Help needed

[castielthebetta]

Hello All,

I am new to this whole betta fish thing. I hear they are easy to take care of... BUT I am obviously wrong... I bought a beautiful male from a store 3 days ago. he was healthy, swimming around, puffing at his reflection, etc. NOW he is DEAD. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT I AM DOING WRONG!!! ):<

He is in a 3 gallon cylindrical tank with plastic plants, a heater & no filter. The water is set at 80 degrees. He has a hammock & like I said plastic plants & rocks. I was going to do a water change tonight (the third night he's been here, but now he's dead). I fed him once a day, but only as much as he would eat in 2 -3 minutes... I scooped the rest out. Can ANYONE please tell me what has happened to him? I just do not understand... ):

I love bettas they are SO beautiful & I love them... But I don't want them to keep dying! ):

Help me, please!!!!!

[LebronTheBetta]

I'm so sorry! Do you have ammonia in the your tap water? Did you use conditioner? How different was the temperature of the new water than the tank water? Was there anything you saw that looked suspicious before he died?
S.I.P. Castiel. :'(

[castielthebetta]

Castiel passed away a few days ago. I changed the tank water & decided to try again. I conditioned it & let it sit for 24ish hours before buying my new guy... I let him float in his store water (in the container) in the tank before adding him. I let him do that for like 4 hours so the water was the same temperature. When I put him into the new tank he seemed great! Loved the hammock & the plants & everything... I fed him every day but like I said, no more than what he could eat in a couple of minutes... He ate fine today & then literally I watched him dart around the tank (RAPIDLY) for like 30 seconds & then he just... died? I guess.... I just want to know what I did wrong... I love bettas... But I want them to be alive..

[jeremywadejunior]

What exactly do you do to feed them? Do their tummies get larger after they eat?

[castielthebetta]

I feed them Bettamin I think it's called? & No their bellies are the same. Castiel was superrrr skinny before he died... But Balthazar was perfectly fine... I think it was my plastic plants in the tank... I think they cut him & he died after being cut ):

I AM DEFINITELY REMOVING THOSE PLASTIC PLANTS!!

[LebronTheBetta]

You're supposed to acclimate! Not just the temperature, but getting him get used to the new water. It's like this: (WHOLE ACCLIMATION PROCESS)
. You put him in the cup into the tank to adjust temperature. Wait 1 hour.
. You pour out 1/2 of the water in his cup and put him on the table near the tank.
. You put in small amounts of tank water into his cup every 30 minutes. Do this until it finally fills up the cup full.
That's it. ^
Plastic plants won't do that to his body, they do that to the find. He was probably weak from the shock thing and finally gave up. :(

[MollyJean]

The three minutes of feeding isn't right. You should only feed them a max of 4-5 pellets a day. Two in the morning and 2 in the evening works fine. A betta can eat a lot in 3 mins, but like dogs, they don't have an off switch and will literally eat until they are sick.

You should try conditioner. While leaving water to age for 24 hours is good, I would still add some type of conditioner to deal with unwanted chemicals that could be in your water.

If you have plastic plants, you can use a pair of stockings, stretched out over your palm, to check the edges for sharp spots and placed that might snag a betta's fins. Generally, if the stocking comes away undamaged, your plants are safe, but if you are worried, look for silk plants. They are much safer.

What kind of substrate do you use? Do you have marbles, gravel or sand? Maybe something else? Did you clean the substrate and all of the plants before placing a betta in the tank?

Do you have a thermometer? You might be over heating your tank without knowing it.

I hope we can help you figure out what happened to your fish so the next one lives a long and healthy life!

[Myates]

Definitely have to acclimate them to both temp and chemistry.. and you don't have to wait an hour before it's safe (you technically only need to get within a degree or two which is safe).
Normally 25-30 minutes is plenty.
During that time, every 5 -10 minutes remove 25-30% of water out of the cup (dump it in another cup/bowl/sink) and replace with the same amount of water from the tank.
Water conditioner is a must unless you are using well water and you know the parameters of it.

Molly is correct on feeding.. only a few per feeding a couple times a day- it depends on the brand/size of pellets before I recommend how much to feed, as some you will feed more, others you will feed less.

Unfortunately from time to time we pick sick fish, even if they look healthy and happy at the store. I've brought home ammonia poisoning and parasites I don't know how many times and had to work my butt off to keep them alive. So it happens to everyone, I wouldn't worry about it.. I tend to tell people that if they died within the first couple of weeks then most likely it was something the fish already had.
Don't beat yourself up over it.. you can check to see if there is another store nearby to purchase from next time if you wish.
Wash all the items in the tank real good with very hot water (no soap) before you get another..
Good luck to you, wishing you the best.