Help My Poor Betta

[Federicolover]

HELP. I've had my fish, Federico, for exactly one year now. I first got him he didn't eat until I got the filter ,heater and a bubbler. Ever since he's been happy and healthy and eating. I feed him every two days (four pellets , betta flakes , and freezes dried blood worms. and that seems to work out for him ( trying to prevent over feeding ).He always comes up to me and wants to play with me and jumps out the water for his food. Recently I've been really busy with school and sports and I haven't had enough time to change his water and take care of him like I should. He went to weeks without him without water change. Before the water change he was barley swimming ( when he did swim it would be in a fats zigzag path hitting the walls) , wasn't interested in his food , hiding , he has red rust color around his gills , and his tail is like collapsed ( he won't fan out his fins) . I gave him a 100% water change ( I know you shouldn't do that) , went to the store and got him water conditioner , added a pinch of diluted Epsom salt , and covered his tank with a blanket ( to relive stress) . Its been a hour and he ate one pellet , and spit the rest out after I have them to him. He's still behind his heater , It may because he's cold ( I had my hand in the tank while I was fixing his filter and the water felt cold. Is there anything else I can do???
Overview :
Tank setup -
1.5 gallon tank
Rocks and fake plant
Filter
Air bubbler
Heater
Don't know ph or anything
Symptoms-
Not eating
Not swimming ( will stay at top not moving when he does move he will swim in a zig zag direction)
Not energetic
Hiding
he has red rust color around his gills
Tail is like collapsed ( he won't fan out his fins) .
Nearly colorless around face
Treatment:
100% water change
Water conditioner
A little epsom salt solution
Covered tank with blanket
Overall question - What is wrong with him and Is there anything else I can do to help him

 

[guppyguy1234]

http/i741.photobucket.com/albums/xx53/dylandysart1/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-03-22214449_zpsf2f0d45d.jpg
 
from what u have described he looks like this 
 
i will start by saying the tank is to small u need at least 2.5 gallon no less
heat the tank up a little more to 80-82F
what filter do you have in a small tank that must be very powerful 
 
What u should do
 
heat tank to 80-82F
do a water change 
get a 10 gallon http/www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/fish/fish/tropical-fish-tanks/love-fish-panorama-tank-40-litre-%28in-store%29
remove filter,replace with sponge filter or nuffin mine lived for 5 months unfiltered 
remove bubler not needed although it looks good ur betta doesnt need it and what he wants and what u want are different its his home

 

[Federicolover]

http/i741.photobucket.com/albums/xx53/dylandysart1/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-03-22214449_zpsf2f0d45d.jpg
 
from what u have described he looks like this 
 
i will start by saying the tank is to small u need at least 2.5 gallon no less
heat the tank up a little more to 80-82F
what filter do you have in a small tank that must be very powerful 
 
What u should do
 
heat tank to 80-82F
do a water change 
get a 10 gallon http/www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/fish/fish/tropical-fish-tanks/love-fish-panorama-tank-40-litre-(in-store)
remove filter,replace with sponge filter or nuffin mine lived for 5 months unfiltered 
remove bubler not needed although it looks good ur betta doesnt need it and what he wants and what u want are different its his home

Yes that's exactly what he looks like! Does he have a infection of some sort? I looked up symptoms of velvet and I suspect that's what he had , what do you think? I was looking into buying betta fix ( from eBay it won't get here until Friday it's now Tuesday) will that help? I'm actually saving up for a bigger tank , I just can't afford it right now. It's a 1-5 gallon filter the current isn't hard at all sometimes my fish will be directly under where the water flows out and won't be effected at all. Thanks for the sponge filter suggestion, but I haven't had the filter on in awhile because it was broken so I don't think that's the problem. I turned off the bubbler like you suggested

 

[nortonmad213]

ive just had velvet with my betta, i bought velvet control by king british, worked lovely

 

[Federicolover]

ive just had velvet with my betta, i bought velvet control by king british, worked lovely

How long did you use it until your betta was back to normal? How did you apply it? Do you think mine will be okay for the next week until the stuff I ordered get here? Thanks very much!

 

[nortonmad213]

2 weeks of blackout, (towel over the tank)
one dose of aquarium salt (think its something like 1 tspn per gallon) 
and used the meds one dose every other day as per instructions on the bottle. 
he's just seeing off the last of it now.

 

[Ninjouzata]

If the filter is broken and you havn't been doing water changes then he's likely suffering from poor water quality. You can get a 5 or 10g kit at Walmart for around $30.
You'd still need to get a heater though if the one you have is not suitable for those size tanks. Do you have a thermometer to tell the temperature of the water?
 
Don't use anything ending in fix on bettas (or any other anabantoid) as it messes with their labrynth organ.

 

[the_lock_man]

 

http/i741.photobucket.com/albums/xx53/dylandysart1/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-03-22214449_zpsf2f0d45d.jpg
 
from what u have described he looks like this 
 
i will start by saying the tank is to small u need at least 2.5 gallon no less
heat the tank up a little more to 80-82F
what filter do you have in a small tank that must be very powerful 
 
What u should do
 
heat tank to 80-82F
do a water change 
get a 10 gallon http/www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/fish/fish/tropical-fish-tanks/love-fish-panorama-tank-40-litre-(in-store)
remove filter,replace with sponge filter or nuffin mine lived for 5 months unfiltered 
remove bubler not needed although it looks good ur betta doesnt need it and what he wants and what u want are different its his home

Yes that's exactly what he looks like! Does he have a infection of some sort? I looked up symptoms of velvet and I suspect that's what he had , what do you think? I was looking into buying betta fix ( from eBay it won't get here until Friday it's now Tuesday) will that help? I'm actually saving up for a bigger tank , I just can't afford it right now. It's a 1-5 gallon filter the current isn't hard at all sometimes my fish will be directly under where the water flows out and won't be effected at all. Thanks for the sponge filter suggestion, but I haven't had the filter on in awhile because it was broken so I don't think that's the problem. I turned off the bubbler like you suggested
 

 
I agree with Ninjouzata, the problem is that you have not filtered the water. Please do not follow Guppyguy's advice, bettas need filters just like any other fish. They produce ammonia as part of their respiration, just like any other fish. Their faeces rots and produces ammonia, just like any other fish.
 
