i think hes dying(betta)

[butterflylove]

for the past ...oh maybe 6 months or so... i have been really getting into the aquarium thing and love it! but mow, my brother wants to try too. hes older than me , but he just doesnt have a very good attention span and just jumped on getting fish as soon as i told him his tank was ok. so, after cycling his tank for a lil while, he went out and bought 3 black mollies, a frog, a shark looking thing( who hasnt been aggressive at all) and a betta!!!! all for the same tank!!! now i am no professional on betta's, but im sure that they can not just be stuck in any old tank(my brothers is a 10gal) and i didnt think that they liked warm water( since they are always just stuck in a little cup thing at stores). last night i was watching over his tank( i now feel that i must) and his poor betta is just lying there having so much trouble moving and breathing it appears. i thought for sure the poor thing would die in the nite, but woke up today to see him slightly moving better and breathing a little more easy, but still looks SO bad. ( i know a troubled fish when i see one). any suggestions?? should i move him to his own little bowl?

[Paccula]

for the past ...oh maybe 6 months or so... i have been really getting into the aquarium thing and love it! but mow, my brother wants to try too. hes older than me , but he just doesnt have a very good attention span and just jumped on getting fish as soon as i told him his tank was ok. so, after cycling his tank for a lil while, he went out and bought 3 black mollies, a frog, a shark looking thing( who hasnt been aggressive at all) and a betta!!!! all for the same tank!!! now i am no professional on betta's, but im sure that they can not just be stuck in any old tank(my brothers is a 10gal) and i didnt think that they liked warm water( since they are always just stuck in a little cup thing at stores). last night i was watching over his tank( i now feel that i must) and his poor betta is just lying there having so much trouble moving and breathing it appears. i thought for sure the poor thing would die in the nite, but woke up today to see him slightly moving better and breathing a little more easy, but still looks SO bad. ( i know a troubled fish when i see one). any suggestions?? should i move him to his own little bowl?

My boyfriend has had a betta in water about 79F for the past few months, it seems fine.
Most people put bettas in tiny containers because they see them like decorations. rarely are these serious fish keepers. My boyfriend's betta is in a 1gal tank, and I would not recomend anything smaller. He even stuck a java fern in with it, looks real nice and the betta seems happy.
I've heard if you stock your tank with other fish, then add a betta, the betta has no chance to see the tank as his territory, and will not be quite as agressive. But myself, I would not try this. it probably works better with female bettas, which I find even more atractive than the males (shorter fins, and can be quite colorful).
also I've heard that bettas, as mean looking as they are, have a hard time compeating with other fish for food. they have long fins and might be slower than other smaller quicker fish who gobble everything up right away.
as for the fish not moving, if it is not ill it is probably just scared or stressed. that's what my boyfriend's does. he think's he's "playing dead", but is really probably just resting, or hiding. If it turns out your betta is ill, it should be separated so the others don't catch whatever he has.
in my oppinion, I would go out and buy another tank for the betta. even a 1 or 2 gal tank probably doesn't cost that much, (ours has an undergravel filter even) and he would be happy there.

[Leopardess]

Bettas like warm water, actually. They come from warm water.

The problem is probably water quality. That's a lot of fish. Plus, that "shark" thing will not get along with the betta.

I'd take back the shark. And either the mollies or the betta and frog. Mollies and bettas won't do well together and neither will mollies and frogs, IMO. Plus, mollies get pretty large.

Do a water change (45% ish) and check the water parameters. If you have a clean, large bowl (1-2 gallons) I may suggest removing the betta now and just giving him his own bowl until you decide on a game plan.

EDIT: I assume you fishless cycled the tank with ammonia? If so, are you *certain* that the cycle was complete?