Two dead Bettas...

[Essjay]

Talking of temperature something has just occurred to me.

@NannaLou - the tank does have a heater?

 

[NannaLou]

? @ Essjay - one slightly warm bucket out of 12...I‘ve been changing about 5 ltrs at a time - probably 25% of the tank (25 ltrs, but not full to the brim and with rocks/plants/wood). The scale you are working on is mind boggling!
I must admit, I have been using the ‘hand method’ for temperature. I have a bucket bought for the fish (never any cleaning agents) a a jug of hot water, so I go from tank to bucket and adjust as necessary.

What are the chain stores like for purchasing fish? Pets at Home type shops..?

 

[NannaLou]

Talking of temperature something has just occurred to me.

@NannaLou - the tank does have a heater?

Yes, and the thermometer is showing 79-80 degrees

 

[Essjay]

That's fine. It's not too high for a betta but could go down a degree or two.

It was the only thing left I hadn't thought to ask.


You've got us all stumped.

 

[NannaLou]

I thought I’d done a fair bit of research, but you all have almost frazzled my brain today with the detail in your questions!!
I have no idea what I’m doing wrong, I’m trying to follow the information I’ve read/been given, although I’m now appreciating advice from the supplier may not be totally accurate!!
Thank you all so much for all of your time today, it really is appreciated.
I’m going to do a water test tomorrow and see what the results are and then decide if I can risk another Betta fish from another source or get a community tank going which might be slightly less stressful until I have a bit more practical experience under my belt.
Have a good evening, Lou

 

[Slaphppy7]

Interesting.

I tend to use new water which is slightly cooler than the tank so I've not faced that problem - in winter a kettleful of boiling water isn't quite enough to get a bucket of water to tank temperature. And in summer, if I make one bucketful too warm, I boil less water for the next one. One slightly too warm bucketful out of 12 won't raise the tank temp by much.
Though it would be easy to raise the tank temp too much with a 25 litre/6/5 gallon tank, so it is something for NannaLou to be aware of.

Slightly cooler is perfectly fine, that's what I usually strive for...seeing those fish die like that because of my negligence was heartbreaking.
Indeed, the smaller the the tank, the more crucial to match tank temps as closely as possible...

 

[QiQi]

How full is the tank? Is there space between the lid and the water line? ( Just to make sure that they had enough space to breathe)

 

[QiQi]

EDIT: I am a dummy, I saw the picture earlier, I don't know how I thought it is covered now.

 

[dsch132]

I thought I’d done a fair bit of research, but you all have almost frazzled my brain today with the detail in your questions!!
I have no idea what I’m doing wrong, I’m trying to follow the information I’ve read/been given, although I’m now appreciating advice from the supplier may not be totally accurate!!
Thank you all so much for all of your time today, it really is appreciated.
I’m going to do a water test tomorrow and see what the results are and then decide if I can risk another Betta fish from another source or get a community tank going which might be slightly less stressful until I have a bit more practical experience under my belt.
Have a good evening, Lou

Best of luck! Betta are wonderful fish (I have one of my own and am preparing for another). However, they are all too often fragile due to their treatment at and in transit to pet stores (both chain and independent). I prefer my LFS but petsmart is closer so I'll sometimes go there for the basics. Their betta are kept in tiny cups until someone purchases them (possibly to be placed in a bowl or a barren 1 gallon tank). Many are lethargic and some even display early signs of fin rot. Make sure to carefully evaluate the source of your fish. You seem to be doing everything right so thank you so much for your compassion and responsibility.

 

[Essjay]

? @ Essjay - one slightly warm bucket out of 12...I‘ve been changing about 5 ltrs at a time - probably 25% of the tank (25 ltrs, but not full to the brim and with rocks/plants/wood). The scale you are working on is mind boggling!
I must admit, I have been using the ‘hand method’ for temperature. I have a bucket bought for the fish (never any cleaning agents) a a jug of hot water, so I go from tank to bucket and adjust as necessary.

What are the chain stores like for purchasing fish? Pets at Home type shops..?

With a 180 litre tank and having to use buckets as i can't use hot tap water (heat only boiler rather than combi boiler) it takes 7 buckets to take the water out at ~12 litres a time as I only have to lift that a couple of inches. To refill I use 12 x 7.6 litres as I can lift that weight higher, and my dechlorinator uses 1 drop per 3.75 litres (ie 1 US gallon). But my shrimp tank is a tad smaller than your tank and I don't fill the 12 litre bucket to empty it and it takes just 1 and a bit buckets to refill it.


Pets at Home is very hit and miss. Some stores are terrible, dead fish everywhere and staff with no idea about fish. Others are better but still not the best place. They have a questionaire about your tank to work from though a lot of staff have no idea why they have to ask these questions.
Maidenhead Aquatics is better - at least it sells only fish related things. But not perfect either. The nearest MA to me has their bettas in a 'betta barracks' - several rows of small tanks with water flowing into the top row, overflowing down to the next row and so on to the bottom, then presumably through a filter before being pumped up to the top again. Bettas I've bought from this branch were reasonably healthy. The next nearest branch keeps their bettas in the main tanks with other fish, sometimes quite unsuitable ones. These bettas often have bits missing from their tails, or lie listlessly pulled up against the filter by the water flow.
Independent shops often keep them in small cups as dsch132 mentioned - and one shop even used to keep theirs in half full plastic beer glasses. The shop I like best keeps their bettas in small tanks about 12 litres, each with their own sponge filter, but they tend to stock just plain blue and plain red veiltails.

 

[Essjay]

I have just taken the liberty of looking for the hardness of a business in Chichester (it's easy to find the postcodes of businesses, it's on their websites). The one I chose gives a hardness of 282 ppm/16 dH. This is hard water. It wouldn't have killed the bettas but it does open an option for you to think about.

A 25 litre tank would be suitable for a few male endlers. No females as they grow bigger and have a lot of fry which would make the tank overstocked in no time. In my opinion, endlers are not nearly as overbred and weak as most bettas nowadays, and if your water is as hard as it is in East Street, Chichester it would be very suitable for them.
I entered the postcode here to find the hardness if you want to check yours

https://www.portsmouthwater.co.uk/about-us/water-quality/hardness-water-quality-results-in-your-area/

 

[QiQi]

I am not really happy with MA or PaH near me either, I've seen quite a few unhealthy fish in both stores. How about buying a betta from ebay or siambetta? There are some gorgeous fish in various prices, if anyone has experience, this might be a good option for @NannaLou.

 

[NannaLou]

@Essjay, I’m a 5 minute walk from East Street, just south of the beautiful South Downs (all chalk)!!!
@QiQi - are the ebay/online fish safe to buy..? The thought of them going through the postal system....???

 

[mbsqw1d]

Do you have any candles lit in the room, any air fresheners near to the tank? Have you used any furniture polish or other cleaning products around the tank?

 

[QiQi]

are the ebay/online fish safe to buy..?

I have bought snails and cherry shrimp from ebay, and they are doing great, they posted them with the 1day delivery service and even with covid delays etc I received them the next day and they put a heat pad in the package to keep them warm.