Betta Tank help

Question
Hello recently my betta fish has been really sick not eating at all n just laying on the bottom of the tank. he dosent have any tail rot or any disease i change the water 25% the only problem i have is the tank....on the bottom of the tank on the gravel it seems 2 be very dirty if i took a pen n moved the gravel around a bunch of....i guess a buch of stuff would come up like his poop n other stuff can i get a fish compatable with the betta to clean the bottom of the tank.

Answer
Hi Dan;

Your betta tank needs it's gravel vacuumed. Aquarium vacuums are available at your local fish store. All tanks need a gravel vacuuming and a water change at least once a week. This rule is for tanks that have filters. If your tank doesn't have a filter it needs to be completely emptied and the gravel rinsed once a week. Clean his tank well and hopefully he will feel better soon.

There really are no other fish that will eat others fishes' poop and keep the tank clean. Cory cats will help clean up excess food, but there shouldn't be any excess food anywhere if you feed the right amount of food. Only feed enough that your betta eats all the food before it hits the bottom of the tank. Usually it's about 3 or 4 pellets or flakes once a day.

If you decide to add a couple of cory cats, the tank has to be cleaned up first and there has to be enough room in the tank for more fish. If your tank is less than 5 gallons it's too small for any others besides your betta. The poor little catfish can't be expected to clean up massive amounts of waste that have already made your betta sick. Start with a clean tank and add them if you have room. They like to be in groups so try to have two or more.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins