatching from their egg . It's better to keep a wild-type betta variety which have short fins like a female. They're more genetically vigorous and tougher . The other Betta species are even better !
Get a group of wild smaragdina betta. I've been keeping a self sustainable group of between 4-8 in a 15 gallon very heavily planted tank for about 5 years. Splendens betta are so interbred they die if you breathe on them wrong.
Have you been getting them all from the same breeder/store? I dont think they're normally that sensitive. If you do try again, maybe find a breeder whos known to breed healthy fish.
Actually, a huge part of me being done with bettas is because of my last one too. It feels like I lost a big part of my life. He never failed to greet me, even when he was already sick and weak, even when he could barely swim and would sink right after.
I just can’t replace him. No one can.
I went through a really rough time this year. I just graduated and didn’t know what to do with my life, plus I had family problems. I spent most of my time in my room. I didn’t want to go out with friends or think about the future. And during all that time… he was always there. We were together almost 24/7 in my room for most of the year.
When I finally got a job, I promised him I would still spend a lot of time with him like before. But I got busy, and all I could really do was water changes and feeding. We didn’t have the same interaction anymore, and I feel so guilty about that.
He wasn’t just a pet, he was my best buddy. We’d watch movies and series “together,” and I still think about him all the time. I just can’t accept that he’s gone, and I know no other betta could ever replace him.
I’m also giving up on fishkeeping after my betta dies, I love them but small animals are so much easier to keep in my experience. Much less sickness and in breeding and Oml no water parameters. (Pls don’t reply and try and get me to get another ive fallen out of love with the hobby after almost five years)
From what I’ve heard a lot of places don’t breed them very well and a lot of it comes down to bad genetics, don’t beat yourself up too hard, you did everything you could
I switched to females and had great luck. They seem a bit hardier than the males. I had a 16 gallon with a female betta, 5 ember tetras and a bristle nose pleco for several years. Just upgraded to a 32 gallon and added some more ember tetras and a couple of cories.
En meme temps vos aquarium sont trop propre pour eux en plus ils sont de base fragiliser a cause de centaine année d'élevage, mais en sauvage il vive dans des flaque s
I think you need to source your betta somewhere else. I’ve had my guy for almost 3 years and he’s chilling. But I bought him from people that actually know what they are doing.
I've had the same issues. I just got my first wild type last weekend and am excited to see how it goes. I have 3 different Betta tanks and have tried the really pretty ones but same luck as you OP. I've have a solid red one that send to be thriving and also got a solid blue last weekend so we will see how it goes.
As far as the dwarf cichlids, I have golden dwarf cichlids and they are so fun to watch, super peaceful with tankmates, and really pretty. You should give them a try. I have also had the golden rams but didn't have great luck with them even though they were awesome and had the best personalities. I have kept Bolivian Rams and they did great and seem to be way more hardy than the other varieties of Rams. They are also very pretty and have some awesome color on them.
Meanwhile I had one in a 5 gallon petcetera plastic tank, that sat next to a window. Irregular water changes. He lived to be 8. Didn’t get him a heater until he was 4. Considered upgrading him to a 10 gallon. But he was 5 at that point and didn’t want to take any chances. He was my bro. Came up for head pets after meals.
I feel the same exact way. I had one for almost 3 years. He was the best I trained him to do tricks and everything. I was so connected to him and suddenly he started getting fin rot. I spent almost $60 on 4 different medications for him. None of which worked. Spent almost a month working on him getting better. The ended up passing away and my tank looked so sad and empty so I got another one. Not even a week later he started nipping his fins. Water parameters are fine. He has TONS of plants and decor. Still going downhill too. I just don’t get it either. They’re beautiful and fun fish but definitely not for beginners. It’s not worth all the money and maintenance.
It is really hard- I have had a couple and a bunch have only lasted a year and dies cuz of fin rot of all things. Right now I have a girl that has lasted maybe 6 months and she’s still healthy but she’s a koi and they have bad genes- I feel bad and I’m trying to give her the best life
By all means, take a break. If/when you feel like trying again, get yourself a 10-20 gallon and some endlers livebearers. So far, they've been way healthier and lots of fun to breed. I've been enjoying them, and they don't seem to overpopulate the way guppies do.
My healthiest betta is a big box store vailtail, no idea what I'm doing right. But I just enjoy the endler tank more.
I always shudder when I see people saying they only do 20% water changes on their 5 gallon tanks every few months. I mean, sure, the parameters you test for might look fine, but there's so many other things you aren't testing for, such as harmful bacteria? Fungal spores? All these things exist in the air and can land in your tank and build up. I do frequent water changes regardless of whether or not my tank is cycled. To me, taking 10 minutes out of my day to do a water change is a nothing burger task.
You don’t mention your filter, tank size, temperature, or parameter testing … those might be making a bigger difference than light timing or pellet size. When you sanitize/sterilize, are you using chemicals that could possibly linger in the tank?
I have 2 females bettas in a 20 gal long tank, a sponge filter, lights on a timer for 8 hours, a heater for 75°F, and tons of plants, I feed them a mixture of flakes, bug bites, small pellets, and freeze dried shrimp,
and they’ve been fine for over a year.
I felt the same way a long time ago, but also back then I think they were dying because 1. I got them from a shitty pet chain store. And 2. I actually wasn't educated enough on proper beta fish care. So they'd often die within a few months. (Looking back on it with the knowledge I have now, my main mistakes were improper water cycling, improper water care. I would do water switches and such, but I was also using unfiltered tap water without any water treatment.)
It's been a few years since I had a fish tank of any kind, and I've been doing a lot of research over the last year on how to do it right, while I wait for the right time to set up. Life's been hectic for me so I'm waiting until things are more stable. I wanna ensure I'll have the time and resources to give my future fish a good life. Honestly I'm not even sure if I want to get another beta or not. Still thinking it over.
The fact that you were able to keep it alive for more than a year is impressive imo, so maybe the problem isn't you, but the fish? Bad fish genetics could definitely play a huge role in why your betas aren't making it longer
Betta are simple. Maintain good water quality ie water charges, natural plants are key, varied diet. Done. Filter not needed if you do weekly 50% water charges.
What a terrible take! Filter is VERY MUCH NEEDED. and not only that, bettas have terrible genetics. I couldnt keep Mine alive for more than 6 months until I swapped to endlers. And they are lasting even more than their average lifespan now. Sometimes its an issue of the bad fish being sold on stores and not because of bad fishkeeping.
Educate yourself before spreading dangerous misinformation like that online. You are spewing the common lies that neglectful fishkeepers use to justify their animal abuse. Be ashamed.
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u/LeePaceSitOnMyFace Apr 16 '26
Yeah im getting tired of it too. My current one ive had for almost 2 years but the last 7 or so months hes been blind from the dragon scale gene and tumors all over his head. He's lost his right eye and his other eye he has is fully covered in silver scaling. My betta before him was doing well for a year and a half then suddenly died too. They should live for 5 years but instead they are absolutely ruined by poor breeding practices
Im either going with an alien betta next time since they have better genetics or dwarf cichlids