Help!! Betta Sick After Adding New Sand And Plants

Hey guys,

I'm super worried about my betta. Just to give a bit of a background, he's been in a cycled 2.5 gallon tank for 4 months with no substrate. Recently I bought some new black quartz sand as well as anubias, Christmas moss and Amazon frogbit. 3 days ago, the betta started becoming less active and I thought he was just stressed out from being in a new environment. However he got worse (clamped fins and pale) and I noticed the amazon frogbit were turning brown and the Anubias were melting. Thinking that they were probably contributing to an ammonia spike, I removed them immediately and did a tank flush with Prime. Currently the tank only has the black sand and the Christmas moss, but my betta doesn't seem to be getting any better. In fact he may be getting worse, he did not even move when I went near his tank today. What could be wrong? Could my sand/Christmas moss contain some organic matter that is decomposing? Will removing the sand help? And what can I do to help my betta make out of this alive in the meantime? I have an unused 1 gallon tank, should I transfer him over?

 

HI and welcome.

Do you have a test kit? Can you post your parameters? How long after adding the sand and plants did your betta start to act differently? How long before the plants started to die? Are all of them dying or just the frogbit?

 

HI and welcome.

Do you have a test kit? Can you post your parameters?

I don't have a test kit because they cost over $100 where I live. What should I do?

How long after adding the sand and plants did your betta start to act differently?

1 day, slightly over 24 hours.

How long before the plants started to die? Are all of them dying or just the frogbit?

Around the same time my betta started acting differently. The frogbit was dying while the Anubias started melting, I removed both of them just in case.

 

Can you get your water tested? Some pet stores will do it for free. Any chance you can order online?

I would maybe move your betta to cleaner water until you can figure this out.

 

Since you already did a tank flush, I think that should have at least helped somewhat with water issues. What I would do is get some bottled bacteria if you can, to jump start your cycle.

Do daily 50% water changes to keep the Nitrites down. That is going to be why he isn’t doing well. You gotta get your cycle back on track.

If you can get Tetra 6 in 1 test strips, this could at least give you something to go on.

 

Can you get your water tested? Some pet stores will do it for free. Any chance you can order online?
I will try asking my LFS.

I would maybe move your betta to cleaner water until you can figure this out.
Should I move him to the 1 gallon tank? Though I wouldn't be able to put the filter in

Since you already did a tank flush, I think that should have at least helped somewhat with water issues. What I would do is get some bottled bacteria if you can, to jump start your cycle.

Do daily 50% water changes to keep the Nitrites down. That is going to be why he isn’t doing well. You gotta get your cycle back on track.
Should I do another tank flush? He doesn't seem to be getting better.

If you can get Tetra 6 in 1 test strips, this could at least give you something to go on.
Will try looking for these!