Diagnosis, please? :(
Hey guys. I'm hoping for a hand diagnosing my little dude. I've had him for about half a year. 10 days ago, I woke up to find that he couldn't swim. He was wobbling all over the place, would sink to the bottom of the tank as soon as he stopped trying, and would fall on his side. He was very listless and struggled to get to the top of the tank for air. The first thing that I did, before anything else, was to give him a 100% water change and lower his water so that he could reach the top easier.
I took photos of him (on my phone, and it's not a super swanky funtime phone, so I don't know how to get them onto here) and took the photos into the pet shop that I got him from. The owner said that he looks fine, physically, and shows no signs of fungus or external bacteria. She said the symptoms I explained sounded like swim bladder disease, and suggested fasting him for two days, and then feeding him a boiled pea. I went home and looked that method up online to see if it was widely-known. And then I did.
Aside from him being cranky at me for not giving him any food for two days, he showed no change, so I went back to the pet store. She then suggested that swim bladder disease can sometimes be bacterial, and gave me Melafix to treat him. It's now the seventh day (the bottle says to stop treatment after seven days), and he's only shown partial improvement. His mood has improved and he has all of his old energy back. He can swim to the top with ease (so I've put the water level back up). However, he's still having to exert himself more than usual, and he still sinks to the bottom - he's just not falling on his side when he does.
What could be wrong with my guy? Have I somehow damaged his swim bladder permanently?
Tank info:
1.5 gallon round bowl, no filter
Heavily planted (I don't know the names of the plants, though) with one castle, gravel and a thermometer inside
Heating mat on the bottom, the temperature stays around 68-72 at all times (it's winter, it ain't going any higher)
pH, ammonia, nitrate etc is all within a healthy range
I feed him one "Penn-Plax Pro Balance Betta Food" pellet twice a day - occasionally he'll get two at one of the feedings if he seems particularly hungry
I do I 1/3 water change with a gravel siphon weekly, a 100% water change every month and a half to two months.
I took photos of him (on my phone, and it's not a super swanky funtime phone, so I don't know how to get them onto here) and took the photos into the pet shop that I got him from. The owner said that he looks fine, physically, and shows no signs of fungus or external bacteria. She said the symptoms I explained sounded like swim bladder disease, and suggested fasting him for two days, and then feeding him a boiled pea. I went home and looked that method up online to see if it was widely-known. And then I did.
Aside from him being cranky at me for not giving him any food for two days, he showed no change, so I went back to the pet store. She then suggested that swim bladder disease can sometimes be bacterial, and gave me Melafix to treat him. It's now the seventh day (the bottle says to stop treatment after seven days), and he's only shown partial improvement. His mood has improved and he has all of his old energy back. He can swim to the top with ease (so I've put the water level back up). However, he's still having to exert himself more than usual, and he still sinks to the bottom - he's just not falling on his side when he does.
What could be wrong with my guy? Have I somehow damaged his swim bladder permanently?
Tank info:
1.5 gallon round bowl, no filter
Heavily planted (I don't know the names of the plants, though) with one castle, gravel and a thermometer inside
Heating mat on the bottom, the temperature stays around 68-72 at all times (it's winter, it ain't going any higher)
pH, ammonia, nitrate etc is all within a healthy range
I feed him one "Penn-Plax Pro Balance Betta Food" pellet twice a day - occasionally he'll get two at one of the feedings if he seems particularly hungry
I do I 1/3 water change with a gravel siphon weekly, a 100% water change every month and a half to two months.