Betta lifespan

HI everyone

So I have some questions about a betta's lifespan. My betta Ianto is slowly becoming more and more lethargic. He still eats well and will swim around when I approach the tank, but he spends most of his time resting on the gravel (he has plants he can rest on but chooses not to). His parameters are perfect - 0,0,5. There is no current from the filter and I recently redecorated his tank so it can't be boredom. He doesn't have any other symptoms, just sleeping lots.

I think Ianto is about 1.5 years old. I read that most bettas are sold in pet stores at about 6 months old. He was bought by a woman and kept in a community tank for about 6 months. So that makes a year, and I've had him for about 6 months which makes a year and a half. In my care he has never been through a cycle or anything too stressful, but I don't know about his past.

Wondering what was going on, I went to a forum just for bettas. They said he was probably getting old, and that most bettas live for 1-1.5 years. This seemed awfully short. I did some research and find different answers everywhere. On this site it says 2-4 years. What do you all think the average lifespan is? Do you think he is getting old?

 

I believe its 2 - 4 years with 2 years being normal life span.

 

It's possible he was a lot older when he was in the pet store actually. Lots of commercial breeders keep even sub-par males for breeding to meet the demand for colorful bettas. So it's possible he's a lot older than you think.

The betta I had live the longest lived, if I'm remembering correctly, about 2.5 years with me. Which would have made him anywhere from 3-4.5 years old overall. 2-4 years is the commonly accepted average lifespan in aquaria. Significantly less in the wild if I remember correctly.

 

I know some one with a 7 year old betta.

 

The longest I've seen that I can personally vouch to is a little over 5 years. This betta was originally mine but someone else has him now, he is still alive. I would agree with the 2-4 years as a typical lifespan.

 

As others said, up to five years if you're lucky, average about 2. He may just be coming to the end of his natural life, and getting a bit more tired. Just treat him like an old fella.

 

Over the years I have gotten right around two years out of them. Mostly less.

 

So he could possibly be quite old then and nearing the end of his life. Someone in my fish club told me that because we don't have a great genetic pool for bettas in New Zealand they don't often live very long.

He seems to have gone downhill overnight. It took him a while to come up and great me this morning. His fins are quite raggedy. I read that this has happened to bettas when they get old. But I think he may have been tailbiting a little. I don't know what could be stressing him out though. I'm going to get some IAL when my supplier gets some in and I'll use a ton of that.

 

Is he a halfmoon by any chance? Their finnage is rather heavy and drags them downwards if they stop moving. I guess that doesn't help if they get a bit on in age. Make sure he has some resting place not too far below the surface, so he can preserve his energy if necessary. You could also lower the water level a bit, if your filter allows, or, if not, switch to a foam filter to be able to do that.

Halfmoons are also prone to a genetic disease which is called "fin melt" in German, not to be confused with fin rot. On English sites, I have only found both terms used interchangeably. The fins - mostly the caudal - start to die off at the edges, resulting in a ragged look. It's assumed to be due to insufficient blood circulation. Plus they have the inability to process vitamine B properly, if I remember correctly. In experiments, breeders could stop the progress of the fin deterioration by supplying vit B, but there is no known cure or treatment. Fin melt is mostly cosmetic and not deadly as untreated fin rot, though.

My avatar betta had this. It also made his fins rather stiff, so he had problems turning in a small space and it took a lot of fin flapping to make it, whereas before he was so fast in all his manoeuvres. He also couldn't flare fully anymore as the fins were kind of sticking together.

Fin melt usually shows up when the bettas get older, although mine was still very young.

IAL is always good.

 

Halfmoons also have problems with their rays stressing and breaking near the root around the caudal. Often it happens when they are still little. A breeder was talking about this in a different forum, it is something to look for when you are buying one.

This is why I tend to think that crowntails and plakats make better pet bettas. They are less prone to health problems and are much more active and agile. Crowntails are still prone to some raggedness on the ends of their rays.

 

He is just a VT from the pet store. He has plants he can rest on near the surface, but almost never does.

 

Well Ianto has become more active! I haven't really done anything aside from trying to flare him with a mirror every day or so. He never actually flares, just does a little dance. A lady from my fish club recommended doing this. If it's working or not, I'm still happy.

 

I was wondering how long members have had their bettas live? I’m averaging 2-3 years on the one so got when they were seemingly healthy. I’m just curious!

