My Male Betta Fish

Question
A week ago I knew absolutely nothing about fish. I've never had one as a pet or knew anything about them. At first, he was a normal acting. He's in a 3 gallon cylindrical tank and at first, he just had a few dragon tears at the bottom (which i thought was normal). I looked up almost everything I wanted to know and learned a little bit, I didn't know taking care of a fish was such a delicate task. Well, my boyfriend and his brother decided to put all of the plants and aquarium gravel that I had bought in the tank while I was at work. I was planning on reading about how to do it when I got home. The problem is, we have well water at our house and it's not the best tasting. None of us knew about water conditioner or pH. So they just put the fish straight into the tank full of well water, no conditioner or anything. I didn't know this was wrong until he started getting bloated and discolored(whitish) around his head and gills. So I looked up about bloating and it said it was probably due to overfeeding. So I stopped feeding him for two days and the fungus seemed to be getting worse and the bloating stayed the same. So I researched b/c I knew something wasn't right and found out he probably needed his water treated. First thing today I got him some Jungle fungus eliminator and used that, then a couple hours later I learned on YouTube, how to properly add water conditioner and took out 20% of the water and dumped it. Then, took the same amount of bottled water and added 4 drops of water conditioner. After that I slowly added the conditioned water back to the tank. In minutes his color started coming back and bloating went down. So I gave him 1 pellet, and his bloating started again really bad. Remember, I barely know anything about fish. He's usually a purple color and after i fed him 1 pellet, he started getting pale again. He doesn't have a hard time swimming at all and is acting normal except for his gills started opening up really wide and the fungus looking stuff around his gills. What do you think the problem could be b/c I'm scared he's just going to die? Also, the pH level was a 7.6 before we did any treatment and now it's normal but he just looks different than when we first got him. If you can give me any information, that would be great.

Answer
Hi Sarah,
Bettas should be kept in 5 gallon tanks, and their water should be around 80-82 degrees. They are tropical fish, and are cold under this water temperature.  When bringing home a betta, we put the betta in the same temperature he came in.  Then we heat his water slowly, very very slowly, ONE degree every two days, as bringing up their temperature too fast could cause death.  They need a thermostat (Heater) to heat their water.  An adjustable one is best.  Adding a teaspoon of undiluted aquarium salt to his water helps with stress, and parasites.  (One teaspoon to five gallons of water)  In his habitat the betta may live in shallow waters, but he has lots of room to swim.  Small tanks, bowls, vases, and mirrored tanks are all money making machines, and not suited for the betta.  Vendors do not care, as long as they sell.  Bettas kept in small containers will get sick, and their lives are cut short.  They are intelligent little beings, and should not be treated this way.  Unfortunately, their are no laws to protect fish, and not much good information on how the betta should be kept.
Bettas should have varied diets.  Betta Pellets, Betta Flakes, Bloodworms, Glassworms, Plankton Flakes, brine shrimp, and one frozen pea a week.  One day you feed him pellets the next flakes, and so on.  He must be fed in small quantities 2-3 times a day.  Example:  2 pellets for one meal, or 2 flakes for one meal.  Their tummy is the size of his eye, and we must always remember this when feeding them.  One cooked frozen pea a week is a must.  Cook the pea, remove the outer layer, and cut it into tiny pieces.  Feed the pieces one at a time to your betta making sure he eats it, and that it doesn't fall to the bottom of the tank.  On the day you feed him the pea, feed him nothing else.  This is so he can clean out his system, and avoid Swim Bladder Disease.
 The Betta is prone to this disease which begins with constipation, so it is better to avoid it.

Your betta has fungus, and should be treated with "Tetracycline."  Follow the directions on the package, and be careful not to overdose.  
The betta's water should be changed completely once a week if he is in a 5 gallon tank, and twice a week in a smaller tank.  Always use a good water conditione such as Stress Coat, or Aquaplus when changing the water.
Avoid using chemicals for the Ph.  These never work, and will do more harm than good.  If your PH is too high, adding driftwood to his tank will help bring it down naturally.
For now, buy a heater, bring up the temperature slowly to 82 degrees, (remember, one degree every two days)  add diluted aquarium salt, and the medication.  In three days, change all of his water again, making sure you clean his tank well, and fill the tank with the same temperature he was in, using hot, and cold water.  You will need a thermometer that you find at the pet store or Walmart.  Continue treating him for another three days.  Change all of his water again, and he should be rid of the fungus.
He is bloated because you did not condition him the right way.  This is not Swim Bladder Disease.  His organs could be hurt since you didn't acclimate him well.  It would be like if I pushed you into cold water...the same is for fish, you must handle them with care.  This is not your fault, but fault on the vendor who did not give you good advice.

I hope this information helps, and if you have any other questions regarding your little friend please do not hesitate to write me.
I hope the little guy pulls through.
Lynda