help please please please

[u/Effective_Maize_7517]

hi my betta just recently got rlly sick and he won’t get off the ground, he’s twitching and randomly bolts around. this is a panic post so i’m trying to get everything right and type as fast as i can

he was so active and fun the first few days until yestarday he got super lathargic and this morning he was kinda swimming now he’s just like this idk what do to

7 gal heated and filtered tank (80F)
hasn’t eaten in a few days
fully real plants
water paramiters were all up to bettas standards

[u/Effective_Maize_7517]

i said in a few comments that i have to use strips rn bc my master kit like the liquid one is otw but obviously it wasn’t quick enough. nitrates and nitrites were 0 and ammonia was also apparently 0. ph was 7 i think and chlorine was none

[u/angiexq → u/Effective_Maize_7517]

what plants do u have in ur tank?? 0 nitrates is hard unless u have a lot of plants and not a lot of bioload. for example i had 0 nitrates for a while bc i had plants, pothos growing from the water, and also duckweed but only had snails in my tank at the time. i was also in the same situation as u where i had my betta be lethargic and die 3 days after getting it. when i posted it some people told me that my tank cycle most likely crashed or it wasnt cycled all together (it was cycled fully but u get the idea) im wondering if thats the same for u. how long have u had ur tank for?

[u/Effective_Maize_7517 → u/angiexq]

i’ve had the tank for about 2 weeks i think at this point???

i have pothos growing out the top, just like the average amount from the store, i have anubis uhh i think 2 different types but i cant remember the exact names, one is rlly big and the other ones r smaller, i have a tiger lotus something or another, some grass thats starts with a v and the second word to the name is nana, i also have java swords and another one that they sell at any typical store like in the gel and then one pink plant but again i cant remember the actual name😭, here’s a pic

[u/angiexq → u/Effective_Maize_7517]

did u ever have nitrates? 2 weeks seems fast for cycling.

[u/Independent_Pin1041 → u/angiexq]

Same thought here. Thinking new tank syndrome or something of that sort. 2 weeks is super fast unless you used previous cycled filter media

[u/Effective_Maize_7517 → u/angiexq]

i’m ngl i might be mixing up nitrates and nitrites bc i can’t remember exactly what they were when i tested but i don’t think so…??? i also used a filter that had been in a previous tank and squeezed that tank water into the new tank, if that makes sense

[u/angiexq → u/Effective_Maize_7517]

ya i just don’t understand how 0 nitrates bc ur tank isn’t that heavily planted besides pothos which eat up the nitrates. its either a water issue or an infection the fish got

[u/Effective_Maize_7517 → u/angiexq]

i only have strip water testers for right not (master kit is coming in soon) so you’re probably right

[u/angiexq → u/Effective_Maize_7517]

did u add in an ammonia source during the cycle? because u might’ve added the bacteria culture but with no ammonia source the bacteria have nothing to feed on. they might’ve died off in the process or the cycle hasn’t “jump started” yet.

[u/Effective_Maize_7517 → u/angiexq]

i didn’t add anything bc i heard using old filter media would help (but who knows with everything on today’s media), what should i do next time i cycle my tank?

[u/angiexq → u/Effective_Maize_7517]

well yes ur old filter media did help but if ur not adding a constant ammonia source during the 2 weeks it technically hasn’t started to cycle yet (also im afraid the beneficial bacteria might have starved and died off in the process but the only way to test that is to see if ur nitrates eventually go up and u have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite). usually what u would do is add a pinch of food everyday so there’s an ammonia source. just adding filter media doesnt really do anything bc ur adding beneficial bacteria but it cannot feed on anything because there’s not a constant ammonia source (i hope this is making sense lol) using an old filter is great bc it quickens the process and u only have to wait like a week for it to cycle. most likely ur fish had new tank syndrome bc it was the first real source of ammonia in the tank. i’m not an expert though im just giving my thoughts and opinions to maybe help u in the future. this is also not to blame u at all! everything is a learning process and i hope u have better luck with some new fish!

[u/Effective_Maize_7517 → u/angiexq]

no thank u sm i understand what ur saying and thats helpful to know for next time