Betta Rejuvenation

[Never2Bknown]

My mother recently "rescued" a pet betta inside a plant/betta bowl that was in her friend's house. (This friend, by the way, knows absolutely nothing about fish of any shape or size or what needs they may have; he is also a smoker as well) It is in horrible shape; incredibly pale and emaciated with very little energy, usually staying at the bottom of the aquarium. My mother most likely saved him just in time--in fact, she was, herself, amazed that he was still even alive when she got there.
Thankfully, he is now safely at her house with enough food, less stress, and cleaner water (she did a partial water change--she didn't think he could take any more than that). Anyway, I was wondering--would an air bubbler (placed at the top so as to avoid currents that can push around small or weak fish) help him at all? I also have a larger aquarium with light and a bubbler that he may be able to go in after a while, but for now, he's stuck in a little betta bowl. Do you have any other ideas or suggestions in helping to revive him? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Loboto-Me]

I think your mom did the right thing about the partial water change. The betta is probably adjusting to the new bowl right now so he may be a tad quiet because of his new surroundings.
I think it would be a good idea to allow him to get stronger and healthier before changing his environment again. If you put him in an aquarium he may be too weak to go up to the top to breathe as usually aquariums are much deeper than betta tanks or bowls (depending on the size of the aquarium).
Give him a few weeks of rest in the bowl, lots of partial water changes, making sure the water stays warm enough for him, and feeding him nutritious foods. The bubbler should wait til he's good and strong as well, in my opinion, because he's already a weakened fish. As a matter of fact, I find that bubblers cool the water too much if there's no heater in the tank.
Kudos to your mom for caring enough to save a poor little betta.

Oh BTW: Your mom's friend being a smoker has nothing to do with the fishes health or his lack of fish knowledge!