# Blowing bubbles out of gills!!!



## AzulEBubbles (Aug 11, 2013)

My blue crowntail betta, Azul, is at the top of his bowl, blowing bubbles out of his gills. He didn't eat and he looks like he's having a hard time breathing.
His bowl is a half a gallon, and the temp. is around 77-82 degrees. He has a small plastic plant but lots of room to swim.
I'll try changing his water, and I always make sure it's the right temp. before putting him in.

I know he's not blowing good bubbles, so what is it? 
(He's young, and I got him at petco two days ago.)


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## AzulEBubbles (Aug 11, 2013)

p.s. He is also the only fish in the bowl.


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## AzulEBubbles (Aug 11, 2013)

UPDATE: He has black spots on his tail and fins! I changed his water, and he's swimming around a bit more now, but he's still blowing bubbles.


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## AzulEBubbles (Aug 11, 2013)

Here is the information... 

Housing 
What size is your tank? .5 gallon (A half)
What temperature is your tank? Around 76-86
Does your tank have a filter? No, Azul hates it
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No.
Is your tank heated? No, we live in Hawaii, it's warn enough.
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Nothing besides a plastic plant 

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon Betta-Food Pellets. (Sold at Petco)
How often do you feed your betta fish? A few times a day. It depends on what he can eat in two minutes. Sometimes 2-4 pellets.

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? Almost Twice a week.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50% on Thursdays, and 100% on Sundays.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Tetra BettaSafe Water Conditioner

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He has little black spots on his fin and tail, and he is dull in color.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He isn't eating and he blows bubbles out of his gills. He also floats at the top of the bowl.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 7:00am, this morning.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I changed the water of his bowl and scrubbed his plant and pebbles.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? I don't know, I just got him two days ago. The Petco worker ddn't know much about bettas. 
How old is your fish (approximately)? He is younger than most of the adult bettas in that section of the store...all I know is that he is a young adult.


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## LittleBlueFishlets (Nov 10, 2012)

Can you post a photo of him, and of the black spots? This will be helpful to people trying to determine the cause of the spots.

Have you noticed a trend to when he blows these bubbles? Is it right after a water change, or all of the time, or only at occasional/random times? 

With regard to feeding, Bettas are little piggies. If you feed him as much as he can eat in 2 minutes, he'll blow up like a blimp.  A betta's stomach is about the size of his eye. So it's a better idea to give him 6-8 pellets per day.

Aqueon is a decent food. However, it contains a lot of grains and fillers (corn, wheat, gluten, soybean, etc). These can cause bloating, buoyancy issues and constipation in some bettas. If he continues to have problems, consider switching his food to a high-protein pellet. On this forum, the two most often recommended foods are New Life Spectrum (NLS) Betta pellets, and Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets. Both have lots of protein and fewer fillers/grains.


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## AzulEBubbles (Aug 11, 2013)

Okay, i'll try to post a picture.  
He blows at random times, and actually, Azul (My betta)
is a slow eater, so he eats about three pellets in two minutes, he
plays with it before eating. I think it's cute.


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