Please help save my betta

[Timbersky]

For my birthday some relatives bought me a 3.5g halmoon fishtank with a filter and led lights because i had expressed interest in the hobby.So i did loads of research on beginer fish and decided on a male halfmoon betta, because i had heard that they 'don't require much' and it fit right in my very tight budget. Kind of ignorant i know. The day after christmas we drove to the nearest pet store which is about 50 miles away because we live in a remote area, and picked up my new halfmoon betta, Dominic. While we were there i bought water conditioner, gravel. Betta flakes, a little rock to hide in, a java fern, and little Dom himself. I knew there were other things i needed suah as a heater, aquarium salt and a water testing kit. But at the time thats all i could afford until next time we came back which i thought was only a few days after.

Now Dom's little gills seem badly inflamed and he signs of ammonia or nitrate poisoning, hi tank seems kinda cold too but we don't have any type of thermometer to check. I just no idea how feet of snow we'd get in onlw a few days and right now its 8 below. So i dont have access tn any of the stuff we need to trdat thd water. I'd really like to know how long he can live in these low water quality conditions, ways to keep him warm without a heater, and anything that could help treat the water or his symptoms. I would really appreciate any help i can get.

 

[Timbersky]

Sorry for the grammar, my keyboard is a little broken and i was typing faster than i normally would.

 

[mbkemp]

How warm is your house? Water changes are always good advice for ammonia. Try to keep your new water as close temp wise as you can

 

[Timbersky]

Right now its at 70. I am also keeping the door to the the room he's in closed to trap heat and we put a towel between his tank and the cold wall. We have to keep him in the basement so the dog doesn't nock over his tank.

 

[Angellove78]

Sorry I didn't see this til now. Hope everything is OK. You can use a heating pad under a blanket under the tank or on the backside. If you have an outdoor thermometer with glass reader stick use that. Or a older one you'd use to check under you tongue. And yes water changes. Betta's require more than what most people think. Just because we see them in a cup at the store. They only "no maintenance" fish is the plastic ones you can float in the tank. Every real fish will need your time. Sorry I couldn't help sooner.