# New Betta breathing heavy



## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Just got "Romeo" about a week and a half ago...he's a good looking Red halfmoon Betta I bought at a local Petco. He seemed to be fine in his little cup when I got him. He was by far the best one they had and after not having a Betta for about the past 20 years I just had to get him.  When I was a kid I used to breed them and go to shows, I don't ever recall having one constantly breathing heavy. I noticed him doing it the day after I got him..I tried kosher salt in his water and he seemed to get better after a few days, I then moved him from his 1 gallon to a 2.5 gallon so I could use a slim heater(water temp is around 75) In his new tank with the white/gray gravel he kept seeing his reflection with the light on so I switched to some black gravel, the next day he started breathing heavily again worse then before and hasn't stopped. I've given him two 25% water changes the past couple days, added kosher salt and a piece of clout with no success. He is eating betta bites and some live baby brine shrimp. His tank has some live plants and new betta bulbs, I used half his water from the 1 gallon and half bottled water and some stress coat when I moved him. What else can I do..I don't want to lose him? :-(


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

This was him when I first put the new gravel in.


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

One side of his gil does look inflamed now


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Just got home and he's gotten worse...breathing really heavy now. I lowered his tank water to half.


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

I put him back in his cup with 1/2 tap water I've had sitting in a gallon past 2 days heated to 75 and 1/2 his tank water. I added 2 drops of stress coat and a few sprinkles of kosher salt. I'm floating him in his 1/2 filled tank so he stays warm. If he makes it through the night I might take him back to petco tomorrow..I really don't want to because I'm sure he'll die there.:-(


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

Well.. since you haven't gotten any response I will tell you what I know..

Why are you taking him back? They won't treat him.. they probably won't take a sick fish back after so long either.

Can the heater warm higher? 75 is chilly. Raise to 78 slowly.

I would also say just make sure you're using the correct amount of dechlorinator.. .5-1ml per gallon of stress coat. Prime works in drops but stress coat requires more.

You might actually try some epsoms instead of the nacl.. help with leaching out any toxins or fluid build up that might be attributing to his heavy breathing. Otherwise I don't know.. your ph doesn't swing or anything does it? I know mine is a constant battle because it is not the same from the tap as if its left to sit and I've made the mistake of shocking my fish pretty bad before I figured it out. (pet store is very mistaken about their RO water being stable)


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## earthworm88 (Jul 8, 2011)

Hi, 
Welcome to the forum. 
What a handsome boy he is! Love the finnage and the color.
I think he will have a better chance to live a good life if you keep him then to return him to Petco. So let's figure out what is wrong in his environment so that he can get better. Please fill out the questionnaire below as much as you can, fill out what you are doing now, or what you are planning to do etc. 

Before we get the info back, I just would like to stress that since we don't really know what is wrong with him besides the heavy breathing (which could be due to a few causes), we should just give him clean warm water very day without adding anything else in there until the diagnosis is confirmed. From the info you have provided so far, have you been using bottled waters? Did you quarantine the live plants prior to introducing to his tank? Besides breathing heavily, is he sinking or floating? Hopefully it is nothing serious. 

Housing 
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

callistra said:


> Well.. since you haven't gotten any response I will tell you what I know..
> 
> Why are you taking him back? They won't treat him.. they probably won't take a sick fish back after so long either.
> 
> ...


Well I woke up this morning to find Romeo in his cup...alert, swimming around and breathing much better! 

I was taking him back to petco because he's been doing this for almost the whole 12 days I've had him...they said I have 15 days to return him for another one but like I said I really don't want to because I like him. The temp is between 75-77. 
So I've come to the possible conclusion something in his tank is poisoning him which is why I quarantined him to his cup

His original tank consisted of gravel, a bamboo plant and 3 betta bulbs...he started breathing heavy the next day I treated him with a couple 50% water changes and kosher salt and he got better I then got a bigger tank and some more plants I got from petco that were in the same tank as the bamboo plant he was fine... a day later I changed the gravel out(rinsed of course) with a 25% water change and that's when he became worse then ever so I just don't know what it could be.


