Can your betta fish die from tap water?

Answer 1

Yes, but the remedy is simple. Your pet store should be able to sell you conditioning drops which you add to the water and it's instantly habitable. The bottle will supply the dosage; generally, the method is to scoop out a cup or two of water every couple of days, and replace it with fresh water plus the drops.

Another idea: Keeping the water "correct" for my betta fish was probably the biggest problem I had! That is, UNTIL I discovered that buying the real, pure bottled water (not the bottled water that is really someone else's tap water) - true spring water - will solve that problem! I began using the bottled spring water along with the Aquari-Sol drops, and the water was fine for the fish.

After I had enjoyed my two darling, beautiful betta fish for seven or eight months, they began having health problems. I spent two or three months trying my very best to restore them to good health, but lost the battle. I really believe that I should have put a living plant into the aquarium water with them. (Yes, I kept the two fish in separate tanks because they were both males--one beautiful red fish and one gorgeous blue.) I recommend that you, and anyone else with bettas, put a healthy, living plant into the tank with your fish. I believe the plant helps keep the water purified for the good health of the fish.

There are many good internet sites for betta lovers. I was looking through my stored sites, and could only find two of the ones I used. I wasted money buying a couple of ebooks for betta information, when I discovered later that all the information in the books is available free on the Internet at the various betta sites. See the related links for two websites.

I hope your bettas live longer than mine did! They are very interesting to watch, and fun to try to teach tricks to! If you provide frequent "stimulation" to yours, perhaps you can teach one of yours to ring a bell outside of the tank, as I failed to do. My Red came very close to it, I think. (Blue was afraid of the sound.) When I say stimulation, I mean frequent visits, talking to yours, perhaps touching yours, getting very close to him. Always talk to him, when you are near. Just from my own experience, I believe it increases their intelligence.

Answer 2

My betta fish has been living in tap water for about two weeks and he has been fine. But I have been having to let it stand overnight but that is no problem. I have two fish bowls so the night before I change the water, I put tap water in the other fish bowl and let it sit overnight. The next morning, I take my betta out of its old bowl and put him in the one that has been sitting overnight. Now at first, your betta might stay to the edges. but soon he will start to get usted to it. It is good if you change the water every 3 to 4 days to keep your fishbowl smelling fresh. If you follow this cycle you would save some money from buying chemicals to take it out. It is also good to put a live rock in the bowl to keep the water cleaner longer. But your betta wont die if you put him in tap watter that has st for 8 hours.

Answer 3

If the tap water is straight from the tap without either having its temperature adjusted to match the fishes current temperature and if the tap water has not either been standing for a few hours (Chlorine is a gas and will evaporate off given time) or treated with some form of chlorine remover the water will harm the fish. If you do the required things ie let the tap water stand and adjust its temperature your fish will have no problems with tap water.

Answer 4

From my experience, betta fish can live in tap water as long as it has been treated for chlorine. Pet stores sell drops that remove chlorine - just make sure you read the instructions because the water may have to sit for an hour before it's habitable.

Answer 5

Yes, because tap water contains toxic chemicals that can harm them. You must let your water sit for 12-24 hours, then condition it with conditioner from the pet store for a good slime-stress coat.

Answer 6

Until old age - if your tap water is safe for you to drink, it's safe for your fish, BUT you need to use aquarium water conditioner such as Prime or Amquel (for example) per the dosage recommendations on the bottle each time you do a water change.