Please help sick betta

[Gizmobettafish1]

My betta fish gizmo has a swollen stomach and a chunk of his tail fell off today please help me I don't want him to be sick or to die.

He is in a 5 gallon tank with live plants and a few fake plants. I have a filter and a thermostat that I keep around 74 degrees.

Here are some pictures of his tail and his bloated stomach

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[Gizmobettafish1]

[Gizmobettafish1]

Housing
What size is your tank? 5 gall
What temperature is your tank? 74
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2-3x a week

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every 2 weeks
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 30%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? easy balance, aquasafe

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? bloated and fin chunk fell off
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? hasnt
When did you start noticing the symptoms? yesterday fin, today bloating
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? changed water
Does your fish have any history of being ill? fins always a little torn
How old is your fish (approximately)? 4 months

[jeremywadejunior]

I'll try to help best I can! My comments will be in bold
Housing
What size is your tank? 5 gall
What temperature is your tank? 74 The minimum temp recommended for bettas is 78 F
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2-3x a week I have heard bettas can do fine with little food, however I have only ever fed mine every day and he is healthy. How much flakes do you feed him at a time?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every 2 weeks A 50% water change once a week is usually recommended
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 30%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? easy balance, aquasafe

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? bloated and fin chunk fell off
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? hasnt That's good!
When did you start noticing the symptoms? yesterday fin, today bloating Did you feed him today?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? changed water
Does your fish have any history of being ill? fins always a little torn
How old is your fish (approximately)? 4 months

My guesses based on the info I have, is that he has a mild case of fin rot which results in the torn fin. This can usually be treated with aquarium salt and 100% daily water changes; you will probably want to keep him in a hospital tank.

As far as the bloating, I'll need to know when was the last time you fed him/ how much. Also, have you seen him poop lately? What did it appear?

[Gizmobettafish1]

I actually fed him earlier today and it was only 1 larger flake. When I first got him the pet store told me I was overfeeding him so I cut it down. I will definitely start feeding him more often because I don't think the pet store guy knew what he was talking about! He also told me bettas didn't need a heater, but I got Gizmo one anyway. I have a 1 gallon tank that I had before I moved him to the bigger tank. Is that okay for a hospital tank? and do I put gravel in the hospital tank with him? Also I haven't seen him poop recently but the bloating on the sides has gone down but not directly under his belly. Sorry for so many questions and thank you so much for helping me!

[jeremywadejunior]

Originally Posted by Gizmobettafish1

I actually fed him earlier today and it was only 1 larger flake. When I first got him the pet store told me I was overfeeding him so I cut it down. I will definitely start feeding him more often because I don't think the pet store guy knew what he was talking about! He also told me bettas didn't need a heater, but I got Gizmo one anyway. I have a 1 gallon tank that I had before I moved him to the bigger tank. Is that okay for a hospital tank? and do I put gravel in the hospital tank with him? Also I haven't seen him poop recently but the bloating on the sides has gone down but not directly under his belly. Sorry for so many questions and thank you so much for helping me!

That will work great for a hospital tank. And no, you should only have the heater and a thermometer in the hospital tank. This way you can keep an eye on the bottom of it: how much he poops/ how often/ what it looks like. Poop can indicate internal problems.
It's good that the bloating is going down, just keep an eye on it and I would stick with giving him a large flake a day. It's possible that he is constipated, too...
Go ahead and move him into the hospital tank ASAP so you can keep a good eye on him. The next step would be to find out how he is progressing and how his poop looks... let me know! And I will try to help with any more questions, too!

[jeremywadejunior]

Also, pick up some pellets from the store, too. I use Aqueon betta pellets. I just read that flakes may not be good enough alone for bettas, so I would try some pellets, just to be safe. I would recommend one a day for now.

[Gizmobettafish1]

okay thank you so much for your help!!! Gizmo already looks a lot happier in his emergency tank swimming around!