Apollo is sick

Question
Hey so I have a great little fish named Apollo he's a Beta,
and I've had him for almost 6 months now. When i got him,
he always swam all over the place and ate, and seemed like
a happy fish. Now he just seems to sit at the bottom of his
tank, near his 3 big rocks in the corner. When i feed him
he'll swim to the top of the take but, it's almost as if he
can't get there. It takes him a try or two to get there,
and when he gets there he can't stay there for long without
tipping backwards. Any suggestions?...I want Apollo to feel
better... Thanks in advance, Kait

Answer
Hi Kait,
Apollo seems to have Swim Bladder Disease.  This disease is caused by overeating, and poor diet.  He is constipated, and must waste. Cook a frozen pea, and remove the outer layer.  Cut it into small pieces, and feed the pieces one at a time to your betta, making sure the pieces don't fall to the bottom of his tank.   Feed him nothing else for 2 days.  If he does not waste you will have to treat him with an antibiotic.  Kanamycin is very good for SBD if you can find it.  If not treat him with Tetracycline, or Furan 2.
Here is some information on Betta's that you might find interesting:

Bettas need 5 gallons of water or more to be healthy, and happy.
In their habitat the betta may live in shallow waters, but they have lots of room to swim.  
Keeping Bettas in small bowls, containers, vases, mirror tanks, etc. is cruel.  The Betta is one of the most mistreated fish on the market.
They need a heated tank.  Temperature should be 78-80 degrees.  They are tropical fish, and are cold under this temperature.  Cold bettas get sick, are miserable, and live unhappy lives. ( Always remember  when heating a tank, do this very very slowly.. (one) degree every two days, as bringing up the temperature too fast would be deadly to your Betta.)  Put your Betta in the same degree water he/she is in now, and bring the temperature up very very slowly.   The temperature should always be stable.  Fluctuating temperature is very bad for bettas, and any other fish.  
They should have a silk plant in their tanks, so that they can rest on the leaves.  They also need a little tunnel or some knick knack that they can go through.   One teaspoon to five gallons of diluted aquarium salt may be added to her water.  
Aquarium salt helps them with stress, and helps with parasites.  However if a Betta is showing signs of a swollen tummy, Swim Bladder Disease, salt should not be used.  
They need a varied diet. This is very important.  Betta pellets one day, Betta Flakes the next, Daphnia the next, and bloodworms should be given once a week as a treat.
She should be given one frozen cooked pea a week, and on the day you give him/ her the pea, they should fast.    
A betta is prone to constipation, and constipation leads to Swim Bladder Disease.  A cooked frozen cooked pea a week keeps them from getting constipated.  Always remove the outer layer of the pea, and cut it into small pieces feeding it to your betta one piece at a time.
They should have 2-3 small meals a day, and not one big meal.  We must remember that their tummy is the size of their eye.
Example:  2 pellets for one meal.
Water changes are very important.  Water changes must be made every week without fail with a good water conditioner such as Aqua Safe or Stress Coat.  There is also a conditioner made especially for bettas.  If you do not have a filter, change all the water in his tank weekly.  Bettas do better without filters in 5 gallon tanks.
Never put two bettas in the same tank, they will kill each other...male or female.  The Betta male is a loner.  Females can be kept together in a big enough tank, but they are also aggressive towards each other, and the tank should be at least 30 gallons with many hiding places.  I have yet to see female bettas getting along, although some people insist that they do.  
When treated well, a betta can live up to 8 years, if you buy him/her when she is very young.  (Unfortunately we do not know their age when we buy them at the Pet Store which is why some bettas die two or three years after we have bought them.)  
They are intelligent little fish, and should be treated with kindness.  
Too many vendors know nothing about the betta, and don't care...so don't give good information on how to keep them.
They are there to sell, and will say anything just to make a buck.  They send you home with your bought betta, telling you a small bowl is perfect, and bloodworms!  The poor customer thinks he/she has everything he/she needs, and then the fish gets sick, money is spent to cure them, and eventually the fish dies.   
This turns my stomach over.  Unfortunately there are no laws to protect fish.  
Bettas kept in small bowls, one gallon tanks, and vases, will get sick, and are very hard to cure in such little water.  They end up dying, and
this hurts the person who has grown so attached to them.  They don't deserve to be treated this way.
This is how a Betta should be treated.  If treated this way, you will have your friend for a long long time.  I breed them, love them, and know what is good for them.
If you have anymore questions, do not hesitate to write me.  

Lynda