# Gill looks very inflamed & very labored breathing!



## mursey (May 9, 2012)

I will fill out the form in a second but I'm not sure it's relevant to the emergency at hand since he's in a hospital tank now.

My betta just wasn't himself and yesterday we noticed he is hiding and breathing kind of heavy. Today he seemed better in the morning and ate, then swam crazily (very fast) back to his hiding cave and he has been getting so bad that I took him out and put him in a hospital tank. 

I am frustrated because online it seems that if I can't notice any other symptoms, I have no way to know if I should treat with medicine for 
a.) bacterial problems
b.) viral problem
c.) parasitic problem

Photos and form to follow in a few minutes. . .


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Housing 
What size is your tank? 6.6 gallon 
What temperature is your tank? 80 degrees F
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? not yet but it's still 80 F
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? 1 male platy

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula; Aqueon Betta Food; SF Bay Brand Freeze Dried Brine Shrimp; Tetra Freeze Dried Bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day, fast one day, sometimes I feed a tiny bit 2x a day though

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? I don't have an exact schedule but I do small changes every few days and at least a 50% every week, then 100% whenever I feel it's been a while. (couple weeks usually) I also test ammonia often and change whenever it doesn't read 0 ppm
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? see above
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? aquarium salt (but I just read to stop that), Seachem Prime, 1 or 2 drops per gallon as per thread I read on this website. (The water also has usually stayed out to reach room temp for a day or two)

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? I can't test it anymore because in a panic (& after reading online advice) I put Methyline Blue in it. Ammonia was 0 because I had just performed a partial water change that day and tested it before I put the M.Blue

Ammonia:0
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH: usually very high like 8 or higher, but I keep Fluval Peat Granules in my water that stands out for wc, and also in the filters. When I test for ph it's still usually very high, I need the high ph testing solution
Hardness:
Alkalinity: 

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? slightly paler but not very noticeable. He is still dark purple but maybe his face has pale spots now
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He has spent a lot more time hiding, when he swims it's crazy fast but then he is all of a sudden lethargic again, he breathes SO heavy 
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Yesterday afternoon
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I tried Methyline Blue to little avail. I did not put as much as it says in the bottle, it seemed like a lot and I was nervous to overmedicate
Does your fish have any history of being ill? none that I know of
How old is your fish (approximately)? I don't know, I got him maybe 2 months ago


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

I am trying to get better pics. I don't see anything strange on him except a swollen gill. His breathing isn't as crazy now that's he is in a hospital tank and shallow water.

Also, I read the following and wonder if there are suggestions for dealing with my hard water/high ph water other than what I have tried: peat granules. I took out my driftwood until I have time to sand it and make it smoother. And I read that store-bought ph lowering chemicals are a bad idea so I don't want to mess with that. Also, I can't find Betta Spa in stock anywhere. 

_"In bettas, hyperplasia of the gills is the most common as the gill tissue is very sensitive and susceptible to damage from toxins. Ammonia and nitrite, for instance, can reek havoc on fragile gill tissue even at seemingly low levels like .25 -.5 ppm. In basic water with a pH above 7.0 toxins become considerably more potent. It’s not uncommon for damaged gill tissue to form a stringy mucus similar to that of a bacterial disease like Flavobacterium columnare.
Gill tissue doesn’t tend to heal very well and in some cases will grow a coating of new cells"_


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## Pataflafla (Jun 2, 2011)

Treat with aq salt at 2 tsp/gal and 100% daily changes to see if that has any effect.

That should help him breathe a little easier for the time being and might at least dislodge a parasite if there is one.

I would treat with something like General Cure since he might have gill flukes, which are parasites. Definitely go for a swift treatment as certain parasites an kill very quickly.


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Thank you so much for replying !

I would have liked to treat more quickly. . but no one replied for a day and a half and nothing I found online seemed to help diagnose him. I took him out of his regular tank, put him in shallow water (so he could reach the surface easier) in a 2.5 gall with some aquarium salt for now. I have changed about 90% of the water because I don't want to stress him out taking him out all the time. ( I used a gravel vacuum. ) His gill still looks swollen and bad but he is not breathing as fast, and he is eating normally. I am still pretty worried about him but I guess all I can do is go get "General Cure" when the stores open tomorrow.

Are there any other names of similar meds I should get in case I don't see "General Cure"?


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## Pataflafla (Jun 2, 2011)

Well, General Cure takes care of a few problems, but you could look into API Erythromycin or API Triple Sulfa as well. They'll tell you what the most common illnesses they treat on the back with some illustrations.

His beard on that side will probably always remain inflamed looking and bigger, but it's that it's forcing the gill plate out that's the issue.


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

When did you get the male platty? How long have they been in the 6.6 gallon?


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

lvandert said:


> When did you get the male platty? How long have they been in the 6.6 gallon?


I moved the platy into that tank maybe 3 weeks ago. I have had him since late April. 

The platies I have are sort of a disaster- I read that they were ok to have as tankmates but I quickly wish I didn't get my bettas any tankmates. The male platy is in there because I wanted to separate him from a female who he keeps getting pregnant! (I thought I had gotten all the same sex platies but I didn't. Now I have 5 baby platies I don't want also. 5 babies, one adult male, one adult female)

So I don't quite know what to do with my platies. I was thinking that the platy got my betta sick, possibly, and I want to keep my platies away from my bettas so that never happens again but it's tough with all the tanks I already have going. 

That platy was sick about 2 months ago, I gave him antibiotics and he got better very quickly but now I worry that he had something lingering. 2 platies had died from something a few months ago.


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## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

I'd say your platty just caused ammonia to build up too fast. I would get him out and into his own tank. I would also follow Pataflafla advise. It should help him out a great deal.


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Ok. I will look for what Pataflafla listed, I didn't see those meds in my closest stores but maybe I missed them. The manager at Petco definitely didn't seem to know any more than I did, and she has 3 bettas. 

I guess I have to do some re-arranging. It sucks because I don't want to put the 2 platies together that keep breeding. I have 6 tanks not including my little bowl of platy babies .. . I really got in over my head I guess. I do have dividers for both my 6.6 tanks but I was trying to give the bettas more space, but maybe that is the best way to make room for a tank of just platies. 

Argh, platies!!! :/ I wish I knew someone who wanted free platies who breed a lot.


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## Pataflafla (Jun 2, 2011)

I think a divider would work for the platies. Once the babies get older you can sex them and separate them. If platies jump like mollies do, you have absoluting nothing to worry about.


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Just wanted to give an update.

Purplius is SO much better! I treated him in just my 2.5 gallon rectangular tank, but at first I really only filled half of it because he was breathing so hard I wanted to make it very easy for him to reach the top. I put just a leaf hammock and a little place to hide (small cave thing), treated with salt and the only all-in-one treatment they had at my pet store. It seems to have worked. I did water changes every day. I cleaned out his 6.6 tank very well, cleaned the filter, kept the biological medium, and moved his tankmate to another tank of just platies. I also treat the water with peat granules because our water is so hard/alkaline. I put a little stress coat in his water also. I gave him a variety of foods as usual, and I've picked up another brand of pellets to add to the rotation. I did not get the Hikari because as someone has mentioned on another thread, they may have changed their formula. I chose the pellets based on whether soy, corn, or wheat is the main ingredient. I prefer fish or worms or insects to be the first few ingredients, not fillers. Hikari had more fillers than Omega-whatever.

The other day I put him back in his new tank after I tested the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. He looks SO happy and energetic. His gill still looks a little off, like someone here said it would, but I think he is going to be ok. 

Thanks everyone, for your help.  I will post pictures soon if my phone camera stops acting up.


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