Whats wrong with my betta fish? Please help me!?

Question

(I posted this question 5 mins. ago and got a strange error and had to delete and repost it!)

He sits at the bottom of his bowl all day, doesn't eat, occasionally moves, his stomach looks bloated like he's overeaten, and only the scales around his belly are very slightly raised. He is very lethargic and sometimes when he does swim and stops mid way he seems to float upward a little involuntarily. He's a crowntail but his fins seem a bit more stringy and his color looks muted. Lately he stays at the bottom of the bowl more often.

If anyone knows whats wrong with him and how to treat him please help me! I'm going off to college in three weeks and it breaks my heart to see him this way. I really wanted to bring him with me if its possible.

side note: I regularly feed him every day (like 3 +/-food pellets but if he gets bloated, which he normally doesn't, I usually wait a day or two for the next feeding) and clean his tank every week plus 20% water change in the middle of the week. He's about 9 mo. old I believe but I don't know how long he was in the pet store for so he could be a year old.

Answer 1

he needs a heated 2.5+ gallon tank not a bowl

does he have a heater

Answer 2

Crowntails are so cool!!! Anyway, bloated belly combined with raised scales are classical symptoms of dropsy and unfortunately there is no cure for real dropsy and the betta will usually live for about a week before it dies but this is just the usual case. It is contagious so you should isolate him if he is with other fishes. If it is dropsy, I am very sorry. If your betta only has a bloated belly and the raised scale is not really raised scale, then he may have swim bladder problem and will most likely live. Swim bladder problem will cause the betta to float upwards or lean sideways. Because it is hard to swim, the betta will usually just stay still and not move. Cause of swim bladder problem can be constipation or bacteria infection with the former case being more common. For bacteria infection, you would want to treat him with antibiotic. If the problem is constipation, you can try feeding him thawed pea cut into little pieces. You can also starve him for a couple of days and watch for bowel movement. Usually the betta will get better by himself.