Betta Fish Flaking and Acting STrangely

Question
Hi!

I bought a male Betta fish from Wal-Mart two weeks ago that was dying.   His tiny plastic tub had turned orange, his fins were rotting, and he had almost no color.  I attempted to diagnose him from the make-your-fish-healthier stuff at Wal-Mart, and treated him with fungus treatment stuff.  He is now in a bowl on my desk that holds about a gallon of water.  I feed him regularly, as instructured, and color has returned to his body.   However, it has been two weeks and he still has brown spots on his body and while his fins have perked up, they still have holes in parts.  What should I do now?   

Also, the last few days that I've returned home he's hardlymoved or swimmed at all.   He seems to just sit there, listless, unless I play music.  Does it aggrivate him to play music?   Should I get him a tank that makes bubbles?

Thank you for your time.   

C. Grace  

Answer
Hi Grace;

I'm so glad you could save him! It may take a while for his body to heal from the horrible conditions he once lived in. The holes in his fins may never actually close up if the edges are already healed. The good news is that the fins and tail will get longer again over time.

Bettas can be listless for a few reasons. Boredom, cool water, and toxins from waste are some possibilities. Move his bwol to a different area every so often if you can. Some new things to look at may help keep him more active. He can't actually "hear" music like we do but he will feel the vibrations. Unless it's exceptionally loud and maybe causes things to rattle in your house (yikes!), I don't think it aggravates him.

Temperature is a very important factor. Bettas are tropical fish and need their water to be 76f to 80f all the time. If your room temperature is cooler than that, his water probably is too unless you have a light on his tank. Get a thermometer to be sure where it is.

Bettas don't necessarily need a filtered tank. Just clean water. Change his water twice a week. This will keep it cleaner and help him heal faster. Hopefully the brown patches will fade over time as new tissue grows into the damaged areas from his traumatic experience at WalMart. So sad. I hope he leeps getting better and becomes 100% well very soon!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins