Trying Not to Kill my 2 yrs olds betta!

[Kambff]

We bought my 2 yr old a betta for Christmas and long story short, the 1st one died in a day as we were severely uninformed on how to set up a new tank and just basically plopped the new guy in. Take 2 on this here betta and I thought I was doing so well, but now he's chilling in the bottom of the tank breathing heavily. New to the fish zone and there's soooooo many factors, I feel overwhelmed. He was such a perky little guy too, came right over whenever the kids came to see him and they love their fish now. Here's what I've done so far, hopefully you can help me find the problem!

1. Purchased a 2.5 gal tank, came with gentle filtration and I purchased 3lbs rocks. All rinsed, no soap.
2. Installed heater, I noticed later that it brought the temp to 85 which I read was too much so turned it off and let water cool to 80 before adding fishy.
3. Filled the tank with new tap water and added Tetra aqua safe for bettas per instructions
4. Ran through tank for 30 hours while little guy sat next to the new tank in his Petco container to get used to surroundings
5. Put in baggy and then placed in tank to acclimate to water temp.
6. Took out old water and replaced with new in small increments over 2 hours.
7. Released to tank.

He's been fed 2 pellets morning and night since we got him Saturday so I don't think he's be overfed. And up until this evening he came right up to eat when they dropped food in. Also, as I mentioned before, the heater heats too much so I don't keep it running all day. I try to keep it between 78 to 80 but maybe the fluctuation is still too drastic? It over the course of multiple hours but is that a thing? He does swim upto the top for air sometimes. Also I turned his light off just before bed and he seemed to move around a bit.

My 2yr old, 4 yr old and and I should so appreciate how to keep him happy. Thanks!

 

[Colin_T]

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for the next 2 weeks.
make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

 

[Retired Viking]

Look up the "nitrogen cycle" this will explain what is happening. At this point the ammonia in your water is increasing since it is a new tank there is no bacteria to reduce the ammonia level yet. Ammonia kills fish and comes from fish waste and decaying food. So you are stuck doing water changes like Colin_T said.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

I think your tank is too small for your heater.
So, it will keep overheating the tank water.
I guess you have to get at least a 5 gallons tank.
Also, it's hard to keep your fish healthy in a small tank.
Since your filters don't have enough beneficial bacteria yet, you have to do frequent water change.
Follow Colin's advice to change your water frequently for the first two weeks until your filter has enough beneficial bacteria that can convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate.

By the way, what filter are you using?
For Betta fish, the filter must not be too strong especially if your Betta has long fins and tail.

 

[Kambff]

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for the next 2 weeks.
make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.


What's a substrate lol

 

[Colin_T]

substrate is the sand or gravel on the bottom of the tank.

 

[Retired Viking]

When I had Betta I kept them in a 5 or 10 gallon tank. You may want to consider a 5 gallon tank it will give him plenty of room, also some live plants to absorb ammonia. Betta like moss balls. Plants like hornwort, water sprite and moneywort you can let float or "plant " in the gravel/sand. They absorb what they need from the water and help improve the quality of the water. They are very easy to keep.Your Betta in turn feeds them with his waste. It is a cycle.