Help...I think my betta fish is dying

a_nc_female

I have only had him for 6 months and he seems like he is very ill. He is staying at the bottom pretty much and breathing really heavy. At times he comes up and goes crazy..swimming sideways and seems to have his head out of the water when he is at the top of the tank. I only use rain water and I feed him bloodworms for Bettas. Please help!!

Meatpuppet

how big is your tank
is it heated and filtered?
what is your water changing schedual?
what are the water parameters (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and ph)
does he seem bloated around the chest area?

rain water eh?... do mean like when a cloud cries? you wait for a rain storm to fill the tank? unless its some fancy distilled brand ive never heard of it. i would just recomend conditioned tap water (with dechlorinator)
and when you feed him you should really feed him pellets or flakes as a staple nearly every day of the week then blood worms occasionaly as variety/ treat to his diet. i would bet that it is the blood worms making him so ill because he really needs a well nutritioned diet

but ya more info will help us help you

ErinBBC

I totally agree with Meatpuppet about the water and food, and we need to know your water parameters and water changing schedule.

FYI, rainwater has atmospheric pollutants in it (like acids, smog, particles, etc. thanks to us humans polluting the air) that aren't good for anybody, that's why we have water treatment plants for our drinking water...so don't use rainwater. If you're referring to a fancy distilled water brand, don't use that either. Use tap water that's been treated with water conditioner.

Also make sure that you have your betta in a heated, filtered tank that's 2.5 gallons or larger. Bettas in small cold unfiltered tanks get sick a lot and they won't live very long.