Hi, I am writing this for my mom. She has a Betta named Merlot, she's had him for a month or so now. Last night she noticed that he wasn't swimming around like usual, and she stuck her finger in the water and he just ignored it. And then she tried to feed him and he didn't eat? We don't really know what could be wrong. She recently did a water change which she does every 6 or 7 days. He is a small betta and is kept in a 1 gall bowl with a small live plant.
Can anyone give us an idea of what could be wrong or what we can do?

Thanks for any help!!!!
Emily (gf mom)

Could the temps have not been matched when she added the water, maybe?

can you give us any idea of the water params? that would help alot!

how long has he been lethargic? fish sleep ya know is there a lid on it? if there is, any holes?

Hello there, his lethargicness could be due to unexpected changes in the waters parameteres. Usualy with one gallon bowls you would change 20% of the water every other day to keep conditions as stable as possible. When you do a 100% water change every 7 days you might literaly shock the betta, by shock I mean simply, he's gotten used to the conditions for a week and is confortable with them, then when you change it he's not going to be used to the new water.
In addition, (I'm sure you use dechlorinator but...) Amquel+ is one of the best dechlorinators out there, when you change his water always dechlor. it and let it sit for 5 minutes before adding him. That lets the dechlor work, gives the water a chance to settle and start to reach room temp.
His lack of appetite could be too that he's bored with his food. It's good to mix their diets up, some suggestions that have bettas begging for more are, Hikari betta bio-gold, freeze dried bloodworms/tubifex worms, or live bloodworms/tubifex worms. With the Hikari pellets don't feed him more then 3-5 a day, he might be constipated or bloated and feels the need to 'rest' on the bottom too full to eat. If this is the case defrost a pea, boil it, take the shell off and smush it up then feed him a bit to see if he eats it. Peas are a natural betta laxitive.
Hope I didn't go overboard. Good luck.

One other thing to remember,is that 1 gal. container's get pretty nasty in no time at all-especially during the summer temps.It is very easy for left-over food to spoil & the water to become stagnant.Ammonia/Nitrites, etc. can build up rather quickly in that amount of water. Poor water conditions will not only make your Betta,lethargic,it may also kill him. Does your mom have any type of water testing kit that she uses,or does she just normally only change the water,as she thinks it needs it?