Why do betta fish have short life span?

I think that they have a short life span because they are so little, and they dont like/arent like really smart. But Im not sure, you should check out some books and read aobut it ^^

Betta Splendens Lifespan

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RE:

Why do betta fish have short life span?

Ive been through many small betta fish for pets. I was just wondering why do they have a short life span?

Bettas have an average life span of 3-5 years, with several reaching 7 (the record is 9 years). While not exactly "long", it's a longer life span than a lot of other aquarium fish.

Not everyone is as successful in keeping them because they don't keep them in the correct conditions. They buy the "betta vases", or keep them in bowls just a little larger than the cups in which they're sold. No fish will live very long under these conditions.

First, a betta should have at least 2.5 gallons of water. They also should have a heater unless they're in a room that's warm enough to keep their water temperature 76-86oF. Gentle filtration keeps their water cleaner, and it gives them a little current to swim against for exercise (I read that one of the 2 bettas that lived for 9 years lived at a university where students were paid to exercise the fish by "chasing" it around in its tank - fish should have exercise the same as people to stay "fit"!).

Regular water changes are a must! in a 2.5 gallon filtered tank, you should change 25% of the water once a week using a gravel vacuum. If the fish is kept in a bowl without a filter, you should do 100% changes every 2-3 days. The difference is because the gravel and dissolved oxygen added by the filter allows bacteria that convert your fish's wastes (ammonia, which is toxic) to nitrate, which your fish can tolerate in moderate amounts. In the bowl, there's not enough water movement to the bottom to keep the bacteria alive, and the ammonia builds up to the point it poisons your fish.

It's also important to give them a good, varied diet (pellets, bloodworms, daphnia, mosquito larvae) but not to overfeed. Excess food that decays in their water also is a source of ammonia.

Basically they live short lives for a few reasons. Betta if well kept live up to 6 maybe 7 years. If you aren't getting your Betta from a breeder, they are already about 2 years old. Second, people advertise that betta's don't need anything and will survive in a tiny jar with nothing else which is all crap. Betta need a minimum of a 1 gallon tank with a bubbler and temperatures in the tank need to be kept no less than 72 degrees. Even then, you also need to clean the tank at least once a week if a 1 gallon because Betta do poorly in dirty water. 3 Most Betta food is crap too. Many people buy pellets for their betta which I find that most betta hate forcing them to buy other foods. As the pellet is the most nutricious, I've just never been able to get a betta to eat it. This forces the owner to get frozen, feezedried, live, or flake food. Freezedried and flake are mostly air and can actually harm your betta by aiding bloating, constipation, and swim bladder disorder. Frozen and flake food sometimes contain pests in them which can also kill your betta. The longest Betta I had was 5 "which would actually be 7 years because I bought him at petco", he eventually died because my goldfish decided that 5 years was enough time to live with a betta. I had another one that lived to about 2 years meaning he was 4 years old, again the same goldfish ate him. Needless to say, the goldfish is living at Tropical World Pets in a tank with other goldfish.

Many owners of Betta don't know these facts which in the end, basically kills their fish. That's why they live so short!

A bettas' normal lifespan is around 4-6 years with proper care (housing, diet, interaction). Walt Maurus reported in his book "Bettas - A Complete Introduction" that several male bettas kept in controlled laboratory conditions were over 10 years old and still going strong.

Because they are often kept in very poor living conditions, their lives are shortened. While a betta can survive in tiny unheated containers and be allowed minimal food, they cannot thrive this way. When offered ample housing, heated and filtered water, proper diet, and daily interaction they fair much better and live longer lives.

Betta are susceptible to many diseases, which are sometimes hard to prevent. And technically speaking, bettas are healthiest when kept in larger, filtered, cool tanks, instead of the bowls we love to put them in, which require frequent stressful changes (lower the immune system) and are difficult to maintain temperature levels.

If your beta is healthy it will live for years.

Check to make sure u are not over feeding it, and that the water is changed often.

Proper ph and all the other tests made my beta live a long healthy life.

Over feeding Is probably the number one killer of betas among individuals in my circle.

The eat very little and excess food pollutes the water.

I had a betta fish when I was a kid. I thought that it live for a decent long life. Almost two years. How long have yours lived?

Perhaps, but I'm not 100% on it

That's a good question and I hope you get valuable answers