Advice appreciated

[nickh]

Hello all. I would be gratefull if anyone could give mesome idea a sto why my bettas died over last weekend. I had a young male who was doing great, and three females all very colourful and active. Over the course of two days their eyes and then their heads turned white and sadly they passed away. no other fish in my tank have been affected and i cannot get a diagnosis of a disease that has the same symptoms. Water quality was good and i had bought them approx three weeks before this happened. any help would be appreciated as im really wary about getting some more in case its a problem on my part. Thanks in advance Nick

 

[LiquidLife]

Sorry about your bettas. Was this whiteness fuzzy (like a fungus) or chalky or was it their skin turned pale? What temperature was the water? Had you done any recent water changes or added new fish or anything out of the ordinary? I don't think there is a disease that attacks only bettas and not other fish so it had to be something environmental that went outside the bettas' parameters.

 

[nickh]

The whiteness was not like a fungus but was chalky. the temperature is kept at 24 c and no new fish had ben added or anything added to the water. Since this i have treated the tank for fungus in case thats what it was and have done a water change as i fear it may have been ammonia poisoning of some kind. I just cant understand why no other fish were affected as i have more delicate species, celebes rainbows and clown loaches and they are fine.

 

[wherryj]

Sounds like it could be water quality, though the betta should be the hardiest of the lot. The head turned white before or after the death? It's common for the betta to lose pigmentation after death, and I've seen it generally more pronounced in the head.

Check out this page: http/www.####.co.uk/Diseases1.htm. Hopefully it helps.

It always pays to have a full test kit (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and hardness). It makes water quality management much easier.

 

[SWEETHEART241182]

ive also had this same thing happen, twice. they became white (pale) around the head area and lost all energy or livelyness almost overnight. then died the next day. i have about 13 fish in a 30 gal tank. none of them have had any problem. i had the first for three weeks and the other three days, i gave up. ive also researched it with no results, i treated tank for ich and fungus and tried the second one it obviously made no difference. there was no fur or growth on skin, the color just paled out and spread down the body and they died.

 

[wetwetwet]

Strange one this.....

Last night when I got in from work my betta 'Red' was dead

Very same symptoms - paleing around the head and a bit lethargic last few days.

Water tests fine and 25% change at weekend, all other fish seem fine.....one of those things maybe

 

[Mollymomma]

Hi guys,
I too had a male that did this..Someone told me it may have been his age and just natural causes..When betta's get stressed or ill they will lose their coloring..The life span is usually about 2-3 years and if you get them from a LPS they are usualy already a year old. The LPS's try to sell the older fish because the finnage is prettier at a year than at 6 mons. of age. thus easier to sell alot of them.. Hope this helps some.
Or if anyone else has any idea's out there please let us all know.
Tanks in advance

 

[Angel Lady]

Hi guys,
I too had a male that did this..Someone told me it may have been his age and just natural causes..When betta's get stressed or ill they will lose their coloring..The life span is usually about 2-3 years and if you get them from a LPS they are usualy already a year old. The LPS's try to sell the older fish because the finnage is prettier at a year than at 6 mons. of age. thus easier to sell alot of them.. Hope this helps some.
Or if anyone else has any idea's out there please let us all know.
Tanks in advance was the bettas red by any chance

where they red

 

[aquatrippe]

Hi Nick,

I am fairly certain your betta died from a bacterial infection called Columnaris.

Columnaris is frequently is called "Body Fungus" but in truth it is a bacteria and not a fungus.

Unfortunately, in my experience, once a Betta gets infected unless it is caught very early on, the fish usually succumbs in a day or two.

The main culprit is dirty water. Bettas need very, very clean water.

The best prevention I know of for Body Fungus is aquarium salt, dosed to the size of your tank....this will strenghten the fishes body slime and his resistance to the bacteria.

I have an unproven theory about male bettas in that I think their immune systems are not as strong as other fish because they are raised alone and do not come into contact with other fish.

Bettas live alone in the wild and I think the best environment is giving each male betta a 1-2 gallon aquarium of his own..this makes a great display with a few plants.

I think a community setting for a betta should include very small schooling fish if any at all...

Sorry your fish died, good luck in the future..

