sick Iggy :(

[meganelizabethandiggy]

I have a betta fish that I got because I was in college and we are only allowed to have fish in our dorms. His name is Iggy and I've become extremely attached to him. I got him in late October and he has been fine since then, until recently.
Since we moved home, he's been extremely lethargic. He generally sits in the little ceremic home I have for him or on the rocks in the bottom of the tank. He barely eats anything and I believe he is loosing color and his fins and tail seem to be getting shorter.
I have done a lot of research about it and found a few possible causes of his sickness. His water feels chilly to me and I know that it is supposed to be around 80 degress so we got a thermometer that sits on the outside of the tank and it reads 80. We bought a heater for him anyway, but haven't installed it since the temp seems alright. We also checked the pH and it is around 7.6, which is high, but everything I've read said he has probably adjusted to it and making drastic changes will hurt him more than the high pH. I bought aquarium salt and we used that once and it didn't seem to make any difference. We've changed his water more frequently in an effort to help and after we change it, he seems better for awhile, but then he goes back to his old symptoms. I don't know what else to do and I'm extremely worried.
Does anyone have any suggestions?? Please help.

[crowntail lover]

First...Does the thermometer work???? Because I am sure its not at 80 if you think it feels chilly...
And what size tank do you have???

[meganelizabethandiggy]

well we keep our house around 75 I think and the outside of the tank feels cooler than that but he has a lamp and I turned that off last night thinking that way he may get some rest and the temperature reading did drop. Maybe it's too high to start with. And his tank is 2.5 gallons.

[crowntail lover]

And how old is he??? Soime older bettas do this becuase their sight fads and the dont trust where they are moving very well so the keep to one spot..

[meganelizabethandiggy]

well I got him in October, but I have no idea how old he was at that time. I don't think he's more than a year old though. I hadn't thought of his age having anything do to with it though. Would that also affect his eating habits? Or his color?

[crowntail lover]

Both....Does he try to eat but then gives up when he cant get a grip on it??

[dramaqueen]

If his fins are getting shorter, he may have finrot. More frequent water changes will help that.

[crowntail lover]

If it is fin rot then the fins would look discolored..

[dramaqueen]

They would also be shredded looking. Mine looked like it went through a paper shredder.

[crowntail lover]

I have never had fin rot so....I am sure you know best