my betta is dying and I don’t know what to do please help

ive had my betta since september of 2018 in within the last month he’s completely change. he’s in a 3 or 5 gallon tank with a filter and a heater. I had two live plants and one died so I took it out. I originally thought my fish had swim bladder so I tried to whole fasting it/ feeding it a pea and that didn’t work and now he’s even worse. he was sitting at the bottom of the tank and falling over. I have been using betta fix which is what petsmart recommended. last night I noticed him just sitting on the bottom of the tank and now has like red scales or a wound near his head. I put him in a smaller tank hoping it would make it easier for him to swim and get food but now he’s laying completely on his side and is flipping and flailing upside down. i feel like now maybe he has fin rot?? i’ve read article after article and don’t know what to do. i feel like he has every betta sickness there is all combined into one. he’s also breathing really heavy and his gils are really coming out. i’m worried he’ll drown because he can barely swim to the top for air. I feel bad if he’s dying because he’s suffering but I don’t know what else to do. i’ve tried taking pictures but it’s hard to see into the tank. i’ll try to post pictures but I really only have videos. I attached a picture of the tank also that i took him out of. i’m also not an expert w fish at all and i’m surprised he’s lasted this long

What are the water parameters; ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? I’d keep him in his heated tank. Just lower the water so he doesn’t have to swim as high for air.

Deanasue said:

What are the water parameters; ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?

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I don’t have a test kit, the guy at petsmart told me I didn’t need that. Should I get one tomorrow?

Deanasue said:

What are the water parameters; ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? I’d keep him in his heated tank. Just lower the water so he doesn’t have to swim as high for air.

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okay i’ll put i’m back in! the tank also keeps growing a lot of algae really fast. idk if it was from the plant that died the other day or what.

Yes! You need to know the water parameters. I would place him back in his heated tank and lower the water level so doesn’t have as far to swim for air. Do a 75% water change tonight and another 75% in the morning. Add 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per gallon. If you can’t get aquarium salt tonight then you can use rock salt. He may not make it at this point but it’s worth a try if it is water conditions causing it. Keep us posted and if he makes it through the night, get the test kit tomorrow and post the results. We can go from there. Good luck!

Deanasue said:

Yes! You need to know the water parameters. I would place him back in his heated tank and lower the water level so doesn’t have as far to swim for air. Do a 75% water change tonight and another 75% in the morning. Add 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per gallon. If you can’t get aquarium salt tonight then you can use rock salt. He may not make it at this point but it’s worth a try if it is water conditions causing it. Keep us posted and if he makes it through the night, get the test kit tomorrow and post the results. We can go from there. Good luck!

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when I do the water change should I dump 3/4 of the tank water and fill it back up to the lower water level?? also is rock salt the same as like household salt? sorry if that’s a stupid question

Since the fish is in the small bowl right now just dump it all if you can. Then fill only 1/2 as full as normal. Try to keep water temp the same as he’s in. No, don’t use table salt! Just do clean water for now. Be sure to dechlorinate it, How big is the tank and how often do you clean and change the water?

Deanasue said:

Since the fish is in the small bowl right now just dump it all if you can. Then fill only 1/2 as full as normal. Try to keep water temp the same as he’s in. No, don’t use table salt! Just do clean water for now. Be sure to dechlorinate it, How big is the tank and how often do you clean and change the water?

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the tank is 3.5 gallons! the tank is filled to here now with new conditioned water and the small bowl water. when i go to the store tomorrow should i buy anything else besides the test kit?