Follow -UP :My poor Betta

Question
QUESTION: My betta had been previously treated with Melafix due to an  injury he sustained after being trapped in his house. In his  attempt to get out of his house, he scraped his back. I called API and talked to someone in their lab.  I was advised to use Melafix for 7 days and to continue treatment until healed. I did a water change after the 7th day, and  continued treatment until the open sore is completely healed which took about 11 days. On the 12th day, he was put back into his usual tank. Before putting him back into his 2 1/2 gallon tank, I made sure he was climatized. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd day in his usual home, he was eating fine. I feed him Betta Gold. As per instruction, he is given 4-5 pellets 2x a day. On the 4th day, he became disinterested with the pellets.... Did not come up to the surface to be fed, remained  in the bottom of the tank for very long periods, while other times stayed on the surface with his mouth up in the air for a good 10 minutes.  He remained sluggish and somewhat tipped over on to one side when attempting to swim. I say "attempting to swim", because, he seemed to have shown some difficulty in doing so. He also tend to bump into the wall of the tank while finding his way, and is visibly bloated. I therefore suspected swim bladder. The only medication I thought that would help would be Fungus Clear. I started him on that the other day. Today will be his 3rd day of treatment. Being that he is in a 1 gallon hospital tank, I can not keep the temperature within an ideal range... say, in the high 70's (76-78 degrees). I have a portable heater in the spare room where his tank is located, and the temperature is at a constant 74 degrees. The switch to increase the temperature of the heater to the desired level is at it's highest. I have seen a slight improvement. He ate 3 very small pieces of peas today, he is swimming more, but continues to remain in the bottom. I did a research on Melafix, and that was a wrong choice of treatment for Labyrinth Fishes such as the Bettas. I had not added Aqua salt in the fish tank, because according to one of my researches, it could be too stressful for the ailing betta. Just so you are aware, I have an airstone in the tank to aerate the tank while on treatment. Please make any further suggestions necessary to expidate his recovery. I thank you very much in advance.

ANSWER: Hello,
Melafix can kill a betta, you were lucky he survived.  Bettafix is a better choice.  Melafix is basically the same medication as Bettafix, but in a much stronger dosage.  If you ever use melafix again, reduce the dose to half.
Never medicate a betta when you don't know what is wrong with him.  Not using the right medication is worse than no medication at all.  Change all of the water in his 2/1/2 gallon tank using a good conditioner such as stress coat, or aquaplus.  Bring the temperature up slowly to 80 if you can...but do this very slowly.  Bring it up one degree every 2 days, as bringing up the temperature to quickly can be deadly.  Let him be for 2 days.  He has been in too much medication.  
Never feed him 4-5 pellets at the same time.  A betta should be fed 2-3 times a day in small amounts.  Example:  2 pellets, or 2 flakes for one meal.  His tummy is the size of his eye, and we must always remember this when feeding him.  He should have a varied diet.  Daphnia, is one food he must have.  Daphnia helps with his digestive system, and constipation.  He should also have bloodworms once a week, and plankton flakes.  The more you vary, the healthier he will be.
Let him be in clean water, and remove the air stone.  Write back to me in two days if his condition does not improve.  Do not feed him anything else but one pea with the outer layer removed.
Let me know how he is doing or if his condition worsens.
Lynda

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I would like to thank you for your early response. I did an extensive research on Betta care before I wrote you the first time. The Do's and Dont's does not differ from what I already know : such as how much to feed and how often, etc. You have very good points, and I will stick to it.You said he has been in too much medication. Being said, I should not proceed with Bettafix. Instead I should go ahead and change all the water in his 2 1/2 gallon tank, use a conditioner( which is done with every water change#, no medication, and feed only peas. In as much as I wanted to increase the temperature of the water, I can't. The TETRA brand thermometer claims theirs to maintain water temperature at 78 #+/-) 2 degrees. In my case always at 76 degrees. Unfortunately, it does not allow me to adjust the heat. Diagnosing any fish based on their clinical signs is always a difficult, and can never be sure. However I may be right about the swim bladder. How long do you think this could last, if it is in fact a swim bladder disorder? Thanks again, Linda.

Answer
Hi Zeny,
Keep him in 76 degrees, and make sure when you change his water that the temperature is exactly the same.  If you see that he did not waste, and that his tummy is still swollen, then you will have to treat him again, but wait one more day.  His tummy is just below his chin.  Do another water change, and if he is still struggling tomorrow, then you will have to treat him with Tetracycline, or Furan 2.  Kanamycin is very good for swim bladder disease, but sometimes very hard to find.  I would hope that by tomorrow he would have wasted, if not then you will have no choice but to treat the little guy.  It's so sad when we see them like this.
Swim Bladder Disease may lead to Dropsy.  Dropsy is very difficult to cure, if not impossible, so by tomorrow, if you see no change in his behavior, then you have no choice but to treat him again.  Bettafix will not help SBD.  Treat him with one of the medications mentioned above, and be careful not to overdose.  Continue doing water changes every 2-3 days, and continue treatment for 7 days.  Keep me posted on how he is doing.  I hope the little guy pulls through.
Lynda