Betta not doing so hot

So, setup a 2.5g mini bow using 5lbs of black gravel (rinsed) the whisper filter it came with, and a small tetra heater. He was active and energetic in his "cup" that i brought him home with. so, I started the tank at around 10am. He went in around 3ish. Did I go too fast? Because at first he was hanging out at the bottom which I figured was due to the lighting. I wake up this morning, and now hes head up at the top, but not actually swimming, just letting what little current the filter puts out kinda push him around. Occasionally he rolls onto his back, but then slowly rights himself. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have no clue whats wrong with him. (and here I am wanting to setup a sw tank, can't even keep a betta healthy yeesh!)

 

You may have been a little hasty dropping him into a new tank.How did you acclimate it? Did you use tap water to fill the tank?It doesn't sound good to me but keep in mind these fish have a short lifespan.2-3 years average. It is always a good idea to purchase a small specimen to ensure its not an old timer on his last leg.(or fin)

 

I did the normal acclimation, floated him in a bag, added water over the course of a half hour, then netted him and put him in the tank. When I picked him up, he was plenty active, staring at me through it, and swimming around fairly well. I just did a 90% water change (siphoned out as much as I could without actually removing the gravel) and placed him in a small cup with fresh water. I took the filter out as I'm going to put a screen on the bottom only because I did see him almost get sucked into it, and that was at the lowest setting. So, until I put the screen on it, its staying out of the tank. Was only a basic carbon bag anywho.

edit: I do use tap water, where I live it is actually pretty good quality. But just to be sure, I also treated it with Nutrafin betta + conditioner. Turning out to be the worst anniversary present to the gf ever! lol.

 

Doing large water changes really doesn't help and can actually do more harm then good. Remember if you are going to change the parameters of the water you should do it slowly. LFS water is usually pretty dirty with a possible low PH. Adding him to a new tank with a higher PH will cause stress and possibly death.

 

the large water change was due to very cloudy water (I apparently didn't mention that, sorry!) I'm gonna be leaving work soon, so I'll be able to check on him once I'm home. Before I left for work this morning, and once he was back in the tank (again, acclimated him over the course of an hour this time) he swam around fine. Not pointing straight up like earlier. I'm starting to think i didn't clean out the filter enough. The guy i got it from said it wasn't used, but upon further inspection there was what appeared to be nasty leftover food in the pickup.

 

Do not be alarmed by cloudy water. In new tanks you will often times see what is referred to as new tank syndrome. I have had it in tanks so bad you couldn't see the fish. This will not harm the fish and will dissapate on its own. The best thing you can do is allow the tank to mature on its own. Just do regular 15-20 percent water changes once a week and it will be fine. I know it is hard not to want to fix things in a hurry but nothing in this hobby happens fast.(Except the emptying of ones bank account). Our motto here at 3reef is Go slow,Let it grow.Good luck.
P.S.Also these fish are temperature sensitive so keep the water around 78 degrees.

 

yeah, I mean, yes, it's only a 4 dollar fish, but I most definitely panicked when I saw the water as cloudy as it was. But, just got home, he's swimming around just fine. So, filter stays out. I was worried about no water movement at all, I know they live in relatively stagnant water, but I wanted at least a tiny bit of movement. But, as it turns out,t he cooling fan for the led lights (had them handy, holy crap were they bright till I made a diffuser panel for it) and surprisingly enough, its actually moving the water very slowly around the top.

Now the bad news: dude is a picky little (*%^&*(* lol. I don't think he likes the pellet food, so I'll give him another day, and I'll probably end up picking up some flake food. Granted, he probably won't like those either with my luck. I also need to get a background on this tank, whether I spray it (too late for that mehtinks) or just a stick on. He comes to the corners and there must be just enough of a reflection for him to flare once or twice, and then move on.

 

These fish do indeed live in stagnant water. Bettas are labyrinthfish,members of the suborder Anabantoidei.Along with the gouramis,climbing perches,paradise fishes and others, they possess an auxiliary breathing apparatus (the labyrinth organ) that aids them in aerial respiration; it is said that bettas may drown if not allowed access to air, which they periodically gulp from the surface.
As for backround you could use a dark piece of window tinting or vinyl.
One of the most common causes of Betta deaths is a lack of nutrition.They will usually refuse pellets(at least initially) when unfamiliar.Try some live or frozen meaty food. Bettas enjoy small worms (tubificids,Grindal,Whiteworms,)crustaceans,(brine shrimp,Daphnia) and insect larvae(blood worms).
Also keep the water level a little lower as Bettas can and will jump.
These are beautiful fascinating fish. Whether they are 4 dollars or 400 dollars they are all living things and deserve our best efforts when we take the responsibility of caring for them. I see this guy is in good hands.8)

 

Yeah, thanks for the refresher. Today on my lunch break I picked up some betta flakes, some hakari (sp?) gold pellets (they seemed much smaller than the normal ones) totally forgot about bloodworms. I'll stop to rgab them on my way home tonight. Although, again i'm not overly concerned atm, becuase it has only been 2 full days since he was introduced to the tank.

Again, thanks for all the help, I just needed to take a step back, relax, and be patient.

 

You are quite welcome.Good luck and let us know how he's doing.8)