You need to get an ID on the plant. Take a picture of it & post it on the Name that Plant forum.

really? ok, I can definitely do that. Its about 1 inch of root and dying leaves.

in the meantime, is there ANYTHING I can do to help it stay alive?

replace the fish!make a tea by passing some of the water through some soil!there is no such thing as a "hydroponic plant"!

Zipper -

"replace the fish!" - fish is long since passed!

"make a tea by passing some of the water through some soil!" - so just get some regular potting soil and use it to make the tea?

"there is no such thing as a "hydroponic plant"!" - what do you mean? Maybe the system is hydroponic, not the plant? I'm confused even more?

UPDATE: I replaced the water with Distilled Water last night since I figured it would be more pure. Also, I placed a picture on the "Name that Plant" but havent gotten any feedback?

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to my plant pic

You might to need backwards & look up possible plants since your plant is damaged. Your roots are turning brown & appear to be sinking, which is a bad sign.

Since you know what the plant looks like with many leaves, possibilities are the following:

Peace lily (most commonly used)
http://images.google.com/images?q=peace%20lily&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=wi

Philodendron
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=Philodendron&btnG=Search

Pothos ivy
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=Pothos&btnG=Search

One thing you could do in the meantime is to remove any dead material from the roots, gently rinse away any film or algae on the roots, & add an air pump.

Baci - thanks for the links! I took a look and its hard ot say b/c it was never the full grown. Only got to maybe 4 leaves or so b/c I never knew how to take care of it. If I had to pick one, the leaves looked like the "Philodendron" maybe.

Also, yes, I have periodically taken it out and stripped the dead roots.

Q: is there ANYTHING I can do in the meantime to improve its lifestyle?

Looked at your pics. Need to keep what's left of the leaves above water. Make sure your plant is getting indirect sunlight. Don't use water straight from the tap. Let the water stand for 24 hrs. before using. Is your tap water hard or soft?

Thanks! Thats one thing I wasnt so sure about - keeping leaves in or out of water. ok, will do!

Also this time I used bottled Distilled Water and it looks like its not getting any worse. My tap, I'm not sure, if its hard or soft?

Bheron discontinue using DW it contains almost no nutrients for the plant. Hard water is preferred to soft. Ca, Mg, and other minerals are available in hard water.

Use this link to see if your tap water is hard or soft.

http://interactive2.usgs.gov/faq/list_faq_by_category/get_answer.asp?id=76

Wow, there ain't much left of hat plant eh? Take a look at this picture and see if it looks like what you had started with.. {{gwi:1013540}}

This is typically the plant you get with those betta bowls, though i'd be hard pressed to say that what's left in your picture is the same thing or not!

I'd suggest that you keep the leaves out of the water. Put a pinch of miracle grow in the water and see what happens. My guess is it is too late without a heart lung transplant...

Good luck!
Poppa