Young Female Betta, possibly sick

Question
Hi, I've had this female Betta for about three to four months now and in the last two weeks I've added a male Betta to the other side of a devidable tank - they can see one another but not actually get at each other.

I'm concerned because the female has started acting strangely for the last few days.  She can't seem to swim straight and tends to float near the top (she always seemed to like the surface better, so at first I didn't think it was a problem) but then she started to keel over as if she couldn't hold her body right in the water- her tail would be sideways.  She also seems to have trouble breathing.  She can't swim to the bottom easily either.  
The male on the other side seems fine, but the water can travel over through the bottom under the gravel.
I have two concerns about this- 1) what can I do for the female? and 2) will the male also get sick in the same water?

At this point I've prepared water to change the water asap in the hopes that maybe I just haven't changed the water often enough (though I changed it less than a week ago).

Can you help me?

Answer
Hello Beth-

If the female is swimming nose-down at an angle (not vertically) this is normal - she's just "flirting" with the male. But what you're describing sounds like a swim bladder problem. I would go ahead and change out most of the water (50-70%) and make sure to start increasing the temperature of the tank. Try for about 75-80 F. The second thing you can do is fast the female for 3 or 4 days, and start feeding her defrosted peas, squeezed out of the shells. This will help clean out her system, and relieve any pressure on her swim bladder. If the problem with your little girl is related to her swim bladder, then it will probably not affect the male. But, if you'd like to be safe, you can isolate them - It's hard to say if your boy will get sick without knowing what's causing the symptoms in your female.

Hope this is helpful, and I hope your little girl gets better soon!
-Amber Worman