Beta fish dead. What did I do wrong?

[taj]

My son got a beta fish about 2 weeks ago. It was in one of those little bowls. I got tired of changing the nasty water every two days (and i felt sorry for the little thing) so i bought a 1 1/2 gallon tank from target. It is nothing fancy but it has a filter and a little light on top. My son was THRILLED. I followed the directions on setting up the tank. I filled it with tap water and put the fish in. He swam around fine for the first hour or so. Then he sank to the bottom and died. Any idea what went wrong? Keep in mind, the water I used to fill the tank is the exact same water I have been using every two days to clean and refill his his bowl. I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of flow coming form the filter. I turned it off after about 30 minutes because the fish started getting lethargic.

I am going to go to the store tomorrow and pick up another one. Any tips?

[doggyhog]

Did you use water conditioner?
Did you acclimate him properly?

[taj]

apparently not. But whats confusing is every 2 days I completely emptied the water from the bowl and refilled it with fresh water form the tap and the fish did fine. I don't understand why moving it from the bowl to the tank killed him.

[Jupiter]

Well, I don't really have any experience with the effects of chlorine on fish...I'm assuming that he was stressed/sick from the tap water, and moving him to the new tank was too much for him.

Next one you go to buy, you'll need to buy a conditioner to treat the water. it gets rid of chlorine and harmful chemicals. Alternatively, you can put tap water in the tank and let it sit out for 24 hours. The chemicals will evaporate.

Don't forget to get him a heater as well! Unless it's constantly 76-80 degrees where you live...

When you get everything set up for him, you need to float him in the tank in his little cup/bag before releasing him right away. This lets him adjust to the different tempurature. That could have been another factor that killed him...

[taj]

ok, thanks. could the water circulation have anything to do with it? I got the new tank to reduce the number of times I have to change that nasty water. The filter seems to swirl the water pretty strong.

[dr2b]

You need to acclimate them to the water also. Sit the cup in there and let the temperatures become similar. I usually add some of the tank water to the cup after 10-15 minutes and let him sit in there some more. Also water conditioner is very very important.

Sorry to hear about your lil guy dying...but don't give up.

[Jynx]

yes, the filter could have made the current too strong and stressed him. you can experiment with doing things to help disperse it- would you say the current is stronger where the water is sucked in or where it goes back into the tank? or both? and what type is it? pics might help if you can find the same model online

[taj]

here is the tank http://www.target.com/s/192-3582015-...=relevancerank its the 22$ one on the left. Its a strong current. I wonder if I could temper it somehow?

[dr2b]

Try this: http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/347/.

I also use a type of filter foam to help me with the sucking of the water so it drags it down some.

[Jynx]

you can also use plants or decorations to spread out the current