My Betta Fish Won’t Get Better

My betta fish had a fungal infection over the summer and since then I have treated him. It was a long process and he was finally getting his fins and colors back when I had brought him back to school with me for the new year. However recently it started going downhill again. He’s lost the fins he got back as well as the color. Now parts of his body are becoming shiny in a way and I’m not sure what to try. I just did a lifeguard 5-day all-in-one treatment for him and yesterday changed his whole tank of water. He has a 3.5 gallon tank (which I believe is enough for him, even though many say 5 is ideal), a heater which keeps it at about 76/77 degrees, new gravel I put in yesterday, and I also decided yesterday to start using the filter again for his tank (I stopped because of all the treatments I had to give him over the summer).
Can anyone give me some idea of what I’m doing wrong or what could be happening to him? I want to help him as much as possible but I don’t want to make anything worse.

(The first picture of him is when I first got back to college a few weeks ago and you can see he has more color and fin. 2nd is him today Skin is shiny and lost fin/color) (I also included a picture of his tank setup and the treatment I did that seemed to help heal him last time)

Tank

What is the water volume of the tank?
- 3.5 gallons
How long has the tank been running?
-Well I’ve had the tank for about 5 months.
Does it have a filter?
-Has filter with new cartridges.
Does it have a heater?
-Yes.
What is the water temperature?
- 76/77 degrees Fahrenheit
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
-Just my one betta fish.

Maintenance
How often do you change the water?
-Fully every other/every two weeks. When it needs it I’ll do 25 maybe a little more in between.
How much of the water do you change?
-With treatments I’ve been doing 25 or 50 water changes.
What do you use to treat your water?
-I’ve been using AquaSafe for Bettas.
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water?
-I don’t currently have a vacuum for the aquarium.

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish?
-Yes.
What do you use to test the water?
-PH test kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH: 7.0-7.2

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?
-Twice a day
How much do you feed your fish?
-Small pinches. (As much as he can eat in 5 min time period)
What brand of food do you feed your fish?
-Tetra BettaMin Flake Medley
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods?
-Freeze dried but has flakes and krill in it.

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish?
-Since the end of August of last year (2018)
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms?
-Well overall problems started when I came home with him for summer and seem to haven’t really stopped.
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
-Fin/Tail loss, color loss, now shiny
Have you started any treatment for the illness?
-Just finished 5-day lifeguard all in one treatment that seemed to help last time he had problems.
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase?
-Not that I know of.
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all?
-Probably more “tired” doesn’t move as much. Obviously he has lost fins and color isn’t the same.

 

I also thought I’d include a picture of what he looked like before any of this happened to him, it just makes me so sad.

 

Does it have a filter?
-Has filter with new cartridges.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH: 7.0-7.2

problem 1, new cartridges means no bacteria, which means no nitrogen cycle.

problem 2, not testing the waters for toxins, ammonia is deadly, nitrites are slightly less deadly.

3.5g is fine for a betta, just needs clean water, weekly water changes, and a cycled filter.

you should probably be doing daily 50% water changes.

 

Seachem Paraguard also helped our betta recover from ich from when we did a fish-in cycle with him (out of ignorance of the nitrogen cycle). I've heard Paraguard treats a wide range of diseases including fin rot. What really helped was the combination of Prime (which detoxifies the ammonia and makes the water safe for the fish up to 48 hours), daily dosing of Paraguard, and religious water changes.

 

Update: Tested the following:
pH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm (a little high, how do I bring down?)
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 20 ppm

Also got new filter that’s better for him that isn’t as loud or push him around. Additionally used SafeStart.

New problems: Now won't eat anything and is laying on the bottom of the tank
Going to probably order Paraguard and do partial water change.

Any help would be appreciated please!!

 

If it’s a new filter, then it’s not cycled, which is probably what’s causing the fish stress. Not sure how to use SafeStart since we don’t have that product here, but I did use Seachem Stability to help with the bacteria boost. Water changes lower the ammonia levels so I suggest doing it often for now, maybe every other day. Then Seachem Prime to protect the fish from ammonia.