Aquatrippe

 

[nickh]

Thank you very much for all the advice everyone, I have tried again with the bettas and did much better but to keep a long story short i lost them again, not through the same situation though. Lets just say i have had a terrible couple of weeks as far as fishkeeping are concerned. In fact ive considered giving up. A lace gourami killed my guppies, one of my angels will not tolerate the other two i have and picks on them, i bought a young female betta that suddenly reached maturity and was in fact a male and killed my original male betta and i just cannot seem to get on top of my water quality problems. Sorry about the long moan there but its been really frustrating, but ill carry on all the fish i have left are doing fine and ill just see what happens before throwing in the towel. thanks again.

 

[gadazobe]

Don't give up fish keeping. First, sort out your water problems before you add any new fish. Once the water's good, you'll have less problems. Can you return the bullies to the fish shop and exchange them for something less quarrelsome. Have you got another tank so that you can separate the fighters?

 

[SWEETHEART241182]

OK, FIRST ON THE BETTA PROBLEM, MY WATER WAS EXEPTIONALLY CLEAN BEING IT WAS A NEW TANK, I HAD THE STRESS OUT AND AQUARIUM SALT IN IT AND FISH WERE TREATED FOR BACTERIA AND PARASITES, (I WENT ALL OUT). AND STILL TWO DIED. I HAVE TO NOTE THAT ALL OF THE BETTAS THE STORE HAD DIED WITHIN TWO DAYS SINCE I BOUGHT THE SECOND ONE. ALL WITH THE SAME SYMPTOMS, COULD IT BE POSSIBLE THAT THE COMMERCIAL BREEDER HAS A ILLNESS IN ALL OF THEM OR MOST THAT WE JUST CANT TREAT? BEING NOT A PARISITE OR BACTERIA, BUT PERHAPS A VIRUS? I KNOW IT MAY BE FAR FETCHED BUT I AM BAFFLED AS TO WHY SO MANY PEOPLE IN OBVIOUSLY VERY DIFFERENT SITUATIONS HAVE THE SAME THING HAPPENING.
----NICKH---- PLEASE STRONGLY RESEARCH YOUR FISH BEFORE YOU MIX THEM UP. FISH COMPATABILITY IS A SCIENCE. I HAVE COME TO FIND OUT THAT EVEN WITH THE RESEARCH YOU WILL HAVE SOME TRIAL AND ERROR-- HENCE AND ISSUE I HAD W/ BUENOS ARIES TETRAS (VERY VIOLENT). AND GADA IS RIGHT YOU USUALLY CAN RETURN THE BULLIES.-- GOOD LUCK---

 

[SWEETHEART241182]

OK, I LOOKED THIS UP AND, I HAVE FOUND THAT THERE IS A SPECIAL CONDITIONER FOR THE BETTAS AND THEY DO HAVE THIER OWN PARISITES AND BACTERIA PROBLEMS. I WAS TOLD THIS WAS DUE TO THIER UNIQUENESS. DOES ANY OF THIS SOUND RIGHT? WELL THIS IS WHAT MY LOCAL PET STORE TOLD ME-- PET SMART WASNT ALL THAT HELPFULL HERE, TURNS OUT THEY DONT KNOW ALL THAT MUCH. BUT THE LOCAL PET SHOP I GO TO GETS BETAS FROM A PERSONAL BREEDER IN CORINTH, NY, SO COOL, THEY KNEW MUCH MORE. ALSO I WAS TOLD THEY KEEP BETTER ON THIER OWN, BUT LIKE TO SOCIALIZE. SO I WAS ADVISED IF I GOT ANOTHER KEEP HIM SEPERATE BUT AT TIMES LET HIM INTO MY TANK FOR A VISIT. THIS WAY HE WOULDNT HAVE TERRITORIAL PROBLEMS AND IT WOULD CAUSE LESS STRESS, THEREFORE A HEATHIER FISH. --- DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENCE, ANYONE HAVE A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION?

 

[LiquidLife]

Sweetheart241182, first please turn off your Cap Lock--using all caps makes it look like you are shouting at us (use it for emphasis when on the internet) plus it is harder to read your message when everything is in all caps. Thanks.

What was the water temp for all you guys? Optimal water temp should be between 77-82 degrees F (don't know what that translates into celius, sorry) and bettas will become very lethargic when they get cold, will become pale (lose color), become stressed and die. Otherwise, check your water chems--might be that the pH is way off or there is copper or other contaminants in the water supply.