# My Betta Gasping for Air, Help!



## Biomess

Need some advice please, my newer fish "Indigo" started gasping unusually today, he is not as fiesty as he usually is, but is still swimming pretty good, but he seems to be breathing hard and his gills seem to be extended underneath his head.
I noticed that he swims to the top and takes a breath but the air bubbles come out from beneath him around his gills and he immediately goes for another gulp of air almost violently as if he can't breath. After this action, he swam around and opened his mouth widely as if he is trying to dislodge something. This only happend once that I noticed, but he still gulps air and they still come out under his gill fringes...
Do you think something is stuck in his mouth?
I am housing him in a 1 gallon temporarily and did a 100% change last night and again tonight. His water temp is at 76, I am sure I need to raise that, and I use Tetra Aqua-Safe water conditioner and he feeds once in the morning and once at night with a mix of Betta-Culture pellets and 1-2 times a week Hikari frozen bloodworms and/or the Hikari Feeding Frenzy mix.
This pic shows him still fiesty and able to flare at the scenery:







But this one shows how his gill fringes are hanging low:


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## Biomess

I seriously think he has something stuck in his mouth, I just fed him a pellet and he tried to swallow it but had to shake his head roughly and spit it out along with a bunch of air bubbles. He has never had trouble swallowing any food before. Is there any way to see if he has anything lodged in there?


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## Biomess

I really need some advice Please!! He can't swallow his food because he is having difficulty breathing. He can't seem to keep the air in when he takes a gasping breath at the surface.

Please advise what I can do!!!

Thanks!!


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## Oldfishlady

Start making some 50% water changes and use extra dechlorinator right now and if you have some Epsom salt (Not aquarium salt) mix up a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water and add 2tsp/gal Epsom salt-place him in QT that can be floated in the heated tank to maintain water temp (attach to the side so it doesn't sink) and start making 100% daily water changes with this water-cover the top of the small QT container with plastic veggie wrap to help keep the air above the water warm and humid....
Good luck and keep us posted


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## Biomess

Thank You for your help!!!! I have him floating in quarantine inside a nice and toasty aquarium, I do have Epsom salt, but it says it expired in 2009 so I will probably have to buy a fresh bag.
I did go out and get some Prime that I see a lot of people on here use, and an API ammonia test kit to see if maybe that was what is causing this. I have been doing 50-100% water changes quite often recently, so I hope it is nothing I related to that.


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## Biomess

He is still fiesty in his swimming, but he attacks the surface for air and takes two-three gulps at a time and the air bubble just comes out from under his head around the gills. It's so sad to see him struggle just to breathe, why can't the air just stay in...I am going to continue with the salt water in quarantine, but I wish there was some sort of medication to help his gills. He did eat one small Hikari frozen Bloodworm today, so I hope that will keep his strength up.


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## Biomess

This is so stressful, he doesn't seem to be getting any better and now there looks to be two extremely tine white spots on his left side of his face. I hope it's not Ick, how can he get that in the salt water?
Looking with a flashlight into his gill area when he takes a breathe, they don't look inflamed at all but I believe I saw something small and white in one spot. Is it possible he swallowed something that fell in his tank and it got lodged in his throat?
I am posting a short video of him and the issue with his breathing, he still has a lot of energy and wants out of the cup, although he is holding still in the video because he hates my camera. The white at the bottom of the cup is just air bubbles underneath it.
I wish there was something more I could be doing, any suggestions would be much appreciated...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymgiOt6VyEw


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## Oldfishlady

He has been in treatment for 3-4 days correct?...he needs more time..are you sure what you are seeing in the gill area is not an air bubble....what color are his gills?
Its a good sign that he has energy
What is the temp at now?
He is a lovely male by the way....


