Sick Betta Please Help

[Traqua]

Hi I recently got a Betta and he's not doing well at all. He started out in one of the small starter set bowls a little over a week ago and I noticed he seemed to be losing color towards the base of his tail. I moved him into a bigger tank with a filter and light and he perked up right away and started eating much more. All of the sudden today he got super sluggish, hangs near the top of the water, has lost considerable colorage and has stopped eating. I just added a new plant (from the pet store for tanks), is it possible there was something on it that caused him to get sick? I'll buy something to treat him with tomorrow if he makes it through the night but I'm not sure what the problem may be. I looked at some pictures online and I'm thinking it may be a fungus but I want to be sure I'm treating the right thing. Can anyone help? Thanks, Tracy

PS: I'm sorry if this question has already been answered in an older post but I wanted to see if anyone could help ASAP instead of wasting any more time.

 

[loraxchick]

do a really big waterchange (60-70%) using decholorinated water right away. then keep up with them. 30-40% every other/every day. waste is likely building up in the wate causing him to become stressed and ill. keep this up for a week and see if you notice improvement. 90% of the time, clean water is all you need. if he isnt showing improvement after this time, meds may be in order. but give clean water a try first.
best of luck with your fish. have a search around for fish-in cycling. and read up on this process if you are unfamiliar with it
all the best
cheers

*edit to add
welcome to the forum

 

[Traqua]

Thank you so much Loraxchick, I'm sorry to say he didn't make it. Whatever he had moved very fast and beat me. I'm very curious to know what happened so I don't have a repeat if I decide to get another Betta.It's tough with fish because you're right, it's often the water, but so many things could go wrong with it.
Thanks again for your help, RIP Colby.

~Tracy

do a really big waterchange (60-70%) using decholorinated water right away. then keep up with them. 30-40% every other/every day. waste is likely building up in the wate causing him to become stressed and ill. keep this up for a week and see if you notice improvement. 90% of the time, clean water is all you need. if he isnt showing improvement after this time, meds may be in order. but give clean water a try first.
best of luck with your fish. have a search around for fish-in cycling. and read up on this process if you are unfamiliar with it
all the best
cheers

*edit to add
welcome to the forum

 

[Traqua]

I'm going to attempt to try setting up a tank again - I was just wondering, can I re-use the live plant that was in the tank with the sick Betta? I have it soaking in fresh water and figured I'd rinse and repeat a few times but I'd hate to introuduce something deadly into a new set-up if the plants are known for hanging on to dangerous bacteria/fungus etc.

Thanks again for the help!