Is my Betta Fish dying?

Question
Hi, I've had my Beta Fish for about a year and a half. Just recently I've noticed that his tank is very cloudy. I picked it up to examine it and at the bottom of his tank are all these little reddish-orange pellets. There must be at least 50 of them. I've been feeding him about 3 pellets of his food each day and everything seemed normal. Typically when his tank gets cloudy it just means I should clean it, but I've never seen those strange pellets before. What do I do?

Answer
Hi Gina,
You must change all of his water.  A betta should have his water changed completely if he is in a five gallon tank, cloudy or not, every week without fail with a good water conditioner.  He isn't dying, but from what you are telling me, he must not be eating his food.  Make sure he eats his food, and that it does not fall to the bottom of the tank.  His food may be outdated, check it to see.  When food, and waste fall to the bottom of a tank, they grow bigger, cause bacteria which is very dangerous for fish to get very sick.  Make sure your ammonia level is zero, nitrites zero, and nitrates safe at all times.  You must also vary his diet...Betta Pellets one day, Betta flakes the next, Daphnia the next, bloodworms the next, and he should have one cooked frozen pea once a week to clean out his system, and prevent Swim Bladder Disease.  Remove the outer layer of the pea once cooked, and cut it into tiny pieces.  Feed the pieces one at a time to your betta making sure they don't fall to the bottom of the tank.  On the day you give him the pea, give him nothing else to eat.  He should have 2/3 meals a day in small amounts.  Example: 2 pellets for one meal.  His tummy is the size of his eye, we must always remember this when feeding him.
A water change should solve the problem.
Lynda