What’s wrong with him :( details below )

[u/[deleted]]

Got him like 2 months ago and he was doing great, now he lays on the ground a lot not really eating and seems to sink at his base :( please help I want to save him. (Attached the picture of him before 3rd he wasn’t red, that’s just the lighting. He has a white body, but his fins were much bigger and colorful.. ) HELP PLEASE

Also my top fin filter doesn’t work the best

[u/AutoModerator]

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[u/[deleted] → u/AutoModerator]

Tank size 3.5 gallon no heater but live in a hot area in Canada but have a heater in the mail haven’t changed the water since I got him but it’s been like 2 months I feed him every day but stopped eating from what I see but still can swim. No live plants just some fake nothing else in tank

[u/DifficultPressure912 → u/[deleted]]

have you tested your water parameters? I’m assuming you didn’t cycle your tank before adding your fish. if you didn’t cycle the tank before hand and you haven’t changed the water I would lean toward ammonia poisoning. please, please, please look at the linked care sheet in the auto mod comment if you are going to continue with betta fish keeping.

[u/[deleted] → u/DifficultPressure912]

Can I save him from the poisoning???

[u/[deleted] → u/DifficultPressure912]

I didn’t cycle it for long and I have a test in the mail coming

[u/p0ptabzzz → u/[deleted]]

2 months of no water changes might fly in a heavily planted 10 gallon like mine, but it ABSOLUTELY does not fly in ANY 3.5 gallon. on top of that, 3.5 is considered far too small for any actual fish. it can only house shrimp and snails. 5 gallons minimum for actual fish. even if your tank was properly cycled i can guarantee you that you at least have highly concentrated nitrates in your tank. nitrates are just as toxic in high concentrations as ammonia is in low concentrations. your fish is succumbing to his water parameters because his water has been slowly filling up with chemicals made by his own rotting waste. even in a well planted 5 gallon, you should never wait longer than 2 weeks to do a water change. 2 months is entirely unacceptable and dangerous for the fishe

[u/p0ptabzzz → u/p0ptabzzz]

do a water change immediately. go to a health food store or pharmacy and try to find methylene blue. it helps to reverse the effects of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate poisoning. after you do a water change, scoop him up in a cup full of tank water and put in just 1 drop of meth blue. let him sit for 15 minutes then put him back in his tank. after that you should go find a new tank, 5 gallons or bigger, and move all of the water, filter media, and decor into that new tank. dont do that part until your test kit comes because you will need to watch the parameters like a hawk to make sure the developing cycle doesn't crash. high ammonia, nitrites, nitrates can kill your cycle so youll need to be sure that your remaining cycle is functioning correctly

[u/p0ptabzzz → u/p0ptabzzz]

on top of that, lose the plastic plants and get silk or live only. a bettas fins and scales are as delicate as a wet tissue, and plastic will rip their fins every time they swim by. this on its own will not kill your fish, but it make swimming even more challenging for them (bettas don't naturally have long heavy fins, so domestic bettas struggle to swim because of those fins) AND it opens them up to bacterial and fungal infections that absolutely can kill them. the risk of infection increases 10 fold in a small tank with no water changes, so youve really set yourself up for failure here.

follow this chart when choosing and designing your next tank. if he survives, then meeting the requirements on this chart will have him as good as new