Add in the fact that you had not changed water for some time, due to your other commitments (we all have them ) and your fish has been suffering severe ammonia poisoning, which has led to the velvet as a secondary infection.
 
I strongly recommend that you get the filter sorted as soon as you possibly can, and in the meantime, you need to change the water every day, whilst you don't need to do 100%, something like 75% is necessary.

 

[Wildbetta]

In a tank of that size, you will need to be doing 100% water changes every day.  If the filter is running and fully cycled (which at the moment yours is not) you would still need to be doing around 50% water changes every day.  This size tank is extremely hard to heat and filter which really doesn't make it a good option for a betta.  
 
If you have a heater in the tank, do you have a thermometer in the tank as well to tell the temperature of the water?  You can not just trust the heater settings without a thermometer. The water needs to stay around 80F all the time for the fish to be its healthiest. Unstable temperatures tend to be one of the major factors in triggering cases of ICH or velvet.
 
In your situation, the first thing I would do is get a bigger home for your betta so you can heat it /filter it well.  If you can't afford a bigger tank, then using a storage tote (rubbermaid/steralite brand) of at least 5 gallons would work as well and are pretty cheap.  They can be picked up at places like Walmart for less than $10 normally.  Something like this would also work out better for you to medicate your fish since measuring out medication is best done in a volume of water that is at least 5 gallons.  
 
When treating for something like velvet, the tank needs to have the temperature raised to around 86F, the light blocked completely for around 2 weeks, and salt added to the water.  Medication can be used instead of salt although it is harder on the fish.  Any medication used to treat ICH should work against velvet.  Most of these medications contain copper so care must be taken to not overdose the tank and make sure and remove any/all invertebrates from the tank.  Copper will kill snails and shrimp.  Medications ending in the word "fix" like Melafix or Pimafix are not recommended for labyrinth fish like bettas since they contain tea tree oil and can hinder their ability to breathe.  Bettafix is a diluted version of Melafix but still not "safe" for bettas. 

 

[Federicolover]

http/i741.photobucket.com/albums/xx53/dylandysart1/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-03-22214449_zpsf2f0d45d.jpg
 
from what u have described he looks like this 
 
i will start by saying the tank is to small u need at least 2.5 gallon no less
heat the tank up a little more to 80-82F
what filter do you have in a small tank that must be very powerful 
 
What u should do
 
heat tank to 80-82F
do a water change 
get a 10 gallon http/www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/fish/fish/tropical-fish-tanks/love-fish-panorama-tank-40-litre-(in-store)
remove filter,replace with sponge filter or nuffin mine lived for 5 months unfiltered 
remove bubler not needed although it looks good ur betta doesnt need it and what he wants and what u want are different its his home

Yes that's exactly what he looks like! Does he have a infection of some sort? I looked up symptoms of velvet and I suspect that's what he had , what do you think? I was looking into buying betta fix ( from eBay it won't get here until Friday it's now Tuesday) will that help? I'm actually saving up for a bigger tank , I just can't afford it right now. It's a 1-5 gallon filter the current isn't hard at all sometimes my fish will be directly under where the water flows out and won't be effected at all. Thanks for the sponge filter suggestion, but I haven't had the filter on in awhile because it was broken so I don't think that's the problem. I turned off the bubbler like you suggested

 
I agree with Ninjouzata, the problem is that you have not filtered the water. Please do not follow Guppyguy's advice, bettas need filters just like any other fish. They produce ammonia as part of their respiration, just like any other fish. Their faeces rots and produces ammonia, just like any other fish.
 
Add in the fact that you had not changed water for some time, due to your other commitments (we all have them ) and your fish has been suffering severe ammonia poisoning, which has led to the velvet as a secondary infection.
 
I strongly recommend that you get the filter sorted as soon as you possibly can, and in the meantime, you need to change the water every day, whilst you don't need to do 100%, something like 75% is necessary. Thank you! I got the filter situation sorted out. I'll do a 75% water change when I get home. How else do I treat ammonia poisoning ?

 

[Wildbetta]

Ammonia poisoning is treated with really clean water so keeping the water really clean is the best thing for your fish at this moment.

 

[Federicolover]

Ammonia poisoning is treated with really clean water so keeping the water really clean is the best thing for your fish at this moment.

Do I treat him for velvet along with cleaning the water? Sooty for all the questions

 

[Wildbetta]

Do you have a picture of your fish so we can see if it is for sure velvet?  I am concerned your fish might not do well with a heavy medication treatment at this time.

 

[Federicolover]

Do you have a picture of your fish so we can see if it is for sure velvet?  I am concerned your fish might not do well with a heavy medication treatment at this time.

I has to post the picture on tumblr because I don't know how to work this site. Haha . Is it vevlet ?
http/kaleidoscopecleopatra.tumblr.com

 

[Federicolover]

Update: I covered this tank with a towel last night and took it off this afternoon and he was up and fairly active and most importantly he wanted food! I gave him a micro pellet and he ate it right away. I gave him a 75% water change and filled his water back up with conditioned water that had a little salt and epsom salt in it. I gave him two more pellets , alittle bit of betta flakes and blood worms. He seems pretty back to normal. This is a good sign!