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## Biomess

Ah a response, thanks!
Yes, he has been in QT since your post Thursday, his gills are pretty much the same color as the first photo above, if not a tad bit pinker.
I looked long and hard at him, in the video you can see how the air bubbles just roll out, but when I look into the gills before the air bubbles are in there on the right side there is a small white "thing" that's flat and thin, a parasite or some particle that he swallowed I don't know.
I set the heater at 82, but he's floating at 80, so idk. He has energy, but has only eaten once since QT and that was one small frozen/thawed bloodworm. I figured that would be easier than swallowing a pellet.
Thank you, I love blue and would hate to think I killed him, I've only had him for about a month now.


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## LittleBettaFish

My Crowntail did this for a couple of days and I was afraid I was going to lose him. He would dart around erratically with his gills sort of hanging open like that, take a couple of big gulps from the top and then sit on the bottom. 

Since it didn't appear that he had anything stuck and he was still able to swallow when I could get him to eat, I was afraid he had something like gill flukes. 

I started a salt bath treatment and my mum was in charge of that for a couple of days, as well as keeping him in a smaller quarantine tank and changing the water 100% every day. Gradually he got better, and is currently back to normal, albeit now getting 50% water changes every day in his 3 gallon. 

I still have absolutely no idea what caused his behaviour as his water conditions were all pristine. In your case it could be some kind of parasite, but fingers crossed, your boy gets better too.


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## Biomess

Thanks LBF, I'm glad your guy got better! Yeah I've got him in the salt treatment with 100% daily changes, but my guy floats with his mouth at the surface rather than sitting on the bottom. But he does swim around in his quarantine and tries to dart at a neon tetra in the tank he is floating in.
So, *fingers crossed* too.


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## LittleBettaFish

Fish are so good at worrying us! And I swear the first five symptoms of every disease you look up are always the same so you don't know what is wrong with the poor thing. If he doesn't get any better, and you have a good LFS nearby, you might be able to find out if they or anyone else does scrapings to check for parasites and such.

When my boy was sick mum went down to the LFS and the man told her if the salt baths didn't help him improve, he was able to test for parasites under the microscope they had there to rule out things like gill flukes. Fortunately, it didn't get to that point, but maybe somewhere near you could do something similar.


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## Biomess

Well my baby died this morning, he hadn't eaten but once since this all started so maybe he got too weak or he just gave up and drowned...
right now I'm in tears, I loved this little guy he was so beautiful and extremely aggressive, he would flare at anything and everything.


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## Littlebittyfish

I'm so sorry for your loss. He was a beautiful fish. :-(


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## LittleBettaFish

I'm so sorry, I was really hoping he'd pull through for you. It's a horrible feeling losing a fish, but at least he had an owner who really cared.


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## Biomess

Thanks a lot, I felt so terrible, I'd only had him a month but I got so attached to him especially when taking care of him in quarantine, he looked so depressed.

In case you were wondering about the tears, I'm a girl, I'm allowed to cry right? Thanks for trying to help him too.


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## dramaqueen

Biomess, I'm so sorry for your loss. It's hard to lose a pet that we love so much so if you feel like crying, go ahead. "hugs"


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## Biomess

Thank you DQ, it is very hard and I only had him for a month. Also, we had to put down our 16 year old cat today, she had the best personality and let you know what she wanted when she wanted it, or if she had enough. She was a very smart cat.
I went to Petsmart today and found myself hesitating on buying another little guy. I found two that were interesting and looked very depressed in their cups, but I am not sure if I am ready to replace him yet.
I might head back out there in a couple of days, if they are still there, I might just rescue them. Why should they suffer in those filthy cups because I'm still longing for my Indigo...


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## dramaqueen

Aww, I'm so sorry about your kitty! That is so sad. If you don't want to buy another betta from a petstore, we have several breeders here who might have some for sale.


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## LuvMyBettas12

My Crowntail has had the same problem, it just started today, I just got him a brand new tank yesterday, he was in not quite a 1 gallon vase so I got him a 2 gallon tank. Today he didn't really eat this morning, I offered pellets first and when he didn't take those I removed them and put a tiny bit of flakes in. He ate one of the flakes but has spent the rest of the day, mostly at the top of his tank, gills constantly moving and looks to be gasping for air, Sitting in one spot and barley moving, and went down and around for a swim a couple times but ran back up for air. Now he's just been at the top of the tank all day. I'm freaked out! was this overfeeding? Should I try the Epsom salt treatment as well? I have 4 bettas in total and my other 3 are fine. 3 of the 4 got bigger tanks yesterday and only the crowntail seems to be having issues today. I used the same water, water conditioner and aquarium salt mixture for all 4 as always..


