I Need Ghost Shrimp 101!

[Xaltd1]

Maybe an ammonia spike. I did a liquid test and all was perfect, but who knows? I got a filter for a 50 gal. tank (200 gallons per hour) to keep things healthier. Does a good filter address an ammonia spike? I test with an ammonia strip & add Prime if I'm getting a high indication. I have the Master liquid test kit that I use every other day, but I use the strip to do a quick screening on a daily basis.
Funny, Petco/petsmart says they'll "test your water for free". I assume they had some high-tech super-accurate space-age testing system. I brought water in after the last cory died. They used off the shelf test strips!!! And the parameters were perfect, as my liquid tests had shown. I feel I know more about bettas from this site in 3 mo than any PetSmartCo employee, IMHO. The employees also pronounce them "bay-tah" rather than the correct "bet-ah". If they were spelled "Beta" that would be "bay-tah". Of course they look at me funny when I say "bet-ah". OK I'm ranting...

[carbonxxkidd]

That's funny you say that, it's the opposite around here - I say "bay-tah" and the girl at Petsmart says "bet-tah" haha. I had them test my water once too, even though I have the API test kit and was disappointed when they pulled out strips...I thought for sure they had a REAL test kit, lol. I really don't know what to tell you though, I'm not an expert, just going from my own experiences. I would definitely try again with the 29g, though, if stuff dies again at least you have a warranty on it and can take it back - right? :)