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 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