Betta owners and fanciers of the fish may well wonder: how long are these lovely little fish expected to live? The answer is that betta life expectancy is only average by aquarium standards: just around two to three years from when an average betta is purchased at an average pet store.
However, of course, this is hardly carved in stone. A betta can live far longer if it is cared for very well and all its needs attended to; and it can live far shorter if the opposite is the case.
One can start by purchasing a bunch of young bettas from a reputable, experienced store and/or breeder and growing them the right way. There are ways to test for reputation of course-ask around, do background checks, talk to the breeder and/or store and ask about raising conditions, food, water changes and so on. Have a look also at how the bettas are kept. Are they maintained in simple plastic cups, seemingly without too much care for their welfare? Or are they instead maintained in better, cleaner environments-larger tanks with all the good equipment, like gravel or substrate, aeration, filtration, even plants?
The last four may seem like unnecessary expense, but they are most assuredly not. They may add some fuss (and, yes, expense) to the maintenance of what is reputedly one of the most maintenance-free of all aquarium fish , but they can definitely extend the life of a betta considerably.
There are many reasons for this. Foremost is the fact that a betta that is raised in dirty water is exposed, day in and day out, to bacteria, fungus spores, and so on. Dealing with such organisms at an early age can force a betta to devote considerable amounts of energy to such concerns instead of growth-in some instances, such bettas can grow up stunted and weak instead of strong and vigorous. Moreover, if it is not fed properly there is no way it can ever be healthy-and if combined with being raised in poor water in its “youth”, poor food practices will guarantee that it No such betta can hope to live long, even if given the best care in its adulthood. So choose the bettas that are raised right from the start-those bettas will have a far better chance of lasting very long.
And of course, this also means raising them in as excellent a manner as they themselves have been raised. Keep them in well-managed tanks-use aeration and filtration and put in a live plant or two if you can-and feed them only the best foods in order to extend their betta life expectancy.