I believe you have to rinse everything REALLY well with hot water.
as for the tank you can use some vinegar.

To maybe help preventing any deaths, you might want to do a cycle first before putting the fish in....
That will hopefully guarantee the fish not getting sick and also it gives him some time to heal in a QT tank if he's sick

 

My betta rex died this morning.

i dont know why but im getting a new one tonight and how do i clean a 5 gal tank with gravel and decorations.

how do i clean a 5 gal tank to be ready for a new tonight when one died this morning.

Sorry for your loss. How long has your tank been running? When was your last water change & how big? Do you test for ammonia, nitrites & nitrates?How long had you had Rex? Was he the only fish in the tank? Did he show ANY signs or symptoms something wasn't right? IME fish don't just die without some kind of warning there is a problem. I understand wanting to get a new one quickly but I would urge you to hold off until a little more is hopefully known about why he died. If it's simply because the tank is too new & not cycled that's an easy fix, if not then I would suggest sanitizing everything or leave it fallow for a few weeks.

 

It had=s been running since 8/4 2012

Rex was the only fish in it

he had tan gills and would swim poorly.

 

It had=s been running since 8/4 2012

Rex was the only fish in it

he had tan gills and would swim poorly.

When a tank is new such as yours was there can be a build up of ammonia which can kill a fish. It's very important with a new tank to test the water daily & to do water changes as required, which is usually very frequent. I'm only guessing but I have a feeling this is why he died. If you choose to get another fish you will need to make sure to get a liquid water test kit, test the water daily & do water changes as needed. This will go on until you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrates 10-20 nitrates for a week straight, it can take 4-6 wks so be prepared.

 

I would wait longer than tonight then, if you're not completely sure what was wrong with Rex. It's possible he had an illness that would mean the tank needs to be treated with diluted bleach and left in the sun to be sure to kill pathogens. If you do wash with diluted bleach, you need to rinse out the tank a billion times so no trace of bleach is left.

 

isnt that cycleing it


Cant i test today and if levels are perfect can i add it today.

 

Brown/Tan Gills= Nitrite Poisoning. You probably had a spike. Just wash the tank with vinegar, rinse with hot water a TON of times, and leave it to sun dry. Do this if you want to have the fish today. Do a Fishless Cycle if you want your new fish to thrive and carefree. You need to do more water changes as it can happen again. I'm sorry he died...

 

I'm sorry I have to ask if you can explain why the need to do the cleaning if it's nitrite poisoning. I can understand if it were fungal or bacterial but not due to the water conditions. I mean no disrespect I just want to understand. Thank you.

 

What size is your tank ? Yes what they are talking about is cycling which is a good idea. You can do a fish in cycle but you must keep up with water changes and get the API Freshwater Master Kit to check all the levels for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

 

it is a 5 gallon

 

So what do you want to do? If you do a 80% water change right now, it'll probably get rid of all the nitrate that killed him.

 

That is what I have a 5 gallon and I am doing a fish in cycle. Also get some Prime Water Conditioner cause is detoxifies ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. You can do this but please read up on the fish in cycle to understand it better. Get the API Freshwater Master Kit and not the strips as they are a waste of money and just will not give you the true results which are very important. Some live plants would help too like Hornwort which my Betta loves but if you get any live plants QT them in some conditioned water or a week to check for hitchhikers like snails an other bad things you dont want in your tank water.

 

how do u do a fish in cycle

 

It's what you've been doing. The fish is in the tank while the tank is cycling. Your Betta died of nitrite poisoning. The fish is the one giving off the ammonia that the filter is trying to get rid of. I'm surprised you didn't know about this.

 

If you do a fish in cycle you must have the water kit I posted up above and some good water conditioner like Prime. The Old Fish Lady has a sticky on doing a 5 gallon fish in cycle please message her and ask her to post it for you. You must be willing to test each day and do the water changes or your putting your fish at risk !

 

Uh, you DON'T need to test kit. HOWEVER, it's completely recommended. I'm doing a Fish-In Cycle with Lebron, I don't have the kit. All you actually need to keep the Betta safe is just doing the needed water changes to make sure there are no spikes. Get the kit if you can, it'll help a lot.

 

Yes you can do it without a kit but spikes can happen in between water changes so just to be on the safe side. Plus how would you know when your tank has cycled without testing it ?

 

You could go to the pet store to see after a few weeks of cycling!

 

He doesnt really know for sure why his fish died so if he got the kit and still has the water he could test it and see if it was bad water conditions.

LebronTheBetta oh yeah I forgot about that, you can take a sample of your water to the a pet shop that checks your tank water, some do it free and some charge I think.
Not sure if my LPS tests or not so thanks this reminds me to ask next time I am in there .

 

The Betta died of Nitrite Poisoning. Tan/Brown Gills = Nitrite Poisoning. I thought all testing was free, my Petsmart does it free, I think. I wonder what my LFS would do...

 

so now the tank is drying in the sun so tonight i am going to go get the fish tonight.

 

OK. So remember to do water changes and I hope your Fish-In Cycle goes well. I just started this week. >.< Picture of your new fish!

 

its a 5 gal with a filter

With a fish in cycle how often do i do water changes?

 

You do 2 water changes per week. The 1st one is just water, and the 2nd one, you can do gravel siphoning. Both are 50% changes, and good luck! Again...

 

thanks!

 

what is better

should i get my betta at petco or petsmart?

 

witch is better for getting betta fish

petco or petsmart