I don't know what else to do

[sully180]

Hey there. My Betta Leonardo is pretty sick. A couple weeks back I noticed his fins were starting to get more and more pale. I assumed it was fin rot. I bought some "Bettafix" which is .2% Melaleuca. He seemed pretty active while on it but it wasn't fixing the problem. While this was going on I also noticed that his water was consistently cooler than what it should be so I then bought a hot water heater. I then changed his water when the "Bettafix" bottle told me to. The next day he looked like he was on his death bed. He is still alive and I just got the hot water heater yesterday. He still seems extremely sick. He isn't swimming well and his fins are withering. Additionally he seems to be breathing very deeply and his gills won't close all the way. I really don't know what else I can do. Please help Leonardo.

[PinkDiamond]

I'm so sorry that your betta is sick. We'll probably need a little more info to find out what's wrong...

First of all, I'm not sure what you mean by a hot water heater... do you mean an aquarium heater? That's really the only thing you should be using to heat the water in the tank, as it needs to be held at a stable temperature, not just warmed up and then put in the tank, where it will cool down again.

Second, have you tested your water for ammonia/nitrites/nitrates? pH? You will need to do this to be sure that it's not basic water chemistry problems that are making your fish ill.

Finally, there is some question about Bettafix being safe for bettas or not. But even if it is safe, its active ingredient, melaleuca, is only an antiseptic and can't treat bad infections or help with water toxicity issues.

[sully180]

It is an aquarium heater, sorry if my vocabulary is a little off. I'm afraid that his tank might be too small for the heater because he's only in a half gallon tank. I haven't been able to find anything that could check for pH/ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels. I'm at a small college in a small town so getting to a pet store is a little tough. I'll be able to get him a larger tank and a kit to check those levels this weekend. Until then should I just keep the aquarium heater out? Bettafix was the only option at the pet store which is why I picked it up. What are some other options that I should use if it is fin rot and where can I get these medications? Additionally, I also failed to mention that I added aquarium salt and conditioner to the bowl.