Sick Betta, advice?

[Jiggs2006]

Hello,

I have a beta who I have had for about 8 months now. Periodically he gets very sick and I am not sure why. Currently he has a new disaster: I brought him home for spring break and decided not to take him back because I thought it would be more stressful for him to make the move again. I came home last night (my parents are taking care of him) and his face has changed color; he was blue and now his face is white/reddish (it is restricted to his face). He looks awful; he also has very bad fin rot on his tail and anal fin. But his water quality is completely fine. See below.

Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallons
What temperature is your tank? 82
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? pellets (can't remember brand offhand)
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice a day; 2-3 pellets at each feeding

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 1/3 (3/4 when he moves back and forth which happens about 6 times a year)
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? water conditioner and aquarium salt

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? yes, unfortunately I don't remember the exact numbers... but I did check them to make sure they were alright.

Ammonia: good
Nitrite: good
Nitrate: good
pH: good
Hardness: VERY hard. My water is terrible; any advice on how to fix the hardness issue?
Alkalinity: not sure, but nothing stuck out other than the hardness so I would guess it's fine.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? his face is white/reddish, scales look bad. I think he also might be having trouble seeing out of one eye. Bad fin rot on tail and anal fin.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? not at all; he is a very active fish and this has not changed. He is still eating well and swimming a lot and makes HUGE bubble nests daily.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? yesterday, but I hadn't seen him in a week.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? water change (1/3- 1/2 of tank)
Does your fish have any history of being ill? yes. he gets really sick every 3 months or so; he is notorious for bad fin rot even though he lives in a 10 gallon tank; I think part of this is due to the fact that he swims A LOT and rips his fins all the time.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I have had him since September and he was not full grown when I got him. So likely less than a year?

I would really appreciate any thoughts anyone has! And if there is anything I can be doing better please let me know; I love this little guy and I want him to get better ASAP (and stop getting sick all the time!). Please let me know if you need any more info. I will try and get a picture of him (not home now or else I would). Thanks!

[Laki]

Red gills?? Sounds like ammonia burn. And his tail needs to be taken care of too. He must be a heavy finned betta, is he?
It could also be stress maybe.

I thought the red head thing meant ammonia burns. What kind of tests do you use? I hear the strips can be inaccurate.

I would move him to a small quarantine tank where he can still have his heater and give him a good treatment in aquarium salt. 1tsp per gallon. Don't use it for more than 10 days straight.
What types of plants are in the tank that he's tearing his fins on?? If you're sure the plants are the cause of the ripping, take them out immediately.

Good luck!