u/cinnamondulces

i came home today to find my sweet boy jimmy mcgill dehydrated on the ground beneath his tank. i have only had him for a couple weeks at this point so i cannot say he had a great life, but i hope he at least enjoyed some of his time with me. i am new to fish keeping as i took him in from a student at my college who was moving and did not really know what i was getting into, but i am thankful to him for introducing me to a great hobby and community. i do in part feel i am to blame for his death as i was attempting to cycle the tank while he was in it. i had to completely redo his tank as the previous owner did not have a great setup from what i had researched, and he came to me in a small container. i tried my best to do right by him and was going to get him some plants today so he had more hidey holes and places to rest. i know i could have done more to make his home better, and before i even think about another fish i’m going to do way more research and fully cycle the tank. rest in piece jimmy mcgill.

questions:
- his tank has a lid on it but there are small gaps for the filter to sit. should i get another lid/tank set up in the future to prevent jumping?
- i checked his water perimeters yesterday and everything looked good, though there seems to be a slight film on the water. what can i do to improve next time to make sure this doesn’t happen/was it something i did that made him jump?

new to being a betta parent, and i just want to make sure my boy jimmy is looking/doing alright. he seems to swim around for most of the day and from my observation acts normally, though i have never seen him sleep. i usually don’t keep the light on in his tank as i let the natural light of the room keep a day and night cycle going, but for video purposes i had it on in this clip. his fins seem to be a little torn/clamped which i am worried about. i got him around 2 weeks ago and he has undergone a full tank renovation with fish-in cycling so i would say he’s been under a lot of stress, which i am hoping to mitigate by keeping his water levels nice and giving him time to recover. i have not taken water sample tests today, though i am planning on taking them when i return home later tonight. any advice or help would be appreciated!

i just recently updated my betta’s tank and am worried i have discovered a crack :/ how soon will i need to replace the tank? i am also wondering if the table i have the tank on is too small as it slightly hangs over. all constructive criticism welcome! just want what’s best for my little guy :)

(i also leave the window shutters closed as i am worried about a potential algae bloom) i dont like using his overhead light much as i think its too bright so the small amount of light coming in from the window seems to be a good compromise. let me know if this could be problematic though!

i posted on here about a week ago asking for advice on my new betta, and yall were so helpful! i have moved home from college and got him a whole new tank setup which he seems to be enjoying a lot more! he now has a hammock (top right), some aquarium safe driftwood (boiled to make sure it is clean), and a little coconut hideout. he seems to be doing well and has been swimming around all day. the master water test kit i ordered hasn’t arrived yet, so i have been using the strips still to test the water levels and everything is looking good so far. i used sea chem to get the water levels right as was recommended. he also has some tannin arriving in the mail soon as well as some enrichment toys.

let me know if there’s anything i should do to improve his setup! again, all recommendations welcome and i appreciate you all! :)

(last picture shows original tank he came with)