Possible sick betta fish

Question
I have had a male betta fish for almost 6 months.  I keep it in a 1 gallon fish bowl with gravel and distilled bottle water.  I feed him
Tetra BettaMin Tropical Medley once daily (3-5 flakes).  This past week he stopped eating and
has become inactive, mostly hanging out at the bottom of the tank.  He sometimes is tilted sideways on the bottom.  I live in a cold climate and do not have a heater for the water.  Is this a major problem since the house is kept around 70 degrees and therefore the water temperature is not above 70?   Thank you.

Answer
Hi Kristin;

He does need to be warmer. Get a desk lamp on his bowl to help warm it up slowly. He needs a minimum of 75 degrees fahrenheit, and can have it up to 82. Get an aquarium thermometer to put in there and monitor it. Move the lamp away a bit if it gets too warm, or closer (without touching the glass) if it doesn't go up high enough.

It would be much healthier to use something other than distilled water for him. Even bottled spring water would be fine. Or, just use tap water and add a water conditioner. Water conditioner should be used to help with stress anyway. Distilled water lacks minerals that fish need. More info about it can be found here;

http://www.healthybetta.com/articles/original/dvst.html

If warming him up doesn't help him get off the bottom he may have a swim bladder malfunction related to the cold or from having the same food all the time. Here is more info about that too;

http://groups.msn.com/TheBettaObsession/illnessamptreatmentpart2.msnw

I hope he feels better soon....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins