# Gill flukes?? Please help



## LibertyBetta (Jun 25, 2020)

I’ve had my betta, Opal, for about a month. As you can see from the photo, he has white gills, he came with them. At first I thought it was his normal colouring but now I am worried it isn’t. He is a pretty shy fish, he tends to sit on his hammock all day and doesn’t really do much. When he eats (defrosted blood worms) some of the blood worms come out of his gills, never seen this with my other fish!
He is very dopey in nature and he is a bit rubbish at catching the worms. Today I found him at the bottom gasping, so I removed him gave him a 4 min aquarium salt bath. Now he is isolated but I am not sure what to do with him and I really don’t want him to die!!


Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 55L
Does it have a filter? Yes, hang on back
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? 26.5 C
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Yes comes on for 1 hour am and 1 hour pm.
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? There are 5 platy’s and 3 dwarf corydoras. They seem to leave him be and he doesn’t bother with them.

the photos with the blue background are the photos that the breeder posted. You can see the gills are white on those.
Is this normal? Please help!!!
Thank you in advance!!


Food:
What food brand do you use? I use frozen blood worms and mosquito larvae every other day, between this I have tetra tropical food flakes.
Do you feed flakes or pellets? (Above)
Freeze-dried? (Above)
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? Every morning with a small amount of flakes and then in the evening (every other day) with frozen food as above.

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? I perform a 10% water change every week
What percentage of water did you change? (Above)
What is the source of your water? I use 50% RO water and 50% treated tap.
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? I hoover the substrate 1 per month if it looks clean. I have a moderately planted tank.
What additives do you use? What brand of conditioner? API

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water _before_ the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10-20
pH: 7.8 (I know this is high but I have no idea how to reduce it, I also use a 7.2 buffer from water life.
Hardness (GH): 100ppm
Alkalinity (KH): 80 ppm

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? He did come with it, so a month ago
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Not that I have noticed
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? He was lying gasping in the plants today
Is your Betta still eating? Not today
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? An aquarium salt in treated tap at 26 C for 4 mins.
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? I haven’t had him long enough
How long have you owned your Betta? 1 month
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? Maybe (as above)


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

That is iridescent scales on his gill covers. Not his actual gills. When he does a full flare you should be able to see the actual gill tissue. I have no experience with R/O sorry. Hopefully someone can comment their opinion on why he could be gasping


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

How much Aquarium Salt are you using? The recommended dose for baths is one tablespoon per gallon for 4-8 minutes. Remove if fish appears distressed. You can do these dips three days in a row.

I don't know what medications you have available. API General Cure, Praziquantel or Mebendazole are recommended.


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## LMontoya (Feb 1, 2021)

LibertyBetta said:


> I’ve had my betta, Opal, for about a month. As you can see from the photo, he has white gills, he came with them. At first I thought it was his normal colouring but now I am worried it isn’t. He is a pretty shy fish, he tends to sit on his hammock all day and doesn’t really do much. When he eats (defrosted blood worms) some of the blood worms come out of his gills, never seen this with my other fish!
> He is very dopey in nature and he is a bit rubbish at catching the worms. Today I found him at the bottom gasping, so I removed him gave him a 4 min aquarium salt bath. Now he is isolated but I am not sure what to do with him and I really don’t want him to die!!
> 
> 
> ...


Hello,
Can I please ask how what the status of your betta is? How did you care for him? I am asking as I see similarities in my betta and am not sure how to proceed and provide the care he needs?


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## KekeTheBettaDoc (Dec 3, 2020)

Hi-it honestly just looks like his scales and to check for flukes have him flare and take a pic from inside like sully said. Lemme know when you get the picture


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