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Warning certain tanks may kill! My mother recently purchased a Beta. She had fancy tanks that have a habitat complete with fake plants, rocks, and pebbles. Underneath the layer of pebbles are colorful layers of sand. These tanks can be tipped upside-down and shaken without the sand or the rest of the habitat moving. It is all glued in place. It can be tempting to purchase a tank like this because the vibrant colored sand accentuates the beta's own natural beauty and it doesn't require fussing with the habitat every time the bowl needs to be cleaned. Unfortunately it also makes the tank impossible to clean throughly. It only has one small circular whole at the top so not even the sides can be wiped down. Anyone who has ever wiped down the sides of a fish tank with a white paper towel will know they can get very grimy.

My mother had this type of tank and kept a beta for a year or more. Then it died quite suddenly. She got another one it died much quicker this time. Then she got another a third one. She bought the fish and special Beta water from Petco and poured it in this tank. She already knew how to properly care for Beta's and had all the food and water purifier/stress coat. It died with in 48 hours. Petco tested the water and told us the water had a high PH and High Ammonia levels. Ammonia is fish urine it can build up in the water and kill the fish. This is one of the reasons at least part of the water must be changed regularly.

The Petco worker suggested the high ammonia levels and PH could have resulted from over feeding. We only brought in a water sample not the tank. My mother knew how to care for Beta's so this seems unlikely. She often cared for my beta's when I brought them home from College and always took good care of them. She only gave this Beta a few pellets each day. Therefore it could not have been over feeding. We can rule out that the Beta water we purchased was contaminated because my own beta which was purchased the same day as my mom's and placed in the same water was still alive. He is still alive today.

Pepsi, Mom's new beta, lives happily in a new round bowl. Neither one of us dare to use the old tanks. My mom used the same Petco Beta water and the same food to keep Pepsi alive and healthy. Nothing changed but the tank making it highly likely that this tank with a glued in habitat builds up with toxins over time that kills fish.

Avoid tanks with glued in habitats that have small openings not big enough to fit your hand in to clean the sides. They may kill your fish.

Learn more about this author, Lauren Danzi.
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