Betta fish disease

Question
QUESTION: Dear Christy,

My Betta fish, Sofa, is 5 years old. (He's called Sofa, because he lives on the table...well next to our sofas.)

Recently, my betta fish is getting this one light/ gray spot near the gills, and his gills are kind of red too. He keeps opening up his gills really wide. There's this little hole on his pelvic fins. He also takes these big gulps. Is there something wrong? Please tell me as soon as possible.

ANSWER: Hi Tawny
Wow-you're betta is old!  Usually ones you buy at the pet store have a life expectancy of 1-3 years after buying them.  Bought from a breeder(which is better) usually 3-5 years.  

I've never confirmed this anywhere, just my opinion.  I have a few fish that have gotten to their "old age" point, and they seemed to start getting problems at that time, where as before there was never any problems with them.  I think that like people and pets like dogs and cats, they tend to start becoming more prone to illness when they get old.  Makes sense to me anyway....

You don't mention a tank or bowl size or how often you change the water.  It could all be a water quality issue.  The hole in the tail could be the start of fin rot. The gills could be from water quality-ammonia levels in the tank.  It could be gill disease, parasites are a possibility as well.  But, I don't think that's as likely if there's nothing new added to the tank and he's the only fish.  I would suggest increasing your water changes(amount and frequency depends on the size tank he's in and if it's filtered), a lot of times that works great for a lot of problems, especially the ones you mentioned.  You could also try a product called PimaFix.  It's an herbal antibacterial remedy that works good for the start of fin rot and other minor bacterial infections.  

Again, I think his age is probably a big factor in his problems.  Just try those above things I mentioned, and hopefully they'll help.  Good luck and let me know if you have more questions.

Christy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: He lives in a rather small cylinder bowl...kind of the size of a large peanut butter jar by himself and I change the water twice a week.

Should I change the water everyday now for a change?

Oh...and does Betta Water Conditioner work like PimaFix? Two years ago, I used Betta Water Conditioner when his tail got this hole too and he healed.

Answer
Hi Tawny
With that size container, you should really be changing out all the water at least every other day, or do 50% every day which would probably be less stressful on him, in case there's any ph differences.  Be sure to let him adjust to the new water as well.

I'm not familiar with Betta Water Conditioner, but usually products that are water conditioners are designed to remove chlorine from tap water.  First try just doing the increased water changes and see if that helps any.  If you don't notice improvement within a few days then try the PimaFix.  A lot of times just increasing the water quality is enough to kick start their immune systems and they can fight off diseases on their own.  Go ahead and keep using the water conditioner for the water changes as well.

Christy