Okay, so here's the tale....
About a year ago we were in the pet store and my husband and I decided to pick up 2 betta males. We took them home, and upon doing more and more research found that we were not doing them justice with the half gallon betta tank with the divider and moved to the 2.5 gallon (I know, still not big enough). the tank has a filter and when I had the 2 boys in it, the filter was not baffled nor did I have a heater. Although, I've realized what a bad fish mommy I was, the 2 boys did seemingly well in their home. Until about 2 weeks ago. I noticed the 2 of them started losing color and were getting increasingly lethargic. They soon after stopped eating and then lost the ability to swim. Once we realized they were sick, we took them out of the tank, isolated them to 1 gallon bowls. Sadly, both fish were lost over night.
Because I did love my 2 boys, I decided immediately to get another betta, however, realizing that it was just a 2.5 gallon tank, decided on 1 fish alone. I gave the tank a through cleaning with boiling water (no chemicals) as well as adding new plants, gravel and a "house" for a hiding spot. I purchased a heater and thermometer and cycled the tank for 24 hours prior to adding my new fish. We baffled the filter to minimize the current. The fish immediately went into hiding and 24 hours later, he had also died.
Third time's a charm right? We headed to the pet store (a different one this time) and picked out a beautiful, active, blue boy. We brought him home and my husband added him to the tank (without acclimating). He seemed shy and spooked, perhaps a little stressed, but explored around his tank and then also went into hiding. (see my prior post about this guy) He was put in the tank on Monday. He was swimming around and flaring at his reflection yesterday and today, he went into hiding in the house. He had not eaten anything since coming home, so after we had our dinner I came into the office where he is kept and my beautiful boy has also died.
I really want to keep one of these beautiful fish, but I am obviously doing something wrong here. Is there something wrong with my tank and it's killing my fish? The test strips all read as normal. The temperature is maintained between 74 & 76 at all times. Is there something I should do with my tank prior to considering getting another one? I really don't:-( think I can handle losing another.
About a year ago we were in the pet store and my husband and I decided to pick up 2 betta males. We took them home, and upon doing more and more research found that we were not doing them justice with the half gallon betta tank with the divider and moved to the 2.5 gallon (I know, still not big enough). the tank has a filter and when I had the 2 boys in it, the filter was not baffled nor did I have a heater. Although, I've realized what a bad fish mommy I was, the 2 boys did seemingly well in their home. Until about 2 weeks ago. I noticed the 2 of them started losing color and were getting increasingly lethargic. They soon after stopped eating and then lost the ability to swim. Once we realized they were sick, we took them out of the tank, isolated them to 1 gallon bowls. Sadly, both fish were lost over night.
Because I did love my 2 boys, I decided immediately to get another betta, however, realizing that it was just a 2.5 gallon tank, decided on 1 fish alone. I gave the tank a through cleaning with boiling water (no chemicals) as well as adding new plants, gravel and a "house" for a hiding spot. I purchased a heater and thermometer and cycled the tank for 24 hours prior to adding my new fish. We baffled the filter to minimize the current. The fish immediately went into hiding and 24 hours later, he had also died.
Third time's a charm right? We headed to the pet store (a different one this time) and picked out a beautiful, active, blue boy. We brought him home and my husband added him to the tank (without acclimating). He seemed shy and spooked, perhaps a little stressed, but explored around his tank and then also went into hiding. (see my prior post about this guy) He was put in the tank on Monday. He was swimming around and flaring at his reflection yesterday and today, he went into hiding in the house. He had not eaten anything since coming home, so after we had our dinner I came into the office where he is kept and my beautiful boy has also died.
I really want to keep one of these beautiful fish, but I am obviously doing something wrong here. Is there something wrong with my tank and it's killing my fish? The test strips all read as normal. The temperature is maintained between 74 & 76 at all times. Is there something I should do with my tank prior to considering getting another one? I really don't:-( think I can handle losing another.