Bought Beta after had been in fight in store... Help!

Question

Nemo resting on his ha   Hello. I was in WalMart Sunday and was looking at the Beta fish. I noticed one bowl of water was filled to the top as the others were only half full. I also noticed 2 Betas in the bowl! I was shocked! A customer must have dumped on in with the other to watch them fight. I immediately went to an employee and asked him to separate them. He did. I assumed the fish with barely any fins left would die. Yesterday(Wednesday) I decided to look at the fish again, worried someone would have done the same cruel act again. To my amazement, the finless Beta was still there and alive. I could not leave him there; so I brought him home. He is currently in a half gallon tank ( I didn't want to go bigger in case he were to die). He is still alive 24 hours later, but sleeps most if the time up in the top corner of the tank. I named him Nemo because one if his side fins is so small and he has difficulty staying upright because if it. I put Melafix in the tank yesterday, and changed out 1/2 of the water today and added more Melafix. The tank has a leaf hammock and at times he lays on that to rest upright. I can see where his fins are beginning to regenerate; maybe a millimeter in length thus far. My biggest problem is that he will not eat, at all! What do you think his chances of survival are, and is there anything I can do differently for him? I hate that he has been through what he has and would like for him to get better and be another part of our family. I am doing my best to provide optimal care for him. If you have any suggestions, I would appreciate them! I so desperately want him to live. I wish now I would have taken him home with me on Sunday; but as I said, I assumed he was going to die. AND, if he lives, he will be put into a much bigger tank! Thanks for your help!!!

Answer
Holly,
The first thing is to stop using the Melafix. It is not good for them and can harm him even more. It will clog his gills, making it impossible to beathe and he will suffocate. Another reason I say to stop, is that Melafix is a medication for illness. Since he is not ill, there is no point in using it. The next thing is his water temperature. He has to be in water that is constantly between 80 and 82 degrees. To do this, you need an aquarium heater. Unfortunately, there is no heater for that size of tank. I would suggest getting him a 5 gallon tank. It does not have to be an aquarium made of glass. A lot of my tanks are plastic and they do just fine in them. They are much cheaper. The tank only has to have a heater, no filter is needed. Next, add some dissolved aquarium salt to his water. The ratio is 1 teaspoon of salt per 1 gallon of water. Salt does not evaporate, so make sure you do not add too much. He is being inactive for a couple of reasons. One mainly because his fins have been bitten off and because the tank water is not warm enough. Once the tank is larger, a heater has been added, and you add some aqaurium salt to his water, you will see a big change in him.