Help, Sick fish!!

[ems2073]

My male betta has been acting very strangely and isn't eating regularly if at all. I tried changing his water because I noticed that it was a little cold, but I'm not sure what else to do. The water change didn't seem to make much of a difference. He hangs out at the bottom of the tank a lot and when he does swim to the top, he acts like his back end is weighing him down and making it hard for him to swim up to get the food. Please help! I am a new betta owner, and I don't know much about these kind of issues.

[aokashi]

Hi! can you try filling this out?
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233

I'll try my best to help you :) most likely fhe water is too cold, and therefore he isnt feeling well and very lethargic...

[ems2073]

Housing
What size is your tank? Approximately 1 gallon?
What temperature is your tank? I am unsure. The water felt cold to me the other day, so I have been trying to add warmer water to see if that helps him. Should I get a heater??
Does your tank have a filter? No.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Not that I know of.
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? Bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? usually once in the morning and once at night, but he has not eaten in awhile which is why I was initially beginning to worry about him. :(

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every week or so, whenever I think it needs it
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? All of it
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Betta Water Conditioner

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? At first I noticed that he wasn't eating the food I put in the tank. he would swim up to it and stare at it, but not eat any of it. Then he started swimming like his back end was weighing him down. Now he sits on the bottom of the tank all the time as if he cannot swim up to the top of the water. He doesn't even seem to notice when I try to feed him.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? See above.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? It has been over a week now.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I have been trying to add warmer water to his tank periodically as of a day ago.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No, I just bought him about 3-4 months ago, and this is the first time he hasn't been a cheery, happy fish.
How old is your fish (approximately)?

[aokashi]

Hi again :)
glad you replied :D

Now we probably need to tackle some fundemental problems that have affected your fish over the past few months.

don't panic though, it might just be that he needs a heater.

You see, betta fish are tropical fish, who dont do all that well when the water hits lower than 70F. Their metabolism slows down making them prone to all kinds of problems that the immune system is too weak/slow to handle.

the ideal temperature for this species is in the 78-82F range. a little lower or higher is OK, as long as the temperature is kept constant.

for a 1 gallon bowl, I recommend a 25w adjustable heater. the hagen elites sold on amazon are great for their price. if you are a student you can get free 2 day shipping if you sign up... or you can simply piggy back the product and get free shipping when you hit the $26 mark.

if you dont have access to amazon, simply purchase a 25w adjustable heater :)

now
water changes
you are doing well on the water changes.
to make sure the ammonia build up doesn't harm your betta, it is highly recommended for 1 gallon, to do twowater changes weekly.
that is, a 50% half way through the week, and 100% at the end. This is a tested method that will ensure that keeps the water constantly safe for bettas.

Food
This is another issue we will need to make some modifications to. Like people, betta fish needs a good balance of nutritions in their food. blood worms unfortunately are not very nutritionally balanced. I highly recommend to make switch over to pellet food. good brans include, omega one, new life spectrum, hikari(who recently brought back the old formula) and attison pro.

the blood worms can be fed once a week as a treat instead of his regular meal :)

The recommended feeding schedule is 2 pellets, twice a day.

[ems2073]

thank you so much for your help! i am going to order a heater right away. how do you recommend using the water conditioner with those frequent, and sometimes half, water changes?

i am going to order this:
http://www.amazon.com/Hydor-THEO-Sub...ter+betta+fish

what do you think?

Thanks again!!

[aokashi]

That's a great heater! one of my favorites.

For water conditioner, i use seachem prime. i put this in a dropper bottle. you need two drops/ gallon. so you only use one drop/50% water change.

API stresscoat is a water conditioner that is also great for soothing fish....
i forgot the dosage. when in doubt use a little more. it's very hard to overdose on water conditioner :)

[ems2073]

He passed away last night. Rest in peace Moby </3