What's Going On?!

[Here19]

Please help! My betta was fine just yesterday, but today, he sits at the bottom of the tank and doesn't move. His fins are clamped and he refuses to eat and breathes very rapidly. I think his color is even duller. I have no idea what's going on. Please help!

Housing
What size is your tank? 5.5 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 26 degress Celsius
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
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? Nutrafin Basix Betta food and betta bio-gold
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Vitachem

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

Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm
pH:8.0
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill? He has had fin rot before
How old is your fish (approximately)? Probably around 1.5 years

[SenorFrenchy]

Because the ammonia levels aren't 0, you should probably do a water change. I'm far from a beta expert but that seems like it would be a place to start! Good luck, hope fishy gets better.

[callistra]

Vitachem is good. One drop per gallon weekly is what you need.

What conditioner are you using? Vitachem is not a water conditioner.

Are you using a siphon with the change? you need to.

How long has this tank been set up with a fish in it?

You definitely need an extra 50% change right now to reduce the ammonia. The question is, why are you having ammonia at this point.

[Here19]

I'm currently using Stress Coat
Yes
7-8 months
I don't see fin rot at all. His fins look perfectly healthy minus the clamp. And I have no idea why there's ammonia.

[callistra]

Do a couple of 50% water changes with same temp water and see if he perks up.

Something must have broken down the cycle a bit. You may need to do an extra change or two for a while until the ammonia quits showing up.

What are you using to test?

[Here19]

Alright. Got it!

I'm using the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

[Here19]

I think that my fish actually might have bloat. His stomach was a lot bigger than yesterday, and yet he never ate anything.

[callistra]

Can you share photos?

[Here19]

I put the pictures in my album, "Lapis." The first two I believe. Today however, when I took him out to examine him, I realized that he is not only bloated, he has raised scales. It looks like dropsy to me.

[callistra]

Yep, that's dropsy :(

You need epsom salt at 1 tsp per gallon. It should be pure 100% magnesium sulfate with no other addititves. Predissolve it and add it slowly over an hour to avoid shock. I get mine at CVS Pharmacy.

I would go ahead and do a series 3 or so 50% water changes, followed by a 100% change in case something got into the tank. Make sure the new water is the same temp as the old water by using his in tank thermometer to match the running tap.

I would also look for a good internal antibiotic like Kanaplex. If you can't find it Triple sulfa or Maracyn 1 and 2 in combo could work. You need to treat for two weeks using the epsom salt and antibiotics. Follow directions for Meds (they will toast your cycle so if you have a hospital tank that will be better) so increase water changes to twice weekly 50% and 100% if treating in 5g. Only readd the salts with a water change and only add back as much salt as water you change.

Also what filter are you using and how do you maintain it?