My Beta is dieing .. Help !

Question
I have owned my beta for about 3 months now, and im not sure how old he was when he was bought (i received him as a gift). He gets his water changed about every four-five days, and is fed 3-5 beta pebbles. For the last 5 days he has been hovering near the top of the tank, releasing bubbles from his mouth, and when go to touch him and i do feel him he doesn't even move .. which is very weird for him; usually when i open the led to his tank he hides in his tree.  I'm not sure if he is sick, or if he has too big of an aquarium ( about 100 sq. cm) ... please help me... i don't want him to die. Oh and when i changed his water yesterday, in the water that i was holding him in while i washed his rocks, there was a small fin from under his upper body left after he was back in his tank !!!
Thanks Chris  

Answer
Hi Lindsay;

Try getting his tank to a warmer place. Bettas get very lethargic and sick if they aren't warm enough. He needs to be 78 to 80 degrees fahrenheit all the time. You may have to put a lamp close to his tank to help raise it up. Don't worry about the tank size. It isn't too large. The bigger the better really.

He may need a product called "Melafix" to heal his fins. It helps prevent infection and soothes damaged skin too. Hopefully your local fish store has it. The warmer temperature and natural ingredients in melafix should help him greatly.

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At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

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