Adopted Betta for Friend, Very New at This

[NewBettaLover]

I have just recently started taking care of a Betta for a friend who was moving (I think it is a female betta based on the pictures I've seen). I know next to nothing of taking care of fish and was just trying to help out. After spending some time looking through here (which, unfortunately was AFTER taking advice from my pet store) I realized that I am in need of A LOT of help.

Firstly, and most importantly, I think this fish is very sick. She is very skinny compared to most bettas I've seen, has black patches, her fins are frayed and she wasn't very active at first. The pet store employee gave me bettafix (wish I would have checked these threads first). Fortunately, it seemed to liven her up a bit and give her some more color, but the problem was not fixed. Can (and should I) start a salt treatment right away (I finished the bettafix on Wednesday)? Is there anything else I can do?

Also, currently, due to budget restrictions and lack of space (I'm a college student), I can only keep her in a 1 gal. Is there any space saving larger tanks that are also relatively cheap? I would like to eventually keep her in a large tank with possibly some other fish (I heard certain catfish do well with bettas and eat the excess food).

Housing
What size is your tank? 1 gal.
What temperature is your tank? I got a heater, but no thermometer, the packaging said it will automatically keep the tank between 78 and 85 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes (see above)
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none right now (she's still stressed I think) but I would eventually like to get some

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? TopFin color enhancing betta bits (3 pellets per day) and 3 bloodworms per day
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 50% weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? API tap water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? no, /: again I'm new at this

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? I think she's gotten better
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? I think she's gotten livelier
When did you start noticing the symptoms? She was in bad shape when I got her
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I used bettafix (I know, I know)
Does your fish have any history of being ill? When I adopted her she seemed sick
How old is your fish (approximately)? 1 year

Please help me however you can. I really appreciate it

[Olympia]

Hmm, good for you for taking her! :D
She is really cute. To me she looks healthy. If she is acting better then I think she's on the right track. The little black patches seem to be natural color.
It's really important to get a thermometer soon, one of my tiny tank heaters broke and got to 91F overnight, so you want to be sure it's keeping the water temperature steady.

A 1 gallon is fine. A lot of people have hexagon tanks, they are taller but shorter, space saving but don't give as much back and forth swimming room.
There are some lovely designer cube tanks (not those TINY cubes), like Fluval chi which are a good mix of space and space saving. But they can cost a little more. I really like the Fluval spec, it's a little two gallon. Otherwise a 2.5 plain glass tank is nice, it's only about 12 inches long.
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[lvandert]

unless you get a 5 gallon or bigger the only "tank mates" you can get are ghost shrimp and a nerite snail.

A good cheap tank are critter keepers. Wally world also sells bare ten gallons for 12 bucks (or at least they do here). You don't NEED a filter if its just your betta in there so the 10 gallon can be pretty cheap. make sure they doesn't leak though; I got one, it leaked :( I made them test it in the customer service area before I took it home.

Also in a 1 gallon you should be doing at least a 50% water change every day, especially if their stressed or sick.

[lelei]

Hello and Welcome, well when your in need of help, this is the right place, we all look to the forum for answers, so anything that can help you to become a great betta mommy, when I first got our betta, I was not sure what I was doing either, and shortly thereafter joined this forum. I have learned so much in the time I have been here, and have been spending with our Sammy. Having a krittr keeper is a great option for space, they are somewhat long, and hold up to 3 gal, and you can use a heater, I have a 3 gal cylindrical tank, also space saving, and this lil guy loves swimming around, and up to the top and back down.. (eventually you may need an upgrade) but there are some Mini bow tanks that are 2 gal and 2.5 that I see work out real well, some plants, and a hidey spot, and sounds like your fishy is fine..

just don't forget the thermometer, that is a necessity..especially with a smaller tank, and a heater..
Good Luck and Please keep us updated:)

[NewBettaLover]

Thank you guys for all the great ideas! It feels better to know that she looks alright to experts (:

I'm going to go out and get a thermometer first thing tomorrow.