Can you? My Betta Hoshi has been very sluggish for awhile now. He's never been like this. All he wants to do is sit on top of one of his plants and float there. He's in a little 2gal filtered tank. The current isn't very strong because it doesn't even move the plants around. I've had him for about 2 years. He is very prone to popeye, so he stays in the filtered tank. He gets fed Hikari Betta Bio-Gold pellets (the 'baby' size. Very tiny) and he gets about 4 every other day.
Is he about to die, or is he just lazy?

That is a very difficult one to answer. He certainly doesn't sound very active and it sounds like his behaviour has changed over time, but that doessn't necessarily mean that he is unwell or is going to die soon. Betta's vary so much is personality and activity levels, so it is hard to say.

Having said that, I don't think it's unsual for older fish of any kind to "slow down" as they get older, you've had him for 2 years so he is proably a year or so older than that of he is store fish. Still, some Bettas live a lot longer.

He is still eating so that is a very good sign. It sounds like he has suffered from popeye a few times and has always recovered, so it may be that all these bouts of illness have taken it's toll on him.

I think the best you can do for him is to carry on doing the best you can. Keep his water quality as good as it can be and give him the same love and attention you always have done.

He may become more active again or he may stay pretty much the same. Keep a very close look out for any other obvious signs of illness and treat as appropriate.

I hope he is around for a very long time to come yet

What are his water params Ashley?
The thing about Pet Shop Betta's,is that you never really know where they come from,the genetic's or quality of their care before you,so often,we have no real idea on how long they're expected to live.
Being very prone to Popeye makes me wonder if maybe his params haven't been quite as good as they should be,or that maybe his been sick a while now.How many times has he had Popeye-when was the last time?

He's only gotten popeye when he was in an unfiltered tank. He's had it twice and the last time was about a year ago because I bought his filtered tank a couple days after my birthday. He is a petstore Betta, so he's probably really 3 years old. I'll get his params and post them in about 10 minutes.

Ammonia is 0
NitrIte is 0
NitrAte is 0
pH is 7.4 (out of the tap and in the tanks)

Well those water parameters seem great.

Your filter sounds like it must be quite established now, so should be cycled. How long has the tank be filtered?

However, no nitrAtes in a cycled tank either mean you've done a large water change on your 2 gal recently or the fliter is not cycled. Have you noticed any ammonia or nitrIte readings at all recently as this would indicate there is no biological filtration established, although it sounds like there should be if the filter has been going for sometime. Ph is fine for a Betta.

Keep monitoring the parameters closely, because water quality is usually the cause of illness and behavioural changes. Is the tank temperature constant, fluatuations in temperature are not well accepted by bettas.

So to recap, he's about 3 years old, he has had popeye twice in the past and you got him well again, he is much less active than before but still eating well and has no other obvious symptoms?

I'm still not too sure what is going on. It could just be a simple matter of older age and slowing down and like I said being affected by those bacterial infections in the past taking its toll or it could be the start of a new problem now, but without clearer symptons it's hard to say.

I know we keep saying it, but I've learnt this myself, water quality is key and bettas don't like flutuations in environmental conditions. So maybe just concentrate on maintaining that like you are. Keep monitoring him for now.

Maybe another member will have some more ideas

I had done a water change the day before. The tank has been set up since early last October...So about a year.

Well the filter must be cycled then, so the water quality is good and with those regular water changes you're keeping the nitrAtes right down. Is he any better now or any more active? Have you noticed any other new symptoms which might explain his behaviour?

No, he's still slow. He only really gets active when he sees me reach for the bag of Betta food that hangs on the wall by his tank. He moves a little more. He will hide in different spots around the tank and sometimes behind his little castle, but other than that he doesn't do much pokin' around.

Oh dear maybe that's just the way he is going to be from now on, at least he's eating OK