Swim Bladder Disorder

[itamag]

Housing
What size is your tank? 5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 28 degrees Celcius.
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
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? He used to eat AQUADINE pellets, but now I cahnged it to flakes with 50% protein.
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? about once to twice a week
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? none

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? He's losing color
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? My betta now barely responds, and only floats or stays at the bottom. I believe it's because of the crappy wheat pellets he's been eating. I love him very much and am very worried. He went through a lot of stuff and I was starting to see an improvement - he noticed and recognized me, he was eating, responsive. Now he doesn't eat, he only floats or sinks and does nothing. I stopped feeding him perhaps 4-5 days ago and still the same, and yet no poop! Now that I come to think of it, in the year I've had him I have only actually seen him poop twice, recently when he was healthy. I know bought him better flakes made of dried freezed worms.
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I use TetraMedica General Tonic to help sanitize the water and help the slime coat. I tried feeding him an 1/8 of a cooked pea but he won't catch it! . What do you suggest? I believe it is a case of Swim Bladder Disease from heavy heavy constipation. PLEASE, PLEASE, ANSWER FAST, AS I AM SO WORRIED FOR MY BETTA.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? after realizing his prior conditions were far from humane, I got him a heater, 5 gallon tank, medication.. He has had fin rot, and was very skinny with clamped fins (still has it). Loss of color (perhaps because of his age).
How old is your fish (approximately)? 1.5 to two years

[AyalaCookiejar]

Is he bloated at all? Could you provide a picture? Is he floating sideways or at an angle?

I would remove the gravel from the tank for now or float him in a bare bottomed hospital tank and treat him with Epsom salt at 1tsp per gallon. Watch for poo. If he isn't bloated I would try to feed him a pellet and watch for poo at the bottom of the tank. Sometimes SBD is caused by internal parasites or a bacterial infection.

[callistra]

Flakes are actually generally worse off then pellets. A lot of fish have chronic sbd problems that finally resolve when getting off flakes. The key is you want to look at the ingredients label and the first two or three ingredients should be whole fish, not wheat or fish meal. You should stay away from ones that have a lot of food coloring and additives (vitamin additives are good). You should feed two small meals a day and one fast day a week. How much you feed depends on the pellet.

At this time I agree with fasting and monitoring poop.

Epsom salts needs to be pure 100% magnesium sulfate per the ingredients label, with no dyes, perfumes or other additives. You need to predissolve it and add it slowly over an hour or more to avoid shock.

[itamag]

My betta Max died. This is what I wrote for him:
I remember when I first saw you. My sister decided that she wants a fish and I came with her to buy one. The seller said that Bettas are amazingly hardy fish that last long, and my sister got you. When we got home, she was too afraid to move you from the baggie you were in to your two-three liter aquarium, so I did. Already then I liked you. A week passed and my sister was surprisingly recruited to the army. Now you were all mine. I loved you. You knew my face and were excited whenever I got near the aquarium. You built bubble nests all the time.. Whenever my family would laugh at me for having a fish, and caring and loving it I would start about "Max's great personality, and how intelligent yet strong he is". I would talk about all of this and about the great life you are having with pride. About half a year ago, I went abroad for a month and left you with my family. They really, heavily overfed you. I don't recall how much time it took, but something changed. I started researching about what's happening and discovered that your life in the tank are far from humane. Your aquarium was only 3 liters big and with no heater or filter. You've had constipation for (I believe) most of your life. Later, it was Swim Bladder Disorder. Then, I noticed fin rot and got really worried. What if it would have reached your beautiful body? But you body was already not the same - it was paler and thinner, and to your usual glorious self. I got you a 5 gallon tank, a heater and medication, and together we managed to get rid of the fin rot. After this, though I'm still not sure, you had internal parasites. Whenever I bought things for you, decorations, medications, I didn't doubt the idea that you'd get better and become your usual self. Family, friends, even the seller at the pet store laughed at me for not letting you just die. Inside, it made me furious. Lately you were getting worse, because of what I thought was constipation. Now, I would like to believe you were getting the peaceful, natural, painless death you deserve. I still see you in the bottom of the tank - after writing this I will have my last chance to repay you for the happiness and love you gave me, and bury you. You are not a piece of garbage! You will not be flushed or thrown to the dumpster. I still see you lie down there, but I now think of only the happy times we had together.

Max, I am sorry that you died, I feel like and am quite sure it is my fault. I am sorry that you didn't have more time and that you died because of my ignorance. At least I can say we didn't give up. All I hope for is that now you're free of the body that was imprisoning you and your amazing personality - better then those of a lot of people I know. Even about a week ago, you had a couple of days of lucidity, in which you had played with me like old times and when I got away from the aquarium you would wiggle your "tail" as if to draw my attention. This is now how I'll remember you, and I hope you even loved me at all and thought of me the same.

Max, I am sorry. You are my first and last fish. You are special, and you deserve to be remembered by your best times, with your beautiful, amazing red veil fins. Max, I love you. May you now be happy, wherever you are heading.

R.I.P MAX. 2011 - 2013

[Mirage23]

I'm so sorry :(