help my phishie!

Question
i have a male betta phish (yes with a "ph") name spike:) i left to visit my dad for a few days and when i returned my poor spike was floating at the top of the water so i kept tapping on his bowl waiting for him to wake up like he normaly does. he didnt respond for like 30 seconds, and all he did was gulp air and go back down. i replace his water on sundays and we feed him phishie flakes. he has a whole gallon bowl. his tails look frayed-ish but only a little. his front fins at the bottom are white now :( his color is faded. :/ i dont know whats wrong. a week after i got him his color faded almost all the way away but i took great  care of him and his color came back. its happening again, accept he looks frayed (unlike last time). i suspect fin rot but im not sure :( please help me fix my phish! how do i save him!?  ><>

Answer
Hi Cheleseanne,
  I suggest you replace some of his water.  When you do a water change, you should not change all the water.  You should change only 25% at a time.  You can do it again the next day if necessary.  
  That said, a 1 gallon fish bowl is really not large enough for a betta. A fish like that should really be in a 10 gallon tank, or at least a 5 gallon tank, with a proper heater and filter.

-- Ron C.
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>