My Betta Is Sick And I Dont Know What To Do.

Question
Hi Jaymie,

I have a little bright red betta named Flicker. For the last couple of months I've noticed he has not been eating at all. So I changed The Food but he still doesnt eat.He doesnt poop either. For the past month I've been noticing that he does no swim around and he has tight fins. Now, the fins are flaking away. A month ago I noticed that he had a little blotch of grey on his back. I went to the pet store where I bought him and he said it could be from a change in water temperature (stress).Now the grey on his back has grown and look like a fungus. I've been giving him a medicine recommended by the pet store clerk for 6 days now and nothing has changes. He is still not eating and he is getting weaker and weaker. I am very scared for him. He is a very aggressive and hyper fish that now just floats in the corner of the tank. What's wrong with him? What can I do? Please help me.

Answer
Mila,
The tight fins is what we called clamped fins. He needs to have a heater in his tank set at 80 degrees at all times. Make sure his tank is no smaller than 2.5 gallons. I believe the problem is due to not having a heater. The clamped fins are from stress and it sounds like he also has fin rot. If he has not been eating for that long, his chances of survival is slim. The first thing is to make sure he is in the right size home and that he has a heater. To help the fin rot add some aquarium salt to his water. The ratio is 1 teaspoon per 1 gallon of water. When you add the heater make sure you turn the temperature up slowly so you do not shock him. Hopefully it is not too late to help him.