Very sick betta

Question
I have a betta who is about a year old. I think he might have swim bladder disease but I'm not positive. He can't swim, and when he tries he ends up upside down. He usually just lays flat at the bottom of the bowl. I have kept the water level low because he has a hard time getting to the top for air and I keep a lamp near his bowl so that the water is warm. I've changed his water a couple times in the past 2 weeks.

I have tried everything from fasting him a few days, the pea trick, and an epsom salt bath. He is bloated so I thought he was constipated but nothing has worked. It has now been almost 2 weeks and he will not eat anything. His left eye has blown up like a balloon and he is always panting. I don't know what else to do! I can't stand to see him suffer like this, but I do not want to "euthanize" him. Help!!

Answer
Hi Christine,
Poor baby! I'm sorry to hear about your betta.

It sounds like you've done almost everything you can. He may have something you cannot help. Like a bacterial infection or maybe even a tumor that has developed inside. All you can do is try to make him as  comfortable as possible with keeping the water level low and his temperature warm and keep his water clean with daily small water changes at least. I wish there was something else I could tell you to do but there isn't much else. It's really sad.

You can read a really good article on swim bladder here-

http://flippersandfins.net/SwimbladderDisease.htm

Best wishes and I'm sorry again about your betta... :(

Karen~