Betta Fish Male Problem - The Fish Is Freaking Out

[Decosan]

Hey, there. I need help. My sister's fish which is a Betta fish and is now under my care cause of reasons.
Well the fish was normal every day until yesterday which started to have some "freak out" 's.. the first time it happened was when i entered from the exit door of my house and the fish just very quickly swim from one side to the other, it did this twice like a triangle.. and one more time when i went to see if the fish was okay. it did the same thing again. (note: the time after the first incident i was away from it.. so my thought of the second time was maybe it was startled.) But the fish had never done this before.
 
Also today i noticed it had something black under its "chin" the thing in the picture.
 

Spoiler

 
1. Water parameters. (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, PH, temp', Hardness etc)
I am using water from the sink.
2. A full description of the fishes symptoms.
3. How often you do water changes and how much.
I change the water every 2 days. And i put in water from the sink about half and little more which Tank is the shape of a little bit smaller voleyball.
4. Any chemicals and treatments you add to the water.
Yes, i use SERA aquatan Water conditioner.
5. What tank mates are in the tank.
None.
6. Tank size.
Tank is the shape of a little bit smaller voleyball.
7. Finally Have you recently added any new fish?
No, i haven't
 
I Hope i filled you in with my description.
And Thanks in advance.

 

[the_lock_man]

There doesn't look to be a filter in the bowl, so I would suspect it is suffering from ammonia poisoning.

 

[Decosan]

There doesn't look to be a filter in the bowl, so I would suspect it is suffering from ammonia poisoning.

So if i buy a filter it might solve the problem? Also.. i am kinda new to this stuff. The bowl i have is small is there really a filter for a small bowl?
Thanks!

 

[the_lock_man]

There's a helluva lot you need to learn, but here's a few bits to be going on with.
 
Fish produce ammonia - partly in their excrement, but also through breathing. Ammonia is poisonous - in the wild, the natural currents wash it away. In our fish tanks, we have a filter that grows a colony of bacteria that eats ammonia, and turns it to nitrite. Sadly, nitrite is also toxic, so the filter grows a different bacteria colony, that turns it into nitrate, which is much less toxic, and our weekly water changes keep nitrate under control.
 
Buying a filter will sort it out, but not immediately, as it takes a few weeks for these bacteria to grow.
 
If you are buying stuff, then buy the fish a bigger tank as well, because that bowl is WWWAAAAAAYYYYYY too small for it. Oh, and a heater, they need water at around 25-27degrees Celsius.
 
Any more questions, feel free to ask.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Aim for about a 10 gallon tank if you can.  In addition to the above post, continue with water changes during the time the filter is growing bacteria, which will take several weeks.
 
The bigger the tank the more time it takes for the ammonia to build so your fish will be safer from poisoning.  I would suggest still keeping with thereabouts the frequency of water changes you are doing, even with a bigger tank... until it is cycled.

 

[techen]

Great information given above, A lot of our members understand that LFS tend to skip fish care and go straight to selling any fish to any customer.
 
Hopefully you get it sorted out :3

 

[Decosan]

There's a helluva lot you need to learn, but here's a few bits to be going on with.
 
Fish produce ammonia - partly in their excrement, but also through breathing. Ammonia is poisonous - in the wild, the natural currents wash it away. In our fish tanks, we have a filter that grows a colony of bacteria that eats ammonia, and turns it to nitrite. Sadly, nitrite is also toxic, so the filter grows a different bacteria colony, that turns it into nitrate, which is much less toxic, and our weekly water changes keep nitrate under control.
 
Buying a filter will sort it out, but not immediately, as it takes a few weeks for these bacteria to grow.
 
If you are buying stuff, then buy the fish a bigger tank as well, because that bowl is WWWAAAAAAYYYYYY too small for it. Oh, and a heater, they need water at around 25-27degrees Celsius.
 
Any more questions, feel free to ask.

Well at the time i can't buy it a new tank since its not my fish after all. Today i went to buy it either a filter or a plant which i read on another forum that it dose good to the betta fish. Thats what i read, and well they told me there that there are no filters for bowl tanks and that i had to buy a normal tank for the filter to get in(or something). So i bought it a real plant anubias ondul. As for space in the bowl i'd say strict but also not. But according to what i've read that betta's need lots of space i'd say that there really is not much space.

Aim for about a 10 gallon tank if you can.  In addition to the above post, continue with water changes during the time the filter is growing bacteria, which will take several weeks.
 
The bigger the tank the more time it takes for the ammonia to build so your fish will be safer from poisoning.  I would suggest still keeping with thereabouts the frequency of water changes you are doing, even with a bigger tank... until it is cycled.

Well 10 gallon is a bit too big i'd say.. hehee since it would cost like way to much.
Well i will continue until my sister comes and get it back but i will tell her all this stuff and that the fish needs bigger tank. But i don't think she will be able to change the water as much as i do since she has a very strict schedule, but lets hope she will be able. Do you think i should change the water everyday or every 2 days is still good? Also all this time i was washing the tank with soap and i've now read that using soap is bad for the fish. I have also bought a real plant for the fish which i read that it is good for fish "to do something" but the space for the fish is very shortened now since the plant is bigger(or the bowl is too small) than expected.

 

[the_lock_man]

It might not be your fish at the moment, but if things carry on as they are, it won't be a fish at all, it will die. The plant will help, but not much.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Do you have freecycle there?  You could always put in a request for a bigger tank in hopes of getting one free.  You could also try ebay for a low cost tank.  My slightly over 20 gallon tank with hood, light fixture, heater (which I threw out), filter, gravel (also threw that out) and large ornament cost me just £20.... so excellent bargains are out there!