My Betta, Bowie.

Question
QUESTION: Hello! I've been checking out the questions to other experts and just couldn't find the answer to the problems with my little guy.

I've had Bowie only for a few days and I have a terrible track record with fish - I usually stick to cats. So Bowie and I were doing well. He was active and funny and kept me quite entertained...until this morning. He looked sickly and slow, floating sullenly at the bottom of his bowl. He looked flakey, so i scooped him into a little cup and cleaned out his bowl really well. I added the water conditioner, matched the temps, and put him back in. He survived the day, but now he chooses to perch himself on a leaf of the plan at the top of his bowl moving very little other than his gills. I saw the note in someone's response about Maracide, but is that something I should be wary of even after 4 days? I really like the little guy and would prefer not to flush him! Help!

ANSWER: Hi Tammy,
Don't run for the toilet just yet. Most illnesses in fish stem from poor water quality. Get him a larger bowl with some sort of decoration to hide in, clean his bowl at least once or twice a week, and start using aquarium salt.
You can also go to almost any pet store and get free water testing. They can tell you what's up with your water and possibly explain why your fish is not feeling his best.

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

QUESTION: Thanks for the speedy response!

Would it be helpful to use some bottled water instead of cleansing tap? At this point in the evening, I would rather go out and get some bottled water to change his tank tonight rather than waiting out until tomorrow to see whether or not he survives the night...

And I guess my other question would be, what is aquarium salt? I'm sure I can find out more when I get to the pet store, but just for the meantime, I'd love to know!

Answer
Hello again Tammy,
The only way you could use bottle water was if you were sure it had all the minerals and none of the chlorine there is in tap water. Since most bottled water is very similar to tap water, you may still want to use a conditioner. Tap water will be easier and cheaper, but if you don't have any dechlorinator and he must have new water tonight, then do a small water change instead of dumping out all his water.
Aquarium salt is just that- salt. The water that they live in in the wild has much more salt in it than our tap water, and aquarium salt is simply a way to replace it. In the long run it will add more slime coats to your fish, add electrolytes to the water, and promote healthy gill function. So it is really good for your fish, even though they are freshwater - because it is not marine salt. I had no idea that there were so many kinds of salt, but there are. Just make sure when you get it that it says "Aquarium salt" or "Conditioning salt."