Is my Beta sick!?

Question
I have a beta named Duce Bigalow Fish Jigalow or Duce for short. I hate
leaving him alone even if for a weekend so he would always be with a girl,
whether it was my sister or me or one of my girlfriends so I named him Duce
after the movie. Anyway, I got Duce a year ago in October. A friend bought
him for me from Walmart. He was very skinny but is now bright blue/green
and big but he doesn't swim and he's stopped eating but he's not getting any
skinner or fatter. I will put food in his bowl and he just stays there. He always
floats at the top of the bowl. I rarely see him swim, even if i put my finger in
the water or shake the bowl a little to try and get a reaction out of him.
Several times I've thought he was dead! I check him about once every two
week to make sure he doesn't have pop eye, velvet, or fish rot. He's not
bloated or anything but I don't understand why he won't eat that much and
why he doesn't swim. I have just a regular fish bowl and rocks. Does he need
a bigger tank? I just changed his water today and he swam around for a little
bit. It was at room temperature and I have always used the water conditioner,
never just straight tap water. Is he depressed?! Does he need a mate or a
plant?  I had a beta before named Stanley and he used to make tons of
bubbles, Duce hardly makes any at all! Please help. I'm very attached to my
fish and i'm starting to get worried! I'd like to see him swimming and happy!
Thank you!!

Anne

Answer
Hello Anne-

Sounds like Duce is suffering from cold water. Now that it's summer and people are running their air conditioners, I get a lot of emails from people wondering why their betta has stopped moving. Bettas are tropical fish and need heaters or lamps so that their water is at least 80 F. Even if your house is 75 F, standing water can be up to 6 degrees colder than the air temperature. When a betta gets cold, he stops moving and usually ignores his surroundings.

So, try getting a lamp to warm the water or a small heater to put in his bowl. Some Melafix will also help to perk him up. Cleaning his water every four days will also help keep him happy an healthy.

Hope this helps,
Amber Worman