I cant figure out what is wrong with my beta

Question
About 4-5 days ago, I noticed two small paralell lines on both sides of my beta's gills.  The best way to describe it is that they sortof looked pinkies/red like open wounds.  However, I didn't think he had open wounds on both sides of his body that were identical and he was not bleeding.  He is the only fish i n the tank so he could not have been attacked.  I did change tanks and ornaments about 2 days prior, however I cleaned the new tank and ornaments prior to putting them in the water.  The water I use is bottled water (gallon jugs from Walmart), not tap water.  At that point he was still swimming and eatting just fine.  I kept a watch on it and it began getting worse.  I asked around and people suggested early ammonia posioning.  Tuesday night I was watching him and he began rubbing himself against the ground, side walls, and ornaments. I had read online that this usually meant parasites.  So that night I ran out to Walmart and got pH balancing tabs and parasite balancing tabs.  I put the proper amount (1/4 tab for the 2.5 gallan tank) in the water.  At that point in time he was laying on the bottom of the tank.  Since that point he has been swimming around more, the rubbing has mostly disappeared, however, his gills are looking worse.  Thursday night I replaced 25% of the water and put in a second 1/4 cube (as per directions on box).  He gliss no longer look like open sores, but instead are red and some white and very hard to describe (but sortof puffy scales).  He has not been eatting well.  He ususally swims to the top of the tank and eats all the food, but lately he has been only eatting maybe 1 pellet, maybe.  He is still swimming around fine.  I have no idea what is wrong with him.  His gills seem to be getting worse and I have already treated for parasites and pH and do not want to just keep trying medication.  Thanks for any insight you can give me.

Answer
Hi Stephanie;

I really don't think he has parasites. If there are any areas on him that look like cotton he may have fungus. If they are red, it is probably a bacterial infection. There are fungus remedies and antibiotics available at your local fish store. WalMart has some too. Just find one that treats those symptoms your fish is showing. Sometimes fish have both fungus and bacteria infecting them. If so, use both types of remedies at once as long as the products don't tell you they aren't compatible.

Ammonia comes from decaying organic matter such as food and waste. If any of the food he has not eaten is still in the tank, it will definitely make ammonia in there and cause itching as well as irritated gills and lead to infection. Keep changing water and getting rid of any old food and waste that could be lurking in there. Daily if needed. Use a water conditioner but don't use any more of the 'pH balancer'. A stable pH is what fish really need, not a certain balance of pH. Using products such as these can cause the fish a great deal of stress if the pH is altered too drastically from what the fish was used to already.

His tank may need a warmer spot to help him recover. If the room temperature has been lower than 76f, his tank water will be too. You could also put a light on him to help raise the temperature. It should be 78f to 82f while he is sick.

I hope he feels better soon....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins