Betta hasn't eaten in five days

[namelessgrace]

Housing
What size is your tank? 1 gallon
What temperature is your tank? Unsure
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? HBH Betta Bites
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once daily

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Typically once a week. Lately, this has changed as he was suffering from fin rot. Three weeks ago, I changed 100% every day for five days. Then, I changed it 100% every four days. Now, it is back on the weekly schedule, though I am thinking about changing it today, five days after the last change.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Tetra Betta Safe Water Conditioner. For the past three weeks, aquarium salt (two tsp, completely dissolved when I change the water). For the past 17 days, 1/2 tsp of API Betta Fix every day.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
I have not tested the water.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He was suffering from a bad case of fin rot, but in all appearances, the disease has been reversed and his fins are growing back and are not clumped looking. No other physical symptoms.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He has been lethargic for a while now due to the fin rot. He used to make bubble nests all the time, and he stopped when he got sick. After a few days on the Betta Fix, he was far more active, displaying his fins proudly and swimming around. He has become lethargic again.
While he was sick with fin rot, he still ate, though he would often "play" with the food, spitting it out and eating it again, but he has suddenly stopped eating. I am using the same food I have always used, so I know he likes it. If he does eat, it is only one pellet.
Today I noticed two new symptoms. One, he has started gasping about once every 8-10 minutes. Two, for only a minute, he started to swim like a frill shark, if you know what I mean. Usually he uses his fins to propel himself forward and his side fins are going a mile a minute. All of sudden he stopped moving his fins and swam using his entire body by curving back and forth. Also, he was swimming at a 45 degree angle but only while doing this. I have observed no other abnormal swimming motions.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? He stopped eating last Thursday. The new symptoms I noticed today.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No, as I have no idea what's wrong with him. I am still treating him with the Betta Fix for the fin rot.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Yes. A couple months after I got him, I started noticing this spots of missing scales on his head. I diagnosed it as Hole-in-Head disease and turned off the filter that came with the tank. He seemed to completely recover and the marks on his head have vanished completely and not returned. Also, as I have mentioned, he has been suffering from fin rot lately, but again, he seems to be on the rebound from that and his fins are growing back.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I bought him in February, so seven months.

Please help me. I have no idea what's wrong with Inigo, and any advice would be very much appreciated.

[Perseusmom]

Five days in 1 gallon is to long to go for a water change so do one now ! For that size tank I would do two 50 percents and 1 100 percent per week. If his fins are healed you can stop using the AQ salt, using it more then 10 ten days could start doing more harm then good. Also do you know the temp of his water ? It needs to be 76-80 degrees to keep him happy and healthy.

How many pellets do you offer him at a time ? I would offer 2 or 3 once in the morning and 2 or 3 at night. Good luck I hope he gets to feeling better soon !

[aokashi]

^+1 :) you dont have to worry abouthim starving. it is probably an underlying problem caused by not so ideal water quality. minimum changes for a 1 gallon is a 50% half week, and a 100% weekly change.
ideal water temperature is 76F -82F. any less than that and there is a greater chnce of lethargy. Usually you'd get a heater...just to maintain a steady temperature.
Maybe his water is a little cold? if so, warm him up! :)
good luck!

[namelessgrace]

Thanks for the advice, you two. I just changed his water. The house is kept at 75 degrees and his tank is in a particular warm part of the house, so his water is probably on the lower side of healthy or a degree or two lower.

Here's what I don't understand. He has been living in the same spot for four months. Nothing has changed about his environment, barring the changes made lately due to his fin rot. Why would he suddenly present with symptoms due to water temperature and quality now and not before? Is it because he's been sick lately so he's more susceptible to poor conditions or is it something else? I worry that it is something more because his behavior has changed significantly, even from how he behaved when his fin rot was at its worst.

[BettaBaited]

I totally sympathize! My betta is in a similar condition... I was about to ask it on here but unsure if this is where it should be done... I guess I'll make a thread of my own. Best of luck with your baby!

[aokashi]

Usually when things show up suddenly, it is an accumulation of not so ideal conditions( ie. conditions that they can survive in and that wont cause instant damage)
But imagine it like a very polluted city. people may mot get sick for a year or two or even ten, but most likely than not, eventually their immune systems cannot handle it anymore and they get sick.
Ofcourse, many betta fish have underlying problems from the pet store that dont show up immediately.

Upping the temperature wil help the fish's metabolism and ability to fight diseases. The only time you should lower temperature to around 75 is when the fish has a fungal or bacterial infection.

I hope that helped explain things a bit :)
and about diet. variety is key. :D

[Aus]

Why he suddenly got sick (probably):

Tank water is usually a few degrees less than room temp - and 75 is one less than recommended minimum for bettas. so, say - 72-73 which is a bit cool, and add to that temperature fluctuations (have you any cooler days or nights at all?) and he might have slowly become a bit run down. Add to that some pretty high ammonia exposure (because really, you are not changing the water anywhere near enough) and he's a bit more run down... and so on.. it doesn't take much for the struggling immune system of a seemingly 'healthy' fish (one that's been hanging on to health because it is a very hardy species) to suddenly cave in to some bacterial illness probably hanging around in his system since he was in the pet store.

Adequately warm, clean water with a little Indian Almond Leaf (IAL, or ketapang) in it does absolute wonders for bettas. Try going back to more frequent water changes anyway. If he gets significantly more ill, my bet is that it will be a bacterial problem exacerbated by poor water conditions. Hopefully, simple clean water and a slightly higher temp (76 at least, and raise it slowly..do try the IAL too!) will help him and his appetite bounce back though.

ETA: Ha, Aokashi, we crossposted. :)

[namelessgrace]

Alright, I've done a 100% change to the water yesterday and the temperature is at 76 degrees currently. He is far more active than he was yesterday, but he's still not eating. He won't even look at his food. Any advice now? This is very odd behavior for him. He ate just as much as he usually did when he was sick with Hole in Head and Fin Rot. I realize y'all think I'm abusing him, but still, this is troubling me immensely.

[Aus]

I don't think you're abusing him, just that maybe you weren't aware of the effects of ammonia buildup.

I can understand your concern. Even though bettas can go a long time without food, it's still unnerving when the little piggies go off their food.

Great that he's a bit more active - that's a really positive sign. Maybe give him a day or two more, see if he's still not eating. He can safely go for around two weeks without food, so a couple more days won't hurt, especially if he's eating a tiny bit.

I'd take him off the bettafix, only as I don't trust it as a treatment, particularly not for the long term. See how he goes with frequent water changes, maybe try some IAL? Reducing stress as much as possible will help him recover from both illness and medications.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'gasping' - is it like yawning, underwater, or coming up for air?

[namelessgrace]

He is off the Bettafix and aquarium salt, just conditioned water now.

It's like yawning underwater. I haven't seen him do it today, but I didn't have much time to observe him as my guinea pig had an appointment with the vet. Really, I don't think it is all that significant as I only saw him do it twice, but I decided to add it just in case it could aid in a diagnosis.