[jamierose18]

Yesterday I bought my betta fish, Leviathan, a new fish tank, and new statue decorations. I also bought 2 guppy fish that were also put in the tank (separated with a divider). I filled the tank up form the sink, I know tap water isn’t recommended but every single time I’ve changed his water in the past I’ve filled it from the sink and never had any problems. Somewhere in between setting up the new tank and everything, the two guppies died, and my betta died the same day. I eventually want to get another fish, but need to figure out what went wrong before I do.

Housing
What size is your tank? Went from a 2 gallon to a 5 gallon
What temperature is your tank? Not sure
Does your tank have a filter? New one yes. Old tank did not
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Only the 2 guppies for a few hours up until they all died

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every two months (seems long but it didn’t get dirty fast)
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? All
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? None

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Nope

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He was fine up until I put him in the new tank
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? He was 1 year old

 

[BettaloverSara]

Yesterday I bought my betta fish, Leviathan, a new fish tank, and new statue decorations. I also bought 2 guppy fish that were also put in the tank (separated with a divider). I filled the tank up form the sink, I know tap water isn’t recommended but every single time I’ve changed his water in the past I’ve filled it from the sink and never had any problems. Somewhere in between setting up the new tank and everything, the two guppies died, and my betta died the same day. I eventually want to get another fish, but need to figure out what went wrong before I do.

Do you use water conditioner?

 

[CosmicSyringe]

Please fill out the questionnaire

 

[jamierose18]

Do you use water conditioner?

Nope I do not, I never have

 

[jamierose18]

Please fill out the questionnaire

Just did! I added it into the starter

 

[Natgelina]

Yesterday I bought my betta fish, Leviathan, a new fish tank, and new statue decorations. I also bought 2 guppy fish that were also put in the tank (separated with a divider). I filled the tank up form the sink, I know tap water isn’t recommended but every single time I’ve changed his water in the past I’ve filled it from the sink and never had any problems. Somewhere in between setting up the new tank and everything, the two guppies died, and my betta died the same day. I eventually want to get another fish, but need to figure out what went wrong before I do.

Housing
What size is your tank? Went from a 2 gallon to a 5 gallon
What temperature is your tank? Not sure
Does your tank have a filter? New one yes. Old tank did not
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Only the 2 guppies for a few hours up until they all died

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every two months (seems long but it didn’t get dirty fast)
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? All
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? None

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Nope

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He was fine up until I put him in the new tank
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? He was 1 year old

I’m just going off of the information you provided, it sounds like they died of new tank syndrome. How long did you cycle the tank before you added the fish?

 

[KekeTheBettaDoc]

Hi there! So I'm going to assume their was something in the water (possibly increased chlorine) on the day you changed the water. It is ESSENTIAL to use a water conditioner for this reason. Here are a few tips so this doesn't happen again.

-Here is a link on how to cycle a tank. It is very important you do this before getting another fish to prevent illness and new tank syndrome.

CYCLING: the two-sentence tutorial

Change half the water when either ammonia or nitrite approach 0.50ppm (alternately, 25% at 0.25ppm), or weekly, whichever comes first. Add Seachem Prime at 2-drops per gallon of tank size every day until cycled. That’s all you have to do. You can stop reading now. But there’s a lot of...

www.bettafish.com

-Water conditioner is ESSENTIAL. Any water conditioner works, although Seachem Prime is my personal favorite
-I would not divide up a 5 gal tank as guppies need a minimum of 10 gals and the only tank mates you can do with a betta in a 5 are snails and shrimp.
-Heaters are important as bettas are tropical fish. Any heater works, but adjustable ones are the best. Tank temps need to stay around 78 degrees.
-What kind of fish food do you use? Most of the time flakes are pretty low quality and can lead to malnutrition. I would look into either Omega One Betta Buffet, Northfin Pellets, New Life Spectrum, or Fluval Bug Bites.
-For a 5 gal you need to be doing weekly 15-20% water changes and vacuuming the gravel every time.
-Testing kits and knowing the water parameters is also super important when cycling a tank and knowing how a fish died. I like the API Master Test Kit.

 

[TheRealAndreaPond]

I agree with everything above but want to suggest a larger weekly water change.