Fish not eating?

[Pogthefish]

I am at my friends house and she has a betta fish that is nto eating. they dont take very good care of there fish, like... theres somethign wrong with thier water. (she says) they doi water changes like once a month. The fish is very skinny and there is floating food in the tank, but it never takes it. its a 2 gallon. welll 2.5 but it evaporated...

What could it be? I offered to take it home to treat but they declined the offer. thanks! If they cant fix it themselves they might let me.

oh no filter, no heater. i would use the official thingy for disease but this is all i have on it, im really trying to help but i dont want to seem rude to them, thanks!

[Alcemistnv]

I'm not an expert, but knowing that water changes are only being done once a month with no filter or heater is definitely not a good thing. I can't even go a week without getting worried about Buddha!

There might be multiple factors in the problem with the water, such as hard water, high ammonia content, etc. and they might be affecting the poor thing. He might be sick and that could possibly be affecting his need to eat. Knowing the tank is dirty might make him sick. :/

In my opinion, the poor guy needs a new place who is willing to care for him.

[flowerslegacy]

Hi Pog - Not much you can do if they won't let you. When a fish stops eating, it's not a good sign. If they have a 2 gal and they don't change the water then he's sitting in chemicals and he's dieing. He probably has a bacterial infection which has caused the SBD.

I just rescued a friends fish in the same condition. 2.5gal tank that hadn't seen a water change in 5 months!! He was floating at the top, on his side, horrible SBD, fin rot like you've never seen, grey colored and freezing. They just handed him to me and said, "He's dead anyway." My guy has just started eating medicated soaked blood worms so I'm hoping for the best. I know it's hard breaking and sickening . . .

[Alcemistnv]

I'm sorry, flower :(

I don't think anyone really wants to go through something like that, but it's people like you and pog who realize that there is something wrong and want to do something. So thank you, both of you, for seeing something and trying to help. I don't think I know of someone in RL who would do that.

[Pogthefish]

So what can I tell them to do besides a water change?

[Alcemistnv]

Well, I'd definitely say to get a water change. And maybe see what's wrong with the water. Did they say why they won't let you take the fish?

Because if it's too much work, you can just take care of him for them, or maybe you can offer to just take him home for the rest of his life...?

[Pogthefish]

lol ive tried, but so they will (maybe) do a water teacher and she might take the water to her science teacher to get tested

[Twilight Storm]

make sure they are using water conditioner too, or bring some of yours over to do the water change for them if they don't have any.

If they will do it they can move the fish to a nice warm room if they don't have a heater and refuse to get one.

I'm not sure what you can do but get them to change the water. I'm not sure doing an aquarium salt treatment would help but you may have to help them do water changes. The salt can get kinda deadly too if they just let it evaporate down.

I agree though see if you can take the fish. If they won't let you there is really nothing you can do. Maybe you can print out a care sheet for them?

They may think there is something wrong with their water because they aren't using dechlorinator.

[Pogthefish]

Housing
What size is your tank? 2 gal
What temperature is your tank? room temp, and it fluxuates, cold at night, cool during the day :'(
Does your tank have a filter?no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?no
Is your tank heated?no
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?some cheap crap
How often do you feed your betta fish?once a day, 3 pellets

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?once a month or 2
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? idk not much

What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?hopefully dechlorinator :/

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? its small and very thin, loosk malnourished
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?not eating, seems lethargic
When did you start noticing the symptoms? sounds liek its been that way for awhile
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?

[Alcemistnv]

I know this might seem a little....uncomfortable to think about, but have you thought about paying for the fish? I wouldn't go for that idea, unless you know that you absolutely can't do anything else.

I'm getting the vibe from you that you just want to remove the fish from the situation and give him some help, and in my opinion that is the best thing to do.