Was it something in my set up that killed my betta?

10 gal tank. Only occupant besides cherry shrimp, which he would snack on. It's a little chaotic in this pic cause I was tearing it apart looking for him.

Betta imbellis was never happy for long after I got him. I assumed it was something I was doing, but idk now. I bought him from Frank's bettas in August 2021, and he was already fully grown at that time I think. Not sure how old he was but he was happy to attempt to breed.

Water parameters hovered around 0-5 nitrate consistently, 0 nitrite, 0 ammonia. 7.5 ph and had to mineralize my super soft tap water to bring it to 4gh and 5kh for stability. The water always had tannins in it.

A few things I think could have been a problem. One is the algae, it was out of control:



Green hair algae? It was a constant battle no matter how much of it I manually removed.

The filter was homemade but I had hoped it was sufficient:


Just a simple sponge filter, the flow is normally better but I removed a fair amount of water looking for him. I also would run a small nano filter from time to time, but it didn't do much. Heater kept it around 78-80°

All of my tanks have mycobacteria, so that could have been a factor. I probably should have done more water changes, but it didn't seem necessary and I was so busy... :'(

Is it all my fault? I'm probably going to quit bettas anyway after this, but I just need to know :/ I feel so guilty. I almost gave him away too to someone who had more time for him, but I stupidly and selfishly wanted to keep him even though this other person would have been perfect. Frick :'(

This is him in his spicier days. He hadn't flared or fully coloured up since a few months after I got him. He was always afraid of his own reflection after Wendy died (his potential mate that didn't work out).

 

Sounds like it falls under the "stuff happens" category to me. Beating yourself up over it does no one any good, especially yourself.

 

He was a beautiful betta. It really sounds like you did everything you could for him and I think the setup looked really nice. Unfortunately fish die and it’s usually not the fault of the caretaker. I’m sorry. Don’t quit on bettas if that’s what you really love

 

You should surely not quit w Bettas if you like them. Your set up looked fine and algae most certainly did no harm. Actually, it doesn’t appear to me that algae was overgrown anyway. You actually did a good job having him for 1 1/2 years after getting him as an adult. Remember too, that these fish are kept in terrible conditions prior to the time of sale and their life span is not much beyond two years. Just curious…..what was your water temperature? Hang in there and never let a single fish death kill your love of fishkeeping. You could have easily just moved on, but you’re here asking abt things which also proves your quality dedication to doing the right thing.

 

You should surely not quit w Bettas if you like them. Your set up looked fine and algae most certainly did no harm. Actually, it doesn’t appear to me that algae was overgrown anyway. You actually did a good job having him for 1 1/2 years after getting him as an adult. Remember too, that these fish are kept in terrible conditions prior to the time of sale and their life span is not much beyond two years. Just curious…..what was your water temperature? Hang in there and never let a single fish death kill your love of fishkeeping. You could have easily just moved on, but you’re here asking abt things which also proves your quality dedication to doing the right thing.

Thank you for the kind response.

Its hard to see the algae, but it was stringy and everywhere. I had just removed a bunch of it as well.

Normally I'd agree with you about the early life factors, but in this case I did absolutely everything I could to ensure I wouldn't face heartbreak again this time after my first betta flower died so early (genetic issues, pet store betta).

Cassis was a betta imbellis that I went out of my way to source from an ethical breeder. Frank's bettas in Thailand, he is a local conservationist who bred his own wildtype line. I spent 100s on cassis because I wanted a betta that wouldn't be sickly like poor flower was, but I guess the problem really just is life span.

Maybe he was used for breeding and was fully grown by the time I got him, making him like 3-4 years old? Because in hindsight he definitely went through a slow decline in the last 5 months or so especially. This last week he spent most of his time resting in his little throne near the surface, and when I tried to feed him lately he often missed the food like he was having trouble seeing it. Maybe it really was old age.. they pass too quickly :c

 

Interesting…….I’ll simply say this (and I’m not referring to Frank’s Bettas in particular), I‘ve paid quite high prices for gorgeous fancy Thai guppies and have not been impressed with their hardiness.

 

Did the algae look slimy or grow in sheets? If so, it could be cyanobacteria which can produce toxins that can slowly kill fish over time.

He was certainly an adult when you got him. His back was hunched - a common sign of old age.

I agree with BigManAquatics - so far, it's just a "stuff happens" situation