Beta Issues....

Question
Hello Britt.. I am having some Beta Fish issues at the moment... I just did a water change about an hour and a half ago... The water was the same temperature as their bowls... And I put some of the old water back in with the new.. I don't like doing full water changes with Betas but I didn't have a choice because the person who was supposed to be watching and caring for them forgot about them over the week that I was gone.... They are both in 1 quart drum aquariums and their water is kept at the same temperature as our house... Which varies, but this has never seemed to bother them before...  I haven't done any water readings but the water I use is spring water... Now that I have changed the water they are both at the tops of their tanks pointing straight up and not really moving.. I gave them both food to see if it would perk them up and it perked one up for a bit but not the other.. But now they are both just at the tops of their tanks... I am not sure if I should worry about this or not.. But it is kind of scaring me... I don't wanna loose my fishes!

Any help would be great!

Thank you so much

Kittie

Answer
Hello Kittie,
One quart is really much too small, especially going for one full week without changing water. You should either start doing water changes at least every three days, or get a larger bowl (one gallon or more is the smallest I EVER recommend).
Also, your fish are quite likely in shock from prolonged exposure to ammonia. They were sitting in a very small amount of water without being changed for a long time, then all of a sudden, had completely new water. It will take a while for their systems to recover.
Best of luck to your bettas.