Betta fish missing food?

[Arroyo1291]

So I have a betta fish that I've been keeping in a 2.5 gal tank for about 5-6 months now. I've been a little worried because as of late he's acting a bit sick yet when I examine him there's nothing wrong with him. If I come by his tank he will still swim over to greet me but other than that he just lays in his leaf and if not there the very bottom. Lately when I try to feed him he attempts to eat the pellets to no avail. He snaps 3-4 times at it before just giving up. He's always gotten it down on the first try.

I've tried a 50% water change and it hasn't helped anything but I might try a 100% change very soon. I know he was constipated a few days ago but he passed a very large stool & he isn't looking swollen anymore. Currently I have him in a small round vase just so that he doesn't have to exert himself to get to the surface for air but I'm not sure where to go with this. Any advice?

[Sena Hansler]

What is the water temperature?

[Canuck Fins]

How often are you changing the water? Do you add anything to the water?
Is the tank heated?
How much are you feeding him and how often?

[Arroyo1291]

Currently his water is somewhere around 85-87...kind of hot I know but the heat wave over here is bad and I have him in a shaded area away from the sun. I feed him twice a day 3 pellets and the tank itself is not heated nor do I add anything to it whenever I change his water. Usually I do a 100% change every 2 weeks or so since I have a filter but as of late I've been doing 50% changes once a week.

[ZergyMonster]

It is best that you add a condtioner to your water so that the chlorine and chloramine in the water doesn't kill your fish. And in fact just because you have a filter doesn't mean that your water can be changed less. You have some learning to do and we will help you out.

The temperature is fine as long as you can keep the water at a consistent temp; it is the change of temperature in a short period of time that shocks fish immune systems and kill them not only the temp itself. So keeping a heater in the tank will create a stopping point to how low the temperature can go. (Mine are set for 78)

Your feeding schedule looks great, keep it up.

Because you have a 2.5 gallon tank you really don't need a filter at all. Filters "remove" debris from the water you see but it is still in the tank being circulated by the filter. Therefore a dirty tank will always be dirty no matter how long a filter is in there. Cycling can be achieved by having a filter in a 5+ gallon tank because those are the most stable sizes to create and maintain beneficial bacteria, this is known as the Nitrogen cycle and can be learned from sources around the net and this forum.

Having a cleaning schedule of one 50% and one 100% each week will help keep your water clean and then having your substrate clean(during the 100%). During the 100% cleaning it is recommended but not required to rinse off your decorations with hot water to remove any algae or scum.

I wish you the best of luck for getting your little one back to tip top shape.