[BettaNewbie92]

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 3.5
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? 77 F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? None

Food:
What food brand do you use? OmegaOne & Hikari
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets
Freeze-dried? No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? 3 pellets in the day. 2-3 at night

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? I haven't done any water changes yet. I've only had him for five days
What percentage of water did you change? N/A
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? N/A
What additives do you use? Prime

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.8
Hardness (GH): N/A
Alkalinity (KH): N/A

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? When I came home tonight, he was just floating, not moving at all. Ever since I got him he does like to lay against the heater or the filter at the back of the tank, so I have a feeling he might have been sick all along.
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? It hasn't changed
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? He ate less. I could feed him 3 pellets in the morning & he wouldn't eat anything at night. This morning when I fed him, he only ate 2 pellets
Is your Betta still eating? Not right now
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? N/A
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? N/A
How long have you owned your Betta? Was he or she a rescue? 5 days. He's not a rescue, but I bought him at Petco


I know this is another "What's wrong with my betta" post, but I genuinely have no idea what's wrong with Iroh. I checked his water every day, fed him, made sure the temperature was consistent, made sure he had everything he needed, but he still died even quicker than my last betta. I've been following every single advice I find on this site, and my betta fish still keep dying.

Please someone tell me what I've been doing wrong, and why Iroh's suddenly dying??

 

[Whippet44]

He's not necessarily dying. I think it may be SBD. That is, Swim bladder disorder. Not disease. Six pellets is a bit much. I think for now, try fasting him and Epsom salt baths. Do small but frequent water changes. Bettas can last a long time without food. If I feed even 3 pellets to one of my bettas, he looks like he's on the verge of exploding

 

[NickAu]

You need to do a water change, I suspect ammonia may be an issue here, and even if its not a water change wont hurt. At least 50%, and you need to get a water test kit. Ammonia: Nitrite: Nitrate: these numbers are important, Do not get the test strips as they are not that accurate.

 

[Whippet44]

Absolutely agree, Nick. OP definitely should've done a water change by now. Do ten percent, wait ten minutes, do another, wait ten minutes, and so on until you have done a 100%. This way, your fish won't get as stressed.

 

[BettaNewbie92]

You need to do a water change, I suspect ammonia may be an issue here, and even if its not a water change wont hurt. At least 50%, and you need to get a water test kit. Ammonia: Nitrite: Nitrate: these numbers are important, Do not get the test strips as they are not that accurate.

I didn't use the strips. I was using the API Freshwater Test Kit, so the numbers should've been accurate, especially since I wash the vials in cold water (with no soap) before and after I tested the water.

As far was the water changes, I was following the Cycling tutorial posted on this site, which said that I should change the water weekly or when the water reached 0.50ppm... when Iroh died this morning, I hadn't even had him for a week, so I didn't think I needed to do a water change.

With my last betta, Sokka, I did TOO many water changes (2-3 50% water changes a week) and that stressed him out, so I was originally planning on doing 1 50% change a week.

He's not necessarily dying. I think it may be SBD. That is, Swim bladder disorder. Not disease. Six pellets is a bit much. I think for now, try fasting him and Epsom salt baths. Do small but frequent water changes. Bettas can last a long time without food. If I feed even 3 pellets to one of my bettas, he looks like he's on the verge of exploding

I was feeding him 5-6 pellets a day because other people on this site have said they've been feeding their betta 2-3 pellets in the morning and 2-3 at night. With my last betta, I only fed him one pellet a day, and I thought maybe that was too little.

That said, I probably was feeding him too much. Maybe that would explain why he was being lethargic and barely ate the second time in the day when I would feed him.

At least I think I know why he died. I overfed him

 

[oloorea]

Are you adding Prime daily? I've heard that Prime can mess with ammonia readings from the API liquid testing kit. My 2.5g has ammonia the second or third day after a water change, so a 3.5g might need 2 50% water changes weekly.

How did the water changes stress Sokka out? Did you acclimate him properly? The water change method suggest by Whippet shouldn't stress your fish out.

 

[Whippet44]

It's very unfortunate that you lost him. A tank below 5g is not worth trying to cycle. It's extremely difficult. You must do a lot of water changes in a tank that small.