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## LuvMyBettas12

Bio, I am so sorry about the loss of your betta


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## LuvMyBettas12

...ohh and I just read the post about your cat, very sorry to hear  losing pets is hard! I've lost a cat and a hamster, I cried for both.


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## ansalong

Biomess, I'm so sorry for your loss, of fishy and kitty. I've been in both exact situations - 1 month old betta and 18-year-old cat. It is not easy!


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## LuvMyBettas12

ansalong said:


> Biomess, I'm so sorry for your loss, of fishy and kitty. I've been in both exact situations - 1 month old betta and 18-year-old cat. It is not easy!


beautiful colors in your purple betta, sorry for your loss


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## Biomess

Thank you so much guys! It is very hard to lose a pet, I get so attached to them regardless of how big or small they are, with my cat Baby, it was her time, she lived a long good life and she was a mighty hunter too, though I hated to see her do that.


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## LuvMyBettas12

....ok, on top of everything I just noticed his left side gill is not 'closing' all the way against his cheek, i looked from above and the right one is normal but the left is staying open....I'm soo worried!  don't know what to do


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## LuvMyBettas12

LuvMyBettas12 said:


> My Crowntail has had the same problem, it just started today, I just got him a brand new tank yesterday, he was in not quite a 1 gallon vase so I got him a 2 gallon tank. Today he didn't really eat this morning, I offered pellets first and when he didn't take those I removed them and put a tiny bit of flakes in. He ate one of the flakes but has spent the rest of the day, mostly at the top of his tank, gills constantly moving and looks to be gasping for air, Sitting in one spot and barley moving, and went down and around for a swim a couple times but ran back up for air. Now he's just been at the top of the tank all day. I'm freaked out! was this overfeeding? Should I try the Epsom salt treatment as well? I have 4 bettas in total and my other 3 are fine. 3 of the 4 got bigger tanks yesterday and only the crowntail seems to be having issues today. I used the same water, water conditioner and aquarium salt mixture for all 4 as always..


...also left gill not 'closing' all the way...


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## LuvMyBettas12

Here is a video I took of the labored breathing, sorry the quality isn't good, I took it with my cell...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eE2WAhFmeI


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## LuvMyBettas12

here's another 2 videos...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew6L1N6DRh4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CogkGaFrVvM
in the second one it seems like he was having trouble getting up for air, kept falling


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## Oldfishlady

LuvMyBettas12 said:


> Here is a video I took of the labored breathing, sorry the quality isn't good, I took it with my cell...
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eE2WAhFmeI


If you will start a new thread you will get more response to your question...go to the disease and emergency and hit the new thread button and start a new thread...we will be happy to help you...also, copy and paste and fill out the question sheet with your post...the more information we have the better....


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## LuvMyBettas12

Oldfishlady said:


> If you will start a new thread you will get more response to your question...go to the disease and emergency and hit the new thread button and start a new thread...we will be happy to help you...also, copy and paste and fill out the question sheet with your post...the more information we have the better....


Thanks! Yes I already started the thread under that heading.


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## LuvMyBettas12

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=579925#post579925


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## Biomess

Yeah LuvMyBettas, my guy did the exact same thing, except it was both of his gills not just one, and they both would be open constantly, very sad to watch. Like OldFishLady, post a new thread with all the info on behaviour, water and tank parameters. Hopefully you will get some new info on what to do. Good Luck!


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## LuvMyBettas12

Thanks! :0)


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## Abby

the pics: he looks really bloated?


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## LuvMyBettas12

My heart is broken  Spongebob passed away yesterday.
Thank you anyway for your help.

RIP my little baby


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