# Help! My Beta fish dying at an alarming rate



## allmyfisharedead (Jan 14, 2010)

Hello:

About a week ago my girlfriend and I decide to buy two beautiful beta fish from a street market in Thailand. From what we could understand barely from the owner of the shop was that they lived in very small places, that we needed to change their water every six months, and feed them 5 little pellets of food a day. 



Then we got to our home in central Bangkok and we read on internet that they needed at least 11 liters of water, feed them once a day, have the water at a warm temperature ( not a problem in this warm country ) and they live peacefully with female betas. 



So the following day we went to the market and bought two 15litres tanks with their pumps filters lights and so on plus, 6 female betas ( 3 for each male )
We got home and we filled the tanks with bought drinking water, and placed the beta fish on their tanks.

We observed that the first days the male betas were harassing/bulling the females, and after few days the females began to eat the fins of the male beta’s alive until two days ago our first beta male died and yesterday died the other male and disappeared out of the tank ( mysteriously - i've looked in the filters, and even behind the library the tanks are on ) one female. 

Today another female died in the first tank, so all that is remaining are 2 female betas in each tank.

My question is, What the hell is going on??

I await your answer with desperation.


Thank you so much for your patience and dedication


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## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

Oh boy...Females should never be in the same tank as a male unless you plan on breeding them or you have the tank divided. I would remove all of the fish because the females will turn on each other. In order to have multiple females together you need at least a 10G tank with at least 4 females. Male bettas need at least 2G's. I just calculated 15L and it comes to a little over 3Gs so that's great for your males. Like I said, remove the females and put them in their own jars or cups until you can get them a 10G or individual tanks. It's really a shame that people don't educate themselves. Everything that those people told you was TOTALLY wrong. I feed my females 3 pellets a day and my males 4 or 5 a day. I fast them once a week because it's good for their digestive systems.


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## allmyfisharedead (Jan 14, 2010)

Thank you for your fast answer, I really should have asked when they began fighting, now its kinda late-ish.

The 4 females left ( 2 on each tank ) are doing fine, they dont even come close to each other by now. Although, i did discover some kind of white fluffy stuff on their body's. What that does mean? is it a desease? what to buy to cure that?


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## allmyfisharedead (Jan 14, 2010)

After a look on google and other different sources i came to the conclusion that my bettas have and had fungus and some other desease that im not sure about ( photos attached ) 

I went to another shop and i found "Mala-green-f" which says is effective for white spots, fin rot, parasitic fungi and swabing wounds. And also bought "zensu" a small packet with some yellow powder that says is for curing furunculosis, gill deseases, bacterial hemorragic septicema, fin and tail rot, velvet and bacterial body slime and eye cloud. So I put those onto the tanks ( after removing one more female dead  ) and they have made the water of a very "watery" green, but hope that fixes something.

Also bought pellet food with more nutrients, caronoid pigments and amino acids and see if that does any effect.


Am I missing something else?

I am trying my best to keep them alive....

*Photos*

1- Todays death: still dont know what is that decoloration in the scales ( the fins were eaten by the beta male )

2 and 3 - What i found was fungus, although i fear that the female in the third photo is going to die soon ( it doesnt swim properlly anymore and has what the other dead bettas had, the decoloration of the scales )

4- The only apparently healthy female left.


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## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

Do you still have the females together? It might seem that they're ok but that can change quickly. I have two females in a divided tank and my smaller one jumped onto my big females side and my big female almost ripped my little one to shreds. If i hadn't seen them for a couple more hours, I have no doubt in my mind that my big female would've killed my smaller one. You need to separate them and treat them. I don't know much about medications, so hopefully someone can help you out on that. I usually use aquarium salt before I add medication because some bettas are very sensitive. Are the males in that green water? Take all of the females out, put them in separate cups and clean the tank 100%. I would get a sifter to sift through the tank. Are you using a filter?


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## allmyfisharedead (Jan 14, 2010)

Yes, the females were separated when i took these photos ( "clearer" pictures when they were inside the tanks )

They were living with some smaller fish ( dont know the name of it ) that i found in the market also, but they too are dying from the same fungus and fin rot.

The state of 2 of the females in their new bowls is pathetic, one is facing the bottom with the tail up without its lateral fins moving but breathing, the other just sits in the bottom. The third one is more or less active. But i dont think they will last for long.

Yes, i have got filters and a pump.

When I clean the tanks, do I need to change the filters as well?
And what equipment or soap i need to use to clean the tank and its components?

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate your accurate answers. Really trying to learn as fast as possible to keep them alive.


Btw:
The Males died 4 days ago.


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## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

Your welcome! I'm sorry that this is happening to you, but it's not your fault, it's stupid people that don't give the right advice. I don't know much about filters because I don't use filters for my tanks. To clean the tank, I'd use warm water and vinegar but clean it VERY thoroughly. NEVER use soap.lol Warm water should be enough though. I would probably change the filter cartridge just to be on the safe side and make sure you clean the filter very well. Did you cycle the tank before you put the fish in?


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## allmyfisharedead (Jan 14, 2010)

Well, all that is left now, is just 1 female out of 6.... And about 17 little fish out of 50.

I just took out all the green water of the tanks and I am going now to the supermarket to buy vinegar. How do i clean the decoration, rocks and plants that were inside the tanks? vinegar as well? or just warm water?

And im not sure what does mean "cycle the tank" is. I was one of those that thought that it would be nice to have an acuarium at home, and hoped that the people in the shops knew what they were talking about. So sorry if I am still ignorant of some terms on the acuarium and fish care community.

Thanks again.


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## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

Well, the people at pet shops should be well educated, but sadly they aren't. Their main concern is to sell the fish and they don't care what happens to them. I would run the decorations, rocks and plants over hot water. Let them sit in a large container for 24 hours in the hot water. I would separate the rocks from the decorations and plants. Do you have fake plants? I would keep the female away from the other 17 fish because she's probably sick also. Are the 17 fish doing good? I would just put a little vinegar in and hot water and let that sit for a little bit and than scrub the heck out of it. When you use a filter in your tank, you're supposed to cycle the tank, meaning letting it run without a fish in it for a couple weeks so it can build good algae and you won't have to clean the tank that often. We have a thread on here under 'how to cycle your tank'. I can link you to it if you can't find it. What size tank are the 17 fish in? It would help if you could google pictures of the fish to figure out what kinds they are. I know neons and tetras are very small so that could be what you have. All of those fish need at least 10Gs, probably more. Our rule here is 1inch per gallon. So if the fish are 1inch long and there's 17 of them, than you'll need at least a 17G tank.


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## allmyfisharedead (Jan 14, 2010)

I have been cleaning and scrubbing all this weekend. The lasting female is in quarantine in a big wine glass with some of that green medication that i mentioned above ( although is looking quite bad and I don't think it will last for long ) The other fish, are doing fine so far, they are divided in two groups in two big containers.

The tanks are cycling, with all the decoration inside already clean, including rocks, shells, filters and plants ( real plants ). 

Also bought the other day a new beautiful red Male betta wich is sitting in a second big wine glass. Hopefully this will last longer.


Will post soon some pictures. Thank you again for all your help in this matter, and thank you for your time and patience.

Much cordially


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## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

Your welcome. I hope they all pull through.


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## allmyfisharedead (Jan 14, 2010)

allmyfisharedead said:


> ( although is looking quite bad and I don't think it will last for long )


....And its dead.....*sigh!*


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## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

I'm sorry


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