 

2-5 years. Males are sold older than the females so they look prettier so if it seems like they dont live as long that's why.

 

Well, when you buy a betta (and this is especially male bettas because breeders/sellers like male betta's colors to come out before selling them so they can ask bigger prices for them) they are generally 6 months to a year old. Most bettas live for about 3 years so you can expect about 2-2 1/2 years out of one.

 

Honestly it kind of depends where you get them. I find that with petco/petsmart bettas I can only keep them around for about 2-3 years. I have better luck with bettas I’ve gotten from breeders. My longest lived betta was a little over 6 years old when he passed. I currently have one that’s 5ish years old and one that’s 4 1/2. Both were purchased from breeders at around 4-6 months old.

 

at best they can live for 4 years if your lucky if u get them when 3 months of age they can live for 6 years but most the peole buy are around 2 years old so they don't live long

 

The record for the oldest Betta is 10 years old. My aunt had a Betta in a community tank, it lived to 9 years old. But these are rare occurrences.

Overall it really depends on care. High quality food, large tank, and weekly PWCs. All of these are factors of lifespan. What I've heard is they generally live 2-3 years in captivity. +1 year of being in the store for males in most cases. My Betta is roughly 2 years old. I hope he lives a long, happy life despite my beginner mistakes.

 

I would say 2-4 years usually in all? I've heard of less and more, I think it depends on care but also genetics (and if you aren't counting time spent at seller). I've heard of bettas living in vases for 6 years, and bettas living in 5 gallon heated tanks for 3.

 

My cousins had poor Bettas in tiny 1 gallon uncycled tanks. They lived for 4 years but were riddled with disease and ill. They rarely did water changes and didn't really seem to care. One of them had their Betta die, we went to their house last week and the tank was gone, I asked if the fish died and he shrugged, and said, "yeah."

So there are probably even factors we can't think of.

 

Honestly it kind of depends where you get them. I find that with petco/petsmart bettas I can only keep them around for about 2-3 years. I have better luck with bettas I’ve gotten from breeders. My longest lived betta was a little over 6 years old when he passed. I currently have one that’s 5ish years old and one that’s 4 1/2. Both were purchased from breeders at around 4-6 months old.

Any tips on where to find betta breeders? I am looking at a bunch of different places, and I am not sure how to make sure the breeder is a reliable one.

 

I think mine lived for a little over 2 years. I got him as a juvenile.

 

what country are u in that will make helping u find a good breeder of them or u can go onto facebook and find a local breeder or inporter of bettas in your area

 

Any tips on where to find betta breeders? I am looking at a bunch of different places, and I am not sure how to make sure the breeder is a reliable one.

I get most of my bettas off of breeders from eBay. Momo Miniatures is a seller on there where I get most of my fish, they’re high quality bettas at reasonable prices and the seller is really easy to work with.

 

I’m in the US. Mine currently are all chain store bettas have not purchased from a breeder yet!

 

I’m in the US. Mine currently are all chain store bettas have not purchased from a breeder yet!

Same. I just don't get all this transshipping stuff. It seems WAYYYYY to complicated for me.ead:

 

I have always had males and I have had them last between 3 - 5 years. The one I have at work I have had for 3ish years.

 

Honestly it kind of depends where you get them. I find that with petco/petsmart bettas I can only keep them around for about 2-3 years. I have better luck with bettas I’ve gotten from breeders. My longest lived betta was a little over 6 years old when he passed. I currently have one that’s 5ish years old and one that’s 4 1/2. Both were purchased from breeders at around 4-6 months old.

What brand of pellets do you use?

I have always had males and I have had them last between 3 - 5 years. The one I have at work I have had for 3ish years.

Your brand of betta pellets?

The record for the oldest Betta is 10 years old. My aunt had a Betta in a community tank, it lived to 9 years old. But these are rare occurrences.

Overall it really depends on care. High quality food, large tank, and weekly PWCs. All of these are factors of lifespan. What I've heard is they generally live 2-3 years in captivity. +1 year of being in the store for males in most cases. My Betta is roughly 2 years old. I hope he lives a long, happy life despite my beginner mistakes.

I am trying to find a relation between good brand betta pellets and betta’s lifespan. Do you know your aunt’s betta pellets brand?