Reddit mentions of Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Daphnia for Pets, 0.42-Ounce

Your betta is very sick. I know you don't want to fast him anymore, but if you aren't careful about feeding him he will most likely die. It's crueler to continue to feed him than it is to fast him. Cut his food back to a minimum if you have to. I would recommend ordering or going to your local pet store to get these pellets or something similar. Feed one in the morning and one at night until he looks better, then jump up to two in the morning or two at night. Your betta has a tummy that is roughly the size of his eyeball, so no matter what you're feeding him that's all he can eat without getting sick.

I'd also consider getting some epsom salt. You add one teaspoon to a gallon of water and dip him in it for about five minutes, then put him back in the normal tank. Make sure the salt bath has been treated with whatever water conditioner you use in his main tank and is close to the same temperature as his main tank.

Some people also like to feed their fish a boiled pea, with the skin taken off. They do this because it's fiber and it helps the poor fish digest everything. While you can do this, I would personally recommend going with daphnia because it's way more natural for them and will work with their system better.

Another thing you can do is boost his heater up to 80-84 degrees fahrenheit if possible.

NorthFin Betta Bits, New Life Spectrum Betta, and Fluval Bug Bites are the top three high quality betta pellets available...

I don't like any other brands cuz they are either chock-full-o-crap-fillers or chock-full-o-toxic-cancer-causing-preservatives.

Flightless fruitflies can certainly be given as a treat or a diet-variety option, but should NOT replace the nutrition/vitamins/minerals provided by a high quality betta pellet. Other diet-variety options as treats for betta can be bloodworms, daphnia, mysis shrimp and brine shrimp to name a few...

https://www.amazon.com/Hikari-Bio-Pure-Freeze-Dried-0-42-Ounce/dp/B00025K1GQ/

https://www.amazon.com/Hikari-Bio-Pure-Freeze-Daphnia-0-42-Ounce/dp/B003WRG54I/

I got freeze dried daphnia from amazon, https://www.amazon.ca/Hikari-Bio-Pure-Freeze-Daphnia-0-42-Ounce/dp/B003WRG54I
I have also heard about the pea method, but peas are considered not fit to feed because they are veggies while bettas are carniverous. It is the fibre content that is supposed to help them pass waste which is supposed to be helpful. If you have zero access to daphnia and really want to try something that could help quickly, read up a bit on the pea method and try that. From what I know it involves blanching a pea in boiling water then de shelling it and feeding a tiny amount (About 1/2-1/4 of the pea) to your fish after it has cooled a bit.

So, since he's having such a problem getting to the surface of the water, the VERY first thing I would do is go and get a breeder net like this: Uxcell Fish Tank Aquarium Net Breeder, White Green https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00H4XTQQ0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_oodXCb71NDJCS
(Hopefully ur local fish store or Walmart will have them, but they're smaller than this Amazon one.) Putting him in this net keeps him right near the surface so he doesn't have to struggle to get his much needed surface air and The bigger the net, the better...that way you'll have a little room to stick a plant or 2 like these in it: Blue Spotted Betta Plant, Amazon Sword Great For Betta Fish and Use Betta Leaf Pad & Betta Log https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00N3ISXBE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7qdXCb9ZDM0KQ
Betta Plant Red Anubias Leaf By Blue Spotted, Great For Betta Fish https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00M0NC1UM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_JrdXCb86XDAZJ
Smarlin Aquarium Plants Decoration, Artificial Plants for Fish Tank, 2 Pack (6 inches Height) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07PH2L3QQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dsdXCbEV8JH9H
Giving him a nice, small silk leafy plant to rest on or hide under will help keep his stress level down and help him heal faster.
Also, get some frozen Daphnia from your LFS (Petco, PetSmart, etc.) Daphnia sould work as a gentle laxative for him... apparently peas are NOT the answer for constipated Bettas. If you can't find that, then get some freeze dried Daphnia such as this: Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Daphnia for Pets, 0.42-Ounce https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B003WRG54I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XDdXCbFWCWWVH
If you HAVE to use the freeze dried, try to soak it for awhile in some tank water, it's SUPER light and never stops floating. I pinch the shit out of it between my fingers under water and try to kind of saturate it that way

Next, you can either:

1. Completely fast him for 3 days, and see if he poops in his little temporary confinement, and if he does, let him out and see if he is back to normal. If he still can't swim right, put him back in the net and feed him a little bit of the Daphnia and wait. Keep ur eyes peeled for a (hopefully) healthy poo. Or:
   
   
2. You can give him an Epsom salt bath. I find conflicting ratios all over the place and maybe somebody else can chime in here and help us out but common mixture seems to be 1 Tablespoon per gallon of water. Here is a very good detailed step by step on how to properly do a salt bath:
   http://bettasplendid.weebly.com/salt-baths.html
   
   Let's start here and see what happens. But, hurry up and get him that breeder net!😉

I took out one of the employees there are only too happy to help out and advise newer fish-folks! https://www.amazon.com/Hikari-Bio-Pure-Freeze-Daphnia-0-42-Ounce/dp/B003WRG54I/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1493302382&sr=1-1&keywords=daphnia.

I ordered the Hikari freeze dried brand of daphnia on amazon, here !

IMHO blood worms (red mosquito larvea), brine shrimp and daphnia are all great foods (hikari isn't the best or only food supplier but it had the best reviews on amazon, so I linked them). I've never ordered them from amazon but I guess that would work fine for the freeze dried stuff (be sure to soak these before feeding, because the can expand!). I have no idea whether the frozen bloodworms will thaw during transport, so I can't help with that, sorry! I usually get them at my local fish store :)

This is super helpful and thank you so much! Another dumb question: Daphnia... like this? https://www.amazon.com/Hikari-Bio-Pure-Freeze-Daphnia-0-42-Ounce/dp/B003WRG54I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492874188&sr=8-1&keywords=daphnia+fish+food Just do that for a period of time or switch him to that full time? And is the recommended dose for salt 1tsp per gallon? So for my five gallon, 5 tsp?

I've been trying out the things you all have said and watching for changes. He has two thermometers on his tank, one reads 80 and the other reads 86 so I think his tank is a nice comfy temperature. I've done a water change and tested his water and it's all good. The more I do and try the more I think we just WAY overfed this poor fish to his detriment. I've tried feeding him a pea but he won't eat anything at all now. I saw on another forum (not even on reddit) that someone recomended using daphnia in emergency bloating situations. Do you have any experience with this? I've been to the pet store 3 times in the last 2 days talking about this and not a single person has recommended it. So I don't know if it's because it's otherwise dangerous or because they don't carry it. I'm about ready to drive to every petstore in the state looking for it if it will help my fisharoo out.

https://www.amazon.com/Hikari-Bio-Pure-Freeze-Daphnia-0-42-Ounce/dp/B003WRG54I/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1493302382&sr=1-1&keywords=daphnia