Help! My Betta Fish

Hi Everyone,
Any advice is appreciated.
Last year I got the Back to the Roots fish tank, where you can grow plants on top of the tank, like a hydroponics system. I hadn’t used it till this week. Here is the link to the system: https://backtotheroots.com/products/watergarden
I got a betta fish two days ago, and it ended up dying in the tank only 5 hours later. The next morning I took it back to the pet store and brought a water sample. They tested it and said the water was fine, but the pH was slightly high, but nothing that could have killed the fish. So I figured the fish was sick when I got it, sadly. So I got a new fish yesterday, cleaned the tank and added new water, dechlorinated the water like before, and added a pH reducer, which made the water neutral. My fish was fine and happily swimming in his tank, but this morning he is lethargic and floating on the surface of the water, kind of lopsided. I thought he was maybe still sleeping, but it has been a few hours now. I still see his gills moving but overall he is pretty unresponsive. I have noticed about 3 times now he started to sink towards the bottom and he swam back up to get air and just remains at the top. I also just tried to feed him, but he hasn’t touched them yet, it’s been about 20 minutes. I’ll try to attach pictures. Does anyone know what the problem could be? Is the tank possibly hurting my fish? I could transfer him to a basic fish bowl if that could help him. I’ve had probably 5 betta fish in my life and none of them have ever acted this way. This is my first betta fish in years and other than the tank, i’ve treated them the same way. Thanks

@Deanasue Might be able to help, also @Colin_T

Unfortunately I'm too green to even think about helping, I don't want to give you any wrong advice. Hopefully these guys, or someone else, will get back to you quickly.

What size tank?
Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle?

Do you have a filter in the tank? Heater in? What are your water parameters? Please stop using pH reducers, no need for chemicals.

It’s a 3 gallon tank with a filter provided by the same company. I had never heard of the nitrogen cycle before this morning and I feel really bad about not doing it. I ran the dechlorinator and reducer with the filter on for maybe ~5 hours before letting the fish acclimatize.
I used the pH reducer because it was highly suggested by the pet store manager. The water parameters were all normal and good for the fish according to Petco where I had it tested before putting the fish in. In regard to temp, the water is room temp, about 76 degrees. I’ve never used a water heater for a betta fish before either

Okay. Do a 75% water change.

I would stop using the ph reducer, it's actually not good for the fish. Sadly pet store employees usually know next to nothing about fish, most of us here have learned this the hard way

Laurenbettafish said:

It’s a 3 gallon tank with a filter provided by the same company. I had never heard of the nitrogen cycle before this morning and I feel really bad about not doing it. I ran the dechlorinator and reducer with the filter on for maybe ~5 hours before letting the fish acclimatize.
I used the pH reducer because it was highly suggested by the pet store manager. The water parameters were all normal and good for the fish according to Petco where I had it tested before putting the fish in. In regard to temp, the water is room temp, about 76 degrees. I’ve never used a water heater for a betta fish before either

Click to expand...

Use a heater no matter what. Never trust pet stores as they know nothing about fish and please do a 75% water change and stop putting in any unnatural chemicals in the tank.

Laurenbettafish said:

It’s a 3 gallon tank with a filter provided by the same company. I had never heard of the nitrogen cycle before this morning and I feel really bad about not doing it. I ran the dechlorinator and reducer with the filter on for maybe ~5 hours before letting the fish acclimatize.
I used the pH reducer because it was highly suggested by the pet store manager. The water parameters were all normal and good for the fish according to Petco where I had it tested before putting the fish in. In regard to temp, the water is room temp, about 76 degrees. I’ve never used a water heater for a betta fish before either

Click to expand...

On the temperature, is that temp constant? Even on the coldest nights of the year? If so, it will be fine. If not then you should invest in a heater to keep the temp stable

Okay doing the water change now, assuming with the dechlor as well. I think the temp stays pretty constant. That may change in the winter time but atleast for now I feel comfortable enough saying the temperature is constant at 76-77 degrees. I can invest in a heater for winter if the fish can make it. I feel so bad for the fish

Yes, the water has to be dechlorinated or you'll kill the fish. Put in 1-2 heaped tablespons of aquarium salt per 20L (5gallons) of tank water and keep the salt in for 2 weeks. If doing water changes when using the salt, add salt to the tank to keep salinity levels stable. Do a 75% water changes before adding the salt.

The @JuiceBox52 and @Salty&Onion tag team

I'll cross my fingers for the little guy. Unfortunately, you've been mislead by your fish store. Your tank has to be cycled before adding a fish, water parameters checked, stable and suitable for the species, water conditioned and tank heated (again, stable) and filtered. This is why your fish are dying, I'm so supprised that this experience is different to the other 5 bettas you've owned. Best of luck that all goes well going forward though, perhaps see if the betta can be returned until the tank is ready?

The tank company has also mislead me. The instructions are simple and I watched other youtube videos of people taking care of their bettas through the same system. I don’t know how their fish did fine following the same instructions I did. The idea for the tank was so exciting and seemed simple for first time (in a while, at least) fish owners. Looking forward i’ll definitely cycle the tank and do more research prior. Not too confident basically losing two fish in two days I’m going to see how this one does for the next few hours and if he’s doing poorly I’ll probably return him to the store. Thanks for the advice so far everyone

Sorry, but you got mislead by your pet store...

Many times they will tell you your water is OK, when in actuality, it isn’t.

Read up on how to cycle your tank here:https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

Keep us updated on the little guy too!

Also, next time, when you get your water tested at the pet store, ask them for the exact numbers. They will often say "It's perfect" or "Your water's fine" when it actually isn't.
I hope your betta pulls through!