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 2.5 gallon
What temperature is your tank? 75-77
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? betta bites, frozen/live baby brine shrimp
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? several times
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25-50 %
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

Water Parameters: 
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? n/a

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? yes
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? yes
When did you start noticing the symptoms? day after purchase
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? yes water changes, salt and quarantine
Does your fish have any history of being ill? dont know
How old is your fish (approximately)? dont know


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

btw those new plants I got(you can see in the pick) aren't doing well either, possibly from extra salt or some other reason as I 'm sure they're getting enough light as well as those betta bulbs which aren't sprouting. The bamboo plant seems fine.


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

I removed all his old water...put 1/2 old tap and 1/2 bottled warmed water mixed with the packet of Aqueon water conditioner that came with his tank. I also added a teaspoon of Epsom salt. I floated him in his cup and added some of the water a couple times, all the plants are removed for now I did not rinse the gravel...I hope he does better.


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

Glad to hear he's doing better! Does sound like there's maybe something up in the tank.

So all you have in there are some live plants and the gravel?

If he got sick after the gravel was introduced then maybe that is the cause. You can go with trial and error but personally if I were to suspect that something in the tank was hurting him then I would be tossing everything to be safe instead of guinea pigging him, imho.

I might consider 10% solution bleaching (10 min soak) + super rinsing then one last water w/declorinator soak + outgasing 24 hours the tank. Then put him in it with nothing. See how he does. You can start adding plants and gravel in after that. Just make sure to rinse the gravel very very well with water before adding. Also make sure the thing you're rinsing in doesn't have any kind of soap residue on it.

Btw the nacl is good for infection but if it's chemical poisoning the epsoms are what you want. The nacl will do nothing for poisoning.


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

I'm beginning to suspect a big part of his heavy breathing is from the *filter* The first time he got better I took him for the weekend in the 1 gallon tank without the filter...and last night when he was in his cup. I had the filter running earlier he was laying on the bottom breathing heavy...I unplugged his filter and he perked up.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

He may not like the filter, or there is a fault in the filter. I still would recommend cleaning out the tank fully with a vinegar/water solution, rinsing super well! The rocks, I usually feel safer tossing away... live plants, quarantine in tap water (no conditioner) which is what I do. Quarantine for 2 weeks.


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Even after I unplugged his filter he was just gasping for air, barely moving and not coming up for air, I didn't want to risk waking up to him dead while I slept so I put him back in his cup(same water with a few sprinkles of epsom)floating in the tank..he's breathing a little better and moving around this morning, one side of his gills is still sticking out..the shallow cup is much easier for him to get air...anything else I can do aside from bringing him back?


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Him getting worse again after the gravel might be coincidental or maybe because it was new gravel without any beneficial bacteria even though I used the same water..don't know. I rinsed it out pretty good while in a smaller tank and made sure the water was clear.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Well... Whenever I had new gravel I haven't had a problem with there being no beneficial bacteria... Do a test. Remove the gravel, and put in new water. Put him in, and watch him. If he's fine, then maybe your gravel is at fault..


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Sena Hansler said:


> Well... Whenever I had new gravel I haven't had a problem with there being no beneficial bacteria... Do a test. Remove the gravel, and put in new water. Put him in, and watch him. If he's fine, then maybe your gravel is at fault..


The reason why I don't think it's the gravel is he was doing the same thing with the original white gravel...then got better..then I changed his gravel to black sand and he's been the same ever since even in his cup although he's better in his cup then in the tank.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

huh. It could also be stress induced maybe? Moving from a cup to a larger tank.... have you tried dropping the water level down to 4-5 inches?


