Emergency: betta fish died, please help

My betta fish died. I've had him for six months.

He's been slowing down for about a week. No outward symptoms. Two weeks ago, he made a bubble nest, even.

For the past three days, he's been hanging out at the bottom of the tank.

I'm wondering if there is any way the baby pleco could have been the cause of his death. They're about the same size, roughly.

They were sharing a five gallon tank. It was filtered, temperature at 78 degrees, ammonia at "safe" on the PH strip, PH 7.5, all other numbers clear.

I'm just so lost. I wonder if it was just old age. The other fish on the other side (ten gallons, divided) are doing just fine. But I don't want to take out the divider, if it is possible the plecco is the reason for his death.

I'm crying a lot. This fish meant a lot to me.

 

Is it cycled? Don't trust strips. Get yourself and API Freshwater Master Test Kit (liquid). My favorite test kit as it is reliable and liquid. The strips might have been wrong and you may have had an amount of ammonia. Until you get the test kit, we won't know.

On a side note, absolutely no pleco belongs in a 5 gallon tank. If it is a common or sailfin, rehome or return it ASAP. It will get stunted and die. If it is a bristlenose or any small pleco (under 6"), I would suggest buying and cycling a 29 gallon tank for it.

 

Sorry to hear of your loss

 

On a side note, absolutely no pleco belongs in a 5 gallon tank. If it is a common or sailfin, rehome or return it ASAP. It will get stunted and die. If it is a bristlenose or any small pleco (under 6"), I would suggest buying and cycling a 29 gallon tank for it.

Very true, you'll need a bigger tank for any sized pleco, but if it's a common pleco, it would need over 100 gallons.

It is very unlikely the pleco was involved as they are quite peaceful.

 

Sorry to hear about your loss. I agree, your pleco will most certainly need a larger home. If you can provide a picture, we can help ID him for you. I had a pleco and a betta together in a 10 gallon tank (before I knew plecos needed larger tanks) and mine was always very peaceful and never bothered anyone, so I doubt he had anything to do with it.