[arich21]

Hello, I am new to fish keeping, and this was my first fish. I bought a betta fish from petsmart two weeks ago. I bought one that looked very colorful and active. I put him in a 5 gallon tank, with a heater and a filter. I treated my tap water with declorinater and chemical remover first, and also used tetra safestart to help cycle the tank before adding my fish. I fed him 3 floating betta pellets twice a day as the directions stated. I had two silk plants and a small house in the tank, and natural colored gravel. I washed everything before adding it to the tank. The fish (Dudley) seemed happy and active for two weeks, then I noticed his color starting to fade and he was becoming lethargic. For the last few days, he would not eat at all. He died yesterday, and I don't know why. I really tried to take care of him and thought I was doing everything right. Can someone give me some advice as to what I could do better so I can keep healthy and happy betta fish? Thank you!

 

[Destinystar]

So very sorry you lost your fish. Sounds like you did everything right...how often were you doing a water change ?

 

[lexylex0526]

Sounds like he had a good home, how often did you change his water? There's always a possibilty that he was already sick from the pet store and just started showing signs.

 

[LebronTheBetta]

Cycling takes a month to happen, nothing can do it for you. We'll teach you cycling later on, for now lets find out what happened to your betta. When did you do water changes? Did you test your water?

 

[arich21]

I read that since the tank was so large and I used the safestart, I should only do water changes once a month. I only had him for two weeks, so I did not change the water.

 

[lexylex0526]

According to Oldfishlady (a super moderator here)
1-4 gals should be cleaned Twice weekly-1-50% water only and 1-50% with substrate cleaning by vacuum or stir and dip method. Filter media needs a swish/rinse in old tank water a couple of times a month.

 

[LebronTheBetta]

The tank isn't really large... It's just ideal. Every tank that's not a NPT needs water changes weekly.

 

[LebronTheBetta]

Your fish probably died of ammonia poisoning. :\ Did he have red gills?

 

[ChoclateBetta]

I know you said heated but what was the temp.

 

[arich21]

I guess I was terribly misinformed then he did not have red gills, he just lost color in his fins and was lethargic. the temp was around 76 degrees, I bought a pre-set heater that said it would keep the temp 78 degrees, but it never got that high.

 

[ChoclateBetta]

I have always forgot cycling.

 

[LebronTheBetta]

Again, I'm so sorry for your loss.

But... Do you think you're ready for a new fish? You'd want to cycle your tank first, but do you still want another betta? It might be too soon, or you just want to leave. But I have to tell you, if you take proper care of them, it's really rewarding.

 

[ChoclateBetta]

Cycling tanks these days is easier than ever.

 

[arich21]

I do want another fish, but I will wait for my tank to cycle this time before I get another one. I really enjoyed watching and taking care of Dudley and want to try again. How should I go about cycling my tank properly? Also, is petsmart a good place to buy fish or should I find somewhere else? I really want to be successful with my fish this time.

 

[ChoclateBetta]

If you can get organic raw shrimp or fish food adding them helps cycling.

 

[lillyandquigly]

I'm surprised no one's asked this yet, but when you washed everything, you didn't use soap did you?

 

[lexylex0526]

Step by step how to cycle : http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=111960

 

[ChoclateBetta]

If you add plenty of live plants that should help.

 

[arich21]

Thanks for the link lexylex! Very helpful. And no, I did not use soap when I washed everything. Should I remove all of the water and rinse everything to clean it before trying to cycle then get a new fish since a fish died in there?

 

[ChoclateBetta]

You could get some anarchis or marimo.