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

Are you aging the water before you do a change? You might try that.. I think some water is more necessary to age than others. I found out the hard way my water parameters DRASTICALLY change in the 24-36 hr period and I about lost a fish changing 100% semi-aged (about 12hrs) water even though the temps were identical and constant.


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Thanks for all the help...I brought Romeo back to Petco. :-(

The guy in the fish department tested my water and said the ph was 6.2 and that that was my problem...I've been using half tap and almost half bottled I get from the water machine at wal mart(I have a 5 gallon cooler) I know my tap is supposed to be 7.4. I cleaned my tank out..put just tap in with stress coat, more plants and a few sprinkles of flakes and going to let it sit a few days. They didn't have any Bettas near as nice as Romeo so I hope he gets better so I can buy him back....if not I'll keep looking but I miss him already.


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

PH swinging could definitely have been a problem if you were mixing different ph water and it came out slightly different each time. 

Sorry but petco will not treat your fish and they are really lousy with maintaining appropriate water conditions so if he's weak.. Do not hold onto them treating him and then you buying him back.


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Well I went back to the petco yesterday and I didn't expect him to be back on the shelf but there he was..he still didn't look 100% so I passed on buying him back. I went to 2 more petcos and almost got another one I liked. I went back and saw Romeo today and he did look better and bought him back! 

I'm floating him right now in his tank with some added tank water...if he really doesn't like the tank I'll put him in a smaller 1 gallon bowl I have in my bathroom and maybe get that other one for the tank.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Well, from now on use just regular tap water  this'll help your boy, a lot. And I am glad you got your boy back!


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

What does the pet store keep their bettas in? I would use whatever water the fish store uses since he's now used to that and seems to be better in that.

Also the ph of your tap water can change * a lot * when aged a while. Mine needs a minimum of 48 hours to fully stabilize. I suggest always letting your water age and if you have doubts about the ph buy a drops kit.


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## Dragonfin (Jan 10, 2012)

I don't have advice, but he is the prettiest Betta I have ever seen!


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

I put him in after I made sure the temp was the same he was swimming around and flaring inspecting his new/old home.
I took a nice pic of him but can't post it on my iPhone...I'll post it later.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Callistra mentioned "aging" your water. Can you try letting water sit overnight, or for two nights? This could help


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Dragonfin said:


> I don't have advice, but he is the prettiest Betta I have ever seen!


Thank you..he is a very handsome boy that's one of the reasons why I named him "Romeo" 

I was sick with a cold on New Years eve a few days after getting him and I stayed in with him so I don't know what it is but he is very special to me and I was upset bringing him back.:-(


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Sena Hansler said:


> Callistra mentioned "aging" your water. Can you try letting water sit overnight, or for two nights? This could help


I've been doing that...I have a gallon filled with conditioned tap on hand. His tank water now has been sitting for 48 hrs.


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

That's good. That should be all it needs to stabilize ph and as long as you only use one source that should remove this issue.


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Thanks for the help callistra..I can't believe the suffering he went through(and mine for seeing him gasping for air) was from using some drinking water! I hope that's all it was and he does better.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Good luck


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Pic of him yesterday soon after I put him back in his tank.


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

Since then..he's been hanging out mostly on the bottom...he still seems like when he comes up for air he struggles to get a gulp, I just put a mirror in front of him and he did flair up but got tired quick and started panting...don't know what it is with this guy but so far he is doing better then before.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Well, being in a bigger tank often bettas will get tired easily, or struggle to make it to the surface. In due time, he should get stronger, and have better stamina :lol:

btw, what a handsome betta


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## callistra (Jun 29, 2010)

how much of a current does that filter produce? It may be just plain too much for him.

Have you ever got your just plain tap water tested after it aged a day or two?


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## bettaluvr (Jan 6, 2012)

It's an Aqueon "Betta Bow 2.5" filter, I know he doesn't like it though. I'm going to get some more live plants and float them in front of it to break up more of the current. My tap fresh is 7.4


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