5 Gallon Tank Please help me help this little guy

so Chance is still hanging on, but i can’t figure out what disease he has. His gills are swollen and his face is red and seems to be pineconing but not his body. He’s getting a salt bath in these photos. He also is getting kanaplex and has IAL. Kanaplex doesn’t seem to be working or it’s taking a long time. this is his second dose. What is this and what can i do for him. i’ve only had him 2 or 3 days at this point, he also won’t eat.

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 5 gallons
How long has the tank been running? it’s a hospital tank so a few days
Does it have a filter? yes
Does it have a heater? yes
What is the water temperature? 81°
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 1 betta fish

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? as needed
How much of the water do you change? 50%
What do you use to treat your water? seachem prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? no substrate

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? no
What do you use to test the water? api test kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 8.2

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? daily
How much do you feed your fish? 2 small pellets
What brand of food do you feed your fish? various types
Do you feed frozen? yes
Do you feed freeze-dried foods?yes

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 3 days
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? he had them when i got him
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? red swollen gills and clamped fins
Have you started any treatment for the illness? yes kanaplex and salt
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? yes
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? n/a

Explain your emergency situation in detail.
(Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)

 

Awh, poor guy!
This is exactly what these 3 fish had when I brought them home. You said there's pineconing around his head? That is a real sign of dropsy. I can assure you that it is not unfixable, unless it's too far in, but even then (pine coned, swollen, hardly moving)
When I was fixing mine, I didn't have very efficient treatment handy.
I put them in hospital tanks:
-warm water
-hiding places/live plants
-sponge filter on low
-humidity
-peace and quiet
-0 substrate
I treated them with, first, aquarium salt, kanaplex, API super ick treatment, and API bettafix. I then did my research and used Epsom salt bath. I basically did all this over, along with constant water changes, for about 4 weeks. After around 4 weeks, they had all healed completely.
You should do daily water changes of up to 25% (if your not doing it already). This makes sure the water is perfectly safe.
Try feeding frozen daphnia, soggy high protein pellets, and occasional blood worms. Mine were pretty skinny when I purchased them, but after I fattened them up, they started to show their colors. I don't think you really need to do any fattening up though. Try feeding him a blood worm if you haven't already. Try waving it around and see if he reacts to the movement.
Rescues are my favorites. It's always fun to see the transition.
All my luck! Here is some inspiration with a before and after picture of my little rescue, Cherry (sorry about my crappy camera)!
This quarantine tank is a small half gallon reptile carrier with a 10 watt heater. He has a ball of java moss, a plastic floating plant pot to hide in (he loved that), plastic wrap for humidity, low sponge filter, and peaceful area. In this picture, he is getting his first Epsom salt bath. He looks exactly like your fish, minus the pineconing.
Perhaps someone else might have some more direct treatment suggestions though.

 

Awh, poor guy!
This is exactly what these 3 fish had when I brought them home. You said there's pineconing around his head? That is a real sign of dropsy. I can assure you that it is not unfixable, unless it's too far in, but even then (pine coned, swollen, hardly moving)
When I was fixing mine, I didn't have very efficient treatment handy.
I put them in hospital tanks:
-warm water
-hiding places/live plants
-sponge filter on low
-humidity
-peace and quiet
-0 substrate
I treated them with, first, aquarium salt, kanaplex, API super ick treatment, and API bettafix. I then did my research and used Epsom salt bath. I basically did all this over, along with constant water changes, for about 4 weeks. After around 4 weeks, they had all healed completely.
You should do daily water changes of up to 25% (if your not doing it already). This makes sure the water is perfectly safe.
Try feeding frozen daphnia, soggy high protein pellets, and occasional blood worms. Mine were pretty skinny when I purchased them, but after I fattened them up, they started to show their colors. I don't think you really need to do any fattening up though. Try feeding him a blood worm if you haven't already. Try waving it around and see if he reacts to the movement.
Rescues are my favorites. It's always fun to see the transition.
All my luck! Here is some inspiration with a before and after picture of my little rescue, Cherry (sorry about my crappy camera)!
This quarantine tank is a small half gallon reptile carrier with a 10 watt heater. He has a ball of java moss, a plastic floating plant pot to hide in (he loved that), plastic wrap for humidity, low sponge filter, and peaceful area. In this picture, he is getting his first Epsom salt bath. He looks exactly like your fish, minus the pineconing.
Perhaps someone else might have some more direct treatment suggestions though.

i’m so glad you had luck with your fish! i did almost everything you said you did and unfortunately he passed away this morning. i truly think he had horrible ammonia burns because only his head pine coned and it was so red and his gills looked AWFUL. but thank you so much for your reply and at least i will have all of this knowledge on hand for the future if i ever need it. thank you and so glad your fish are okay!

 

I'm so sorry. Sometimes it's just too late, and I'm glad I was able to at least give you some future knowledge. You would think that only a pineconed head is a sign that it's not too late, but perhaps it's quite the opposite...

 

So sorry for your loss!!!