Something Has Been Killing My Bettas

Hey all,
 
I have a mysterious illness that has been afflicting my tank now for a month. I have fully cleaned the tank 6 times, used all different types of medicine, but cannot figure it out.
 
To give some information on my situation:

• My betta is part of an aquafarm that has microgreens growing on top.
• The tank is 3 gallons with an aerator that pumps the water up to the plans
• There is gravel on the bottom of the tank, the water is treated with Dechlor, and there are 2 snails in the tank (both of which are doing extremely well)
• There is a heater that is working well with the temperature always being around 80 degrees
• I have tested the water's NO2, NO3, pH, and hardness - all are in and around the correct zone

 
I have been through 4 bettas (one after another), each having the same illness. I replace the water, clean the tank and gravel, and yet each fish get the same illness. I have done a fair amount of research, but can't find what the illness is. The symptoms include:

• Lethargic laying on the bottom of the tank (Almost immediately. One day they will be up and happy, the next on the floor barely moving)
• An opaque-ish sheen in some areas
• When they die a cloud of "stuff" forms around them (picture attached)

 
I believe it is a fungus of some sort. I have put in a variety of medicine to cure this possible fungus, like:

• API Fungus Cure
• Pimafix
• Bettafix

 
Any help, and hopefully a cure would be greatly appreciated.
 
I want my tank to be a happy place, and not a hospice. I would love to cure this thing before I bring another fish into the situation.
 
Thanks all

What were your actual water parameters?
You mentioned you have a heater in there, but do you also have a thermometer to observe the actual water temperature?
 
Sorry to hear about the bad luck

Columnaris?

How are you testing the water, OP? Only I've noticed you haven't given any results for ammonia, which could be the culprit, if your tank wasn't cycled.

Is it one of these? http/www.cnet.com/uk/news/the-aquafarm-is-a-fish-tank-and-food-garden-for-the-countertop/
Do you do water changes for the Betta? I wouldn't rely on just the plants keeping the water free from ammonia or nitrites

First off make sure you have space above the water for the betta to breathe since they do require access to the surface air or they will drown.  If you are not testing the ammonia in the tank that could easily be what is killing your bettas especially if you are not doing any kind of water changes.  The "opaque sheen" could be from either velvet (parasitic organism similar to ICH) or a bacterial infection called columnaris.  Either way, stress is a big trigger for either one of those problems.  Medicating a betta (or any other labyrinth fish) is a bit different and medications with the "fix" at the end are not good to use since they contain tea tree oil which forms a barrier on top of the water and may damage the ability for the fish to breathe.
 
Do you have pics of your setup?  That might help us pinpoint any other issues. 

Thank you all so much for the incredilbly nice replies and for the Sherlock Holmes sleuthing.
 
To answer you all one by one.
 
Tunagirll - I do have a thermometer. The water right now is 78 degrees.
The NO3 is 0-20ppm
The NO2 is 0.5ppm
pH is 7.5
 
Nic1 -  It could be and I have looked into it. Any help on how to cure it?
 
Fluttermoth - I have cycled the tank with the fish in it, and they still die. I just realized that my test strips do NOT test ammonia. I will definitely buy a new test kit, BUT my plants on top should take out a vast majority of the ammonia
 
Lilliefish - YES! Exactly the same thing.Ammonia I will start testing, nitrates are in the right range.
 
And finally Wildbetta - There is enough space on top for air to come, that hasn't been an issue. But thank you for the thought. My first fish was probably stressed to some extent, due to the fact that there was no heater. I have thus corrected that issue and hopefully all of the other ones.
 
If my tank does have some kind of a parasitic organism or columnaris, what do you suggest? How do I know whether it is one or the other? Finally should I stop using the "fix" medicines or should use them in conjunction with another medicine?
 
Please find pics of the set up attached. They are old as you see an alive fish in the tank.  
 
 
 
 

From the picture it looks like there is no way for the betta to get air. It doesn't look like there's an opening at all (all the rocks are in the way) so they could be drowning. Yes bettas do drown when they don't have access to air.
That's my two cents and maybe I'm wrong but from the pics it looks as if the air ways are blocked.

Hi Guppy,
 
I actually took water out after this picture was take, there was normally a half an inch to an inch of room. But totally noted, and thank you!

You're welcome ^-^ and idk if I misunderstood what you said but just to clarify just incase. Bettas have to have access to open air. Not just some space above the tank. 

I read an article once about columnaris and some of the symptoms resembled what you're experiencing. I haven't dealt with it personally so I will try and provide a link which may help.
http/www.americanaquariumproducts.com/columnaris.html

There's a pic quarter a way down the page of a fish that has a secondary infection and the body looks almost jellied or pickled....

How are you acclimating? If you just bring the fish home and float the bag/ cup and then dump, you have only acclimated to the temperature, and not the PH, which can cause stress. This will bring about illnesses as it compromises the immune system. 

So sorry to hear about your bettas. I can totally sympathise with you, since my adult son just had a very similar experience. 
 
1) you need to invest in a liquid test kit
- to test the water in the bag the betta comes in as well as the water in your tank for ammonia, and pH (testing your tank for nitrite and nitrate is a good idea as well)
 
2) acclimate your new fish carefully
- floating the bag to acclimate to the temperature, take some water out of the bag and add some water from the tank, repeat in 10 to 15 minute intervals for about an hour, by the end you should have replaced almost all of the bag water with tank water, let the fish swim from the bag into the tank. Normally I don't let any bag water enter my tanks, but in your case you don't have any other fish to worry about.
- if the pH differs greatly you may need to add something to your tank to get the tank's water closer to the pH of your LFS, where you are getting the bettas from. We found out the hard way, that even with careful acclimation a pH difference of >0.5 can be deadly. To raise your pH you can add some crushed coral to your tank, to lower it you can add some Indian Almond Leaves which are recommended for Betta's health.
 
3) snails
- for a 3 gallon tank I would suggest to add only one snail maximum, since snails can add a lot to the bio-load. I am not familiar with using plants as a filter, and I imagine you will need to check for ammonia on a daily basis to do water changes accordingly.
 
4) plants
- what are the plants planted in? Could the earth(?) contaminate the water since the water is being filtered through it? I would be worried about bacterial or fungal contamination as well as any chemicals or fertilizers that are OK to be used in potted plants but not for aquariums!!!
 
5) betta
- try getting a betta from a different LFS, maybe the bettas are already sick when you get them
 
6) amount of water
- I can't tell well from the picture, but to me it looks like you have quite a lot of rocks on the bottom of your Aqua-Farm. I would not be surprised if the actual amount of water in the container is more like 2 gallons than 3. Especially if you leave an adequate space at the top for air to breathe for the betta! 
 
7) you could try adding 1 tsp/gallon of Epsom salt to the water for the first 10 days. It will not harm the plants and may be beneficial to the betta. 
 
ETA: What are you feeding your Betta?

If your nitrites are .5 ppm, that could be what is killing your fish. Nitrites are just as toxic as ammonia, and the reading should be 0. And if your nitrites are up, that means your ammonia was also up, as one leads to the other. If you're getting a noticeable NO2 reading, then your tank isn't cycled. Bettas can and do have fine lives in 2 or 3 gallons, but you'll need to get some liquid test as a previous poster suggested and do more frequent water changes to keep that level down. Then you'll be good to go for a new fish friend!
 
I would either do a fishless cycle or follow a very strict water change schedule for a fish in.

I used bottled water from the fish store and had a new betta that lasted literally 1 day in his 1 gallon tank.  He was very happy and active at first, then lethargic, and also had the white cloudiness around him when I found him dead.