Cloudy Water, Sad Fish, Help Please.

[sweetsura]

I recently added my male betta fish to a 5.5 gallon tank on Sunday. I washed everything thoroughly with water before putting it in the tank (gravel, decorations, etc), added the water conditioner, then added the fish. For the first few hours, he'd sit at the bottom of the tank and slink around. 

So I thought "Well, I'll add some water conditioner to the tank and see if he perks up" So I added some water conditioner, and he seemed to be happier. 

But now my Betta Fish is behaving oddly. He keeps swimming towards the bottom of the tank and sits on the gravel. (Not sideways or anything, just kinda plops down on it upwards fins splayed out) within 24 hours of adding the water conditioner the water has become rather cloudy now as well.
 
What should I do to correct this?

I don't use an internal or external filter (as beta fish prefer still water according to the people at Petco) although I have a Tetra internal filter I can put in the tank if necessary.

I'm very worried, he's not happy anymore 

 

 

[Mamashack]

Well done you for putting him in a decent sized tank!
He will most certainly need a filter - hopefully one that is fully cycled. Whilst they don't like a lot of water movement, they don't like being poisoned by their own waste either so unless you are willing to do 100% water changes daily (which by the way is very stressful for the fish) you need that filter in there pronto. If it's not a mature filter you'll need to read up on fish-in cycling unless you can take him back until you have fishless cycled the tank. Look in the Beginner's section under Cycle your Tank there's a good one by TwoTankAmin.
He will also need a heater as he is a fully tropical fish. Don't believe what is commonly stated about these fish not needing much space or heating or filtration as it isn't true.
My best advice would be take him back to the pet shop until you can fishless cycle the tank.
Failing that read and follow the fish-in cycle articles on here - then your betta has a better (sorry!) chance of surviving.

 

[sweetsura]

I have this filter, is it any good? Could you perhaps recommend some brands of Filters, pumps, and Heaters that are good to use?

We can't take the fish back to the pet store, as there's a no return policy. Should I do a 100% water change? Should I use Spring Water? I've never owned a tropical fish before and the cycle instructions are extremely confusing to me.

We don't have a water testing kit as my mom does not want to spend anymore money on this fish (her idea was "Plop the fish into the tank, change it's water every week, it'll be fine") but I want it to live longer than a few months. 

 

I have another tank I can temporarily move him too until we can fully cycle the tank, will that be safe to do?
 
I'll be completely honest - I have no idea what I'm doing, and I don't want this poor animal to suffer.
 

 

[sweetsura]

Well done you for putting him in a decent sized tank!
He will most certainly need a filter - hopefully one that is fully cycled. Whilst they don't like a lot of water movement, they don't like being poisoned by their own waste either so unless you are willing to do 100% water changes daily (which by the way is very stressful for the fish) you need that filter in there pronto. If it's not a mature filter you'll need to read up on fish-in cycling unless you can take him back until you have fishless cycled the tank. Look in the Beginner's section under Cycle your Tank there's a good one by TwoTankAmin.
He will also need a heater as he is a fully tropical fish. Don't believe what is commonly stated about these fish not needing much space or heating or filtration as it isn't true.
My best advice would be take him back to the pet shop until you can fishless cycle the tank.
Failing that read and follow the fish-in cycle articles on here - then your betta has a better (sorry!) chance of surviving.

 
I have this filter, is it any good? Could you perhaps recommend some brands of Filters, pumps, and Heaters that are good to use?

We can't take the fish back to the pet store, as there's a no return policy. Should I do a 100% water change? Should I use Spring Water? I've never owned a tropical fish before and the cycle instructions are extremely confusing to me.

We don't have a water testing kit as my mom does not want to spend anymore money on this fish (her idea was "Plop the fish into the tank, change it's water every week, it'll be fine") but I want it to live longer than a few months. 

 

I have another tank I can temporarily move him too until we can fully cycle the tank, will that be safe to do?
 
I'll be completely honest - I have no idea what I'm doing, and I don't want this poor animal to suffer.
 

 

[Byron]

While I agree on the cycling issue/comments, I would not expect a single Betta in 5 gallons to have trouble from cycling.  Live plants, even floating, would certainly help (and be appreciated by the Betta, since they naturally occur in very heavily vegetated swamps and ponds).  But aside from that, a daily partial water change of half the tank will also work.  This is a case where a bacterial supplement like Tetra's SafeStart would help in seeding the nitrifying bacteria.
 
I suggest you acquire a test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate; pH is also useful to test, so the API brand kit called the Master Combo includes all four and would be a good investment.  The liquid tests are more accurate than strip, but even the latter would help.  Daily testing for ammonia and nitrite would at least confirm whether or not cycling is causing trouble.  Kits are often less expensive online.  And you may be able to take some tank water to the store for a test; if you do this, make sure they tell you the number, not just some useless vague "not bad" or similar.  It is also worth testing the tap water on its own, as ammonia, nitrite or nitrate can be present.
 
What is the water temperature?  Unless this can stay warm on its own (the room temperature being in the high 70's or higher) I would recommend a heater.
 
Betta should normally remain up in the water column, so something is clearly wrong if it is at the substrate.  Is this a new fish, or one you had?  Was it OK previously, or did it behave like this immediately?
 
Byron.