Quarter Ornament
what else should i do for my betta?
I have a new tank with a betta, and a filter, heater, plant and an ornament for him to hide inside, he has been sick for some time and i found out that its because of the ammonia in the water, i did not cycle the tank 
. i know change a quarter of the tank of water everyday and put conditioner in, this has been going for more than a week, and i have tested the water to see if the ammonia levels had dropped, but it has not yet. Do i just keep changing the water until the ammonia levels are accurate? and how long should this take?
the betta looks sick, he is moving around more than when i did not change the water, but at this stage he looks like he will never recover. he is always on the ground, and swims as though he has swim bladdder but doesnt, and his tail is frayed… i think this is because of the bad water conditions.
It does sound like a result of bad water conditions.
It can take a tank anywhere from 4 to 10 weeks to establish a cycle. All you can really do is keep monitoring the Ammonia, and after that drops, the Nitrite levels until it happens.
Dilution of Ammonia in water is proportional. If 10 gallons has 2ppm of Ammonia and you replace 5 gallons, you will have 1ppm of Ammonia.
If the conditions are really bad and the levels are high, you may have to change more than 20% to get the levels where you need them.
Here’s some more in-depth info: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html
New Orleans French Quarter Christmas Ornament