Yeah he's swimming a little better... It seems to get worse then better then worse then better again...

How is he today? Any better?

Mine actually greeted me this morning. He still doesn't look happy, but at least he's no longer doing barrel rolls.

I cannot tell you how freaked out I was yesterday morning, when I saw him doing barrel rolls all over the tank!!!!

Haha, yes they do! I'm at work now but this morning he was summing a little more upright... And frantically. It's kind of a normal behavior for him, it seems, lol. I'm glad yours is doing better! Normally SBD like problems are not fatal.

How's your little guy doing?

Mine was doing barrel rolls this morning. I freaked out. I was convinced that this was the end, and yet, he's still here. I just did a water change with more Epsom salt, and he's currently acclimating in his cup -- and managing to stay pretty much upright. (His back end drifts up occasionally, but at least he's not barrel rolling anymore.)

For such little fish, they sure do cause big problems, don't they? LOL

I'm so sorry :( you did all you could. It's never easy to say goodbye. In their own fishy way, they appreciate all we do for them. At least he isn't suffering now and is in the big rice paddy Betta heaven. I'm very sorry :(

He just died.

He hung on for a week, but I think he's dying now..... Did another water change last night, but it didn't help. He's in his cup with enough water to cover him, but he's lying on his side now so he can't really reach the surface.... I don't know what else to do for him.

Yep! Like I said, keeping his tank dark and well decorated should help with the stress.

Many people have luck with the preset heaters. I personally think that the temperature it keeps at kind of depends on the room temp and the tank size, which is why they work for some and not others. I'm glad it works for you! The only thing is, if your fish ever get sick, often times raising the temp helps them heal and also speed up the life cycle of parasites, and it's not easy to do that with a preset heater.

Sounds like you made a good decision on the heater. (I should had gotten adjustable ones, but, oh well. I'll know for next time. But mine do seem to keep the water temp consistent, though.)

I don't see any specific signs that something is "wrong" with my newbie. Maybe he's just exhausted from all the stuff that's happened to him, and needs to adjust to the physical environment. So I'm just keeping an eye on him. Like you said, sit and wait!

The new heater is working well! So far it's been a constant 78 degrees.
I'm hoping that all your guy needs is warm, clean water (it usually is) and there isn't a disease behind the behavior. It just kind of stinks because you can't really make assumptions. You just sit, and wait. Sometimes you don't know if you're waiting for it to get better or worse, but usually it gets better, and normally if they do have something it's simple to treat.