help! my phishie is sick!

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
Chelseanne,

   Yes your phish has fin rot. There's a variety of very effective fin and tail rot medications such as Maracyn, Maracyn-Two, Maracyn Plus Antibacteria and Tetracycline. Just follow the directions on the bottle and your Betta will be back to good health but won't stay healthy unless you do the following.

1. GET HIM A BIGGER TANK !!!! He cannot live healthy in a 1 gallon bowel. If he continues to live in that bowl, you will continue to have problems. Put him in NOTHING less that a 2 and 1/2 gallon TANK. NOT A BOWL. All 11 of my Betta adults are in either 2.5 gallon or 5 gallon tanks.

2. HE HAS TO HAVE A HEATER: If his temp is less than 82 degrees he will become lethargic meaning he will NOT swim, he will NOT eat, he will NOT be healthy.

3. You have to do 25% water changes at least once a week if not more. Because he does not require a filter, you have to keep his water clean AT ALL TIMES. DO NOT forget to add an anti chlorine conditioner BEFORE you add the water to his tank. The reason why he is gulping at the water line is because his water is killing him. DO NOT REPLACE 100% of his water every week. You are taking out the bacteria that he actually needs. You can replace 100% of his water once a month, but do not clean his gravel completely.

4. He needs plants, either live or fake, in his tank.

5. Betta food: he needs not only Betta flakes but also pellets, frozen and freeze dried blood worms and brine shrimp, and if you can harvest mosquito larvae that would be good too.

If you do all of the above you will have a very happy and healthy Betta phish for 3 to 5 years.

I hope this helps.