Aging Betta?

[laurasbetta]

What are the signs of a betta getting old? Wally is getting close to 2 now (estimated.) He has had 2 bouts of fin rot in the past few months (never had it before) and the last time has been very bad and slow to heal. He eats OK, but is not very active as far as swimming around a lot goes. He mostly spends his days in the corner of his tank floating just under the surface.

I know that people are more susceptible to illnesses and less active as they age. I was wondering about bettas. I'd like to hear from anyone who has had a betta that just died from "old age."

 

[Straydum]

yes bettas become more susceptible to illnesses and less active as they age. its true. mine started resting on top of plants and died soon after.

 

[nashnut]

My guy is 3 years and 4 months old and is going strong. He's sharing a 10 gallon tank with several green neons, and has a ball chasing them. He's very active and the only time I've seen him rest is after I put a female in a bag in to see just what his response would be. He was quite active for about an hour and then went and laid on the top of the heater for a bit.

Normally he's swimming around the tank, chasing the others and looking for food. Now he's not had any problems with fungus/fin rot, etc for well over three years now. Nor has his sister who is kept in another tank with several other females.

I kept one male from each of my spawns (as well as a couple females) and he's the oldest.

Now I do notice that the fins on the 2 1/2 year old do get ragged since he's a delta. I feel that's more from swimming in a large area than anything else.

I really think it has a lot to do with the condition of the water/tank.

 

[laurasbetta]

I kind of believe that the lifespan of bettas is a matter of genetics and breeding. Wally is a LPS fish, so who knows his history before we got him 1.5 years ago. I would expect that LPS bettas are more likely to live shorter lives than those bred in careful conditions.

I think that either he is slowing down and getting sick due to his age or that the last bout of fin rot was very virulent and he has not yet recovered from the damage it did to his system. He went through 2 cycles of Maracyn 1 & 2 of 5 days each. The decay of his fins has stopped, but he is much less active than normal. Since then, he has had 2 full water changes with Bettafix added along with the normal conditioner and BettaSpa. The Bettafix is at 1/2 dose level to prevent further infection and help him heal. He eats in spurts - one day he will be very hungry and the next day or two, not hungry at all.

One thing I have found is that you can't be too clean when handling and cleaning a sick betta's tank. I had a couple of scratches on my hands when we first noticed the fin rot and started him on M and M2. I am normally very sanitary when cleaning his tank, but it seems I have picked up a slight bacterial infection which is likely due to pseudomonas (a common cause of fin rot.) Luckily, the infection is a very slight rash on my cheeks and shoulders. The dermatologist gave me Cipro and an antibiotic ointment to use on it. From reading up on the bacteria, it can be deadly in those with compromised immune systems from diabetes, AIDS, etc. PLEASE BE EXTRA CAREFUL WHEN HANDLING SICK FISH!!!!!

Meanwhile, we're watching and hoping for Wally to get some energy back...

 

[emerging]

I do hope Wally recovers from this, and that you also feel better soon!

 

[Jonz]

My guy has been resting at the top of he tank near the filration lately. Its something Ive never seen him do before. he also seems a bit more irritable lately, and Im wondering if his time is coming
Ive had him about a year and half now. Hes been a healthy fish, no illness at all the entire time Ive had him.

 

[laurasbetta]

My guy has been resting at the top of he tank near the filration lately. Its something Ive never seen him do before. he also seems a bit more irritable lately, and Im wondering if his time is coming
Ive had him about a year and half now. Hes been a healthy fish, no illness at all the entire time Ive had him.

Sounds very much like Wally (except for the fin rot we've had.) He's about the same age (we've had him 1 year 7 months) and sounds like he's doing the same bit about hanging out at the top. Wally eats sometimes and sometimes not. He just reminds me of an old guy in a nursing home...

 

[laurasbetta]

Has anyone seen this before? Wally is still not back to normal after treatment for his fin rot. Now he is eating very little. He stays just below the surface and leans against the side of the aquarium. When I open the top to feed him, he will sometime swim rapidly around the surface of the tank like he's startled. Sometimes he'll do this and sometimes he'll eat a few flakes. He doesn't show any external signs of being sick (except his fin which has stopped getting worse - can't tell if there is re-growth yet.)

He is about 2 years old (estimated) and I don't know if he's just coming to the end of his life or if there is something else wrong with him.

His fin rot was very quick spreading and he went through 2 cycles of Maracyn 1 & 2. After that, we added 1/2 dose of bettafix to his 100% water change each time to help healing.

Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

 

[laurasbetta]

Looks like Wally was reaching the end all along. He died peacefully Friday afternoon. He had been slowly going downhill since his last battle with a very quick moving case of fin rot. (He only had 2 bouts of fin rot in his life and both were since the first of this year.) Even after treating with Maracyn and Maracyn 2, he was still a bit lethargic even though the fin rot had stopped progressing. It's hard to know if he was susceptible to the fin rot bacteria because he was older or if the bacteria did some damage internally that he couldn't recover from.

Regardless, he was one spoiled little fish. He went through 3 tanks (each on bigger and better) and numerous "toys" to keep him entertained. He was always well fed and taken care of properly and he, in turn, brought a lot of peace and happiness to his owner, our daughter. He had a funny habit of blowing bubble nests when her roommate would put her old, one-eared stuffed rabbit near his tank - I guess he was in love.

It was sad to have him finally go, but a relief, too since he wasn't doing real well at the end. You could see him struggle for air and he had lost interest in eating. He will be missed, but as soon as the time is right, she'll adopt another Betta and give it a great life, too.

Thanks to everyone who helped with advice on the care of Bettas. She and I have learned a lot from each of you!