Emergency Advice Needed!

[Wildbetta]

With those new pics -- the pic of the close up of his dorsal fin is nice.  His fins appear very healthy except for the ragged edges, broken rays(spines), and that one spot.  The ragged edges and broken rays(spines) could be explained with fin biting.  The spot however is still an oddity.  At this point, I would just observe it and see what happens with it.  It could be the start of a tumor or it could be something different.  I am pretty sure it is not fungus as true fungus is rare and it doesn't really appear fuzzy just off colored.  The white streaking in the anal fin is just coloring.  Bettas (especially ones with the marble gene) tend to change color sometimes very dramatically.  

New growth appears first as clear fin and the color starts to appear a little later.  The smokey area in question looks more like coloring than the melted look I am meaning.  I have included a pic of a betta with very advanced fin rot that is almost to the body in the dorsal fin.  If you look at the very top ray(spine) you will see what I am talking about when I think of a fin that is melting.  

As for your current situation, it is up to you which tank you want to put him in.  IMO he is not bad off so should be able to go back to his previous tank if you want.  However if you leave him in the 3 gallon, you will be able to monitor him for a while longer with a bit more ease.  If you keep him in the unfiltered 3 gallon, 50% water changes every other day would be perfectly fine.  Salt is one of those things that is up to each owner.  It is something that most of the show breeders keep in their tanks all the time to keep parasites like ICH and velvet at bay and to help keep fish with wounds from developing infections.  1 tablespoon of salt(not epsom) per 5 gallons of water is a very low dose but is sufficient for the purposes I listed. Some people do not believe in adding salt so you are going to get differing opinions on if you should or shouldn't keep it in the tank.  

As far as medication, I would give him no less than a 2 week break since he has been medicated with so many different things lately.  If his fins get way worse (like the betta in the pic I post) then more medication may be necessary but for now I don't see any reason to continue adding stuff that actually might make things worse by stressing him.
 

Just FYI water changes will not kill your betta.  100% water changes daily will also not kill your betta. 

*the betta in the pic is a crowntail which naturally has spiky fins so not all of this is fin rot damage.  Notice the dorsal fin with the "bare" rays and the anal fin.
 

 

[cowgirluntamed]

I agree with wildbetta. Nice, warm, clean water can do wonders for many fish. I just wanted to make a note on the aquarium salt. I had a couple of black neon tetras that looked like a fungus(columnaris) and no matter what I tried they weren't getting better. So I finally said heck with the meds and put in aquarium salt(I believe it was the 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons that wildbetta is suggesting.) It worked! Cleared it up and the stuff didn't come back. So it wouldn't hurt to try it. Then again..i had a bunch of male guppies that were losing their tails bit by bit and salt didn't help. But i think that was because when I wasn't watching that they were nipping each other too much. So, again, I don't think it would hurt to try the salt. It is a lot less stressful than the meds for sure. For better dosing of it you may want to move him back to the 5 gallon tank but I'm sure you could figure out how to dose him where he is. That's up to you. Hope this helps your decision!

(As for the myth of mud puddles..I've read a lot of the collectors do get them in smaller bodies of water. After all...in the DRY season when bigger bodies of water start to evaporate...the bettas get stuck in smaller areas and will often jump from puddle to puddle to get to a larger area....it is easier for them to be collected. What wildbetta said is true on their native habitat.)

 

[Chad]

 
 
 

The vast majority of the bacterial filtration is not in the water column but on substrate, filtration media, plants, etc. The bacteria in the water itself isn't enough to make a major difference. 
 
However, a 100% water change CAN cause issues in water parameters. If one is going to do a 100% change then it's important that pH and other parameters of the water being put in match that of the water that was removed.

 

[cooledwhip]

 

 

 
 

The vast majority of the bacterial filtration is not in the water column but on substrate, filtration media, plants, etc. The bacteria in the water itself isn't enough to make a major difference. 
 
However, a 100% water change CAN cause issues in water parameters. If one is going to do a 100% change then it's important that pH and other parameters of the water being put in match that of the water that was removed.
 


I know it's not in the water column. I found that out the hard way last year.

 

[Chad]

Just making sure. You made this statement which made it sound like you thought that was the case. 

STOP THE 100% WATER CHANGES. You are destroying the beneficial bacteria which removes the ammonia, and he most likely has AMMONIA POISONING, which destroys and eats fins.

 

[cooledwhip]

The bacteria is built up on the walls of the tank in this case. There is no filter. By doing 100% he risks killing the bacteria built on the walls.

 

[Wildbetta]

The bacteria is built up on the walls of the tank in this case. There is no filter. By doing 100% he risks killing the bacteria built on the walls.

In this particular case, the OP has the betta in an unfiltered hospital tank doing large(up to 100% water changes). In this case - the bacteria probably wouldn't have a chance to take a hold anyway.  Hospital tanks are best set up without a filter and maintained with larger water changes.   However even in a situation where it wasn't a hospital tank and bacteria had been able to take root on the walls -- draining the water for a 100% water change will not harm them unless the person wipes down the walls of the tank or rinses with hot tap water(although there have been cases where hot tap water has not done damage to an established filter when rinsed in this way so it may not even be an issue at all).

 

[Chad]

 

The bacteria is built up on the walls of the tank in this case. There is no filter. By doing 100% he risks killing the bacteria built on the walls.

... will not harm them unless the person wipes down the walls of the tank or rinses with hot tap water(although there have been cases where hot tap water has not done damage to an established filter when rinsed in this way so it may not even be an issue at all).
 

^This. 
I've done many deep water changes. Unless a person lets the tank go actually dry it won't be an issue. It's not really necessary to do a 100% change and like I said there are other good reasons not to, but bacteria isn't a reason to worry about.