my brkoen betta

Question
i went to the pet store last weekend to buy a betta and saw one there who had clearly been in a fight. he has no top fin, hardly any lower fin and a small, chewed up tail. what could i do? people buy bettas for teir beauty, no one else would have bought "buddy" so i took him home. i cannot get him to eat, i've tried pellets and live brine shrimp.  i put stress coat in the water but all he does is lay at the top mostly rolling over on his side, occasionaly swimming in a little frenzy if i walk in the room and he snaps out of his otherwise trance like state. please help me help buddy, his condition is breaking my heart!

Answer
Hi Shannon;

Poor guy! I'm so glad you were able to take him to your house. Hopefully he's still able to recover. Change his water every day and keep him in the warmest spot in your house that you can. Clean warm water will help boost his immunity and hopefully help him heal. Aquarium salt and BettaFix in every batch of new water will be helpful too.

Since he is floating at the top a lot he may have a problem with his swim bladder. Here is a good article about it with treatment options;

http://bettas.fishjunkies.com/Disorders/sbd.php

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins