Betta Fish Sick?

Question
Hi! I have a male Betta which I have had for approximately 2  years now
bought from a pet store and he is currently living in a 7 inch wide and 6 inch
tall bowl that I have had for about a year now. I've got rocks and a fake plant.
His tail is seemingly 'shredding' at the tip as well as his fin underneath the
stomach. After changing the water with fresh warmer water, he seems to be
happier when compared to his behaviors when the water is a day old and
cooler than what it once was. It is sitting in my dorm room next to my
computer monitor. Are the Betta's fins supposed to spread out or stay folded
onto itself. I feed the fish pellets because that's the only thing he will eat. I
feed the guy twice a day of 4-5 pellets. He also seems to be hanging at the
top of the bowl a lot more than usual in a strange angle. His nose is at the
surface of the water while the tail is towards the bottom in a near vertical
angle. Any ideas on if this is normal or not?

Answer
Hi Marcus;

It sounds like finrot. He may be suffering from temperature shock too. Change his water at least once a week but be sure the new water is the same temperature as what he is used to. Putting him in warmer water may seem like a good thing, but fish don't tolerate such abrupt temperature changes very well. He's an older guy now too so he will not be as tolerant of such things as he once was. It's best to just keep his tank in a very warm place so the temperature is consistently warm. Here is a good article about finrot with treatment options;

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/finrot.htm

I hope he feels better soon....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins