10 Gallon Tank Betta gill sticking out.

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? - 10 gal
How long has the tank been running? - 3 months
Does it have a filter? - Yes
Does it have a heater? - Yes
What is the water temperature? - 80°F
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) - Single Male Galaxy Koi Betta

Maintenance
How often do you change the water?

- Every week

How much of the water do you change?

- 50%

What do you use to treat your water?

- API Stress Coat Water Conditioner

Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water?

- Mainly water and occasionally substrate when necessary.

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? I'm doing a fish-in cycle.

What do you use to test the water? API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

What are your parameters
? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: .50ppm
Nitrite: About 1.5ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm
pH: 7.7-7.8

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? - Every day except Sundays.

How much do you feed your fish? - 5 pellets.
What brand of food do you feed your fish? - Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets

Do you feed frozen? - Not yet
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? Freeze-dried bloodworms occasionally.

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? - 2 months.
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? - Yesterday.
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? -

His gill is poking out and I'm not entirely sure why.
Have you started any treatment for the illness?
- No.
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase?

- No.
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? - Nope. Not at all.

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)


Recently, my betta has been flaring at his reflection way more than usual. He doesn't do it for very long periods of time though. Achilles is very active 24/7 and I haven't noticed any signs of stress or decrease in activity. He has been eating and swimming normal.

However yesterday, I noticed that his left gill is poking out and I was kind of worried, but went to bed since it was late at the time. This morning, I woke up, went to church, came back and tested my water to get the readings above. A lot of people may advise against a fish-in cycle but I have been managing it for some time and my betta has been 100% fine, so far.

The nitrites are the highest yet so I did a 50% WC 20mins ago to get my ammonia [.50ppm] and nitrites [1.5ppm] down. So the bottomline is, what's wrong with my betta? Is his gill sticking out because of the excessive flaring? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Pictured are attached as well. ( Sorry if its not focused. He wouldnt stop moving.)

 

Nothing is stuck in there, right?

 

maybe gill flukes?

 

I've seen him flare a few times today and I don't see any growth of anything.

 

Haha don’t worry, boy flared a little too hard and pulled a muscle. As long as it’s just the gill plate that’s extended then he’s fine. It’ll slowly go back on its own over the next 1-2 weeks. Keep an eye on him though, his delicate gills will be exposed until that heals.

 

1.5 ppm nitrites is lethal to some fish. If you're doing a fish-in cycle you should be doing WCs every couple of days to keep ammonia and nitrite under 0.50 ppm combined. Weekly WCs can be done once the tank is fully cycled, but for now you should drastically increase your WCs to get those numbers down. Nitrites are even more toxic than ammonia to fish, so perhaps the water quality is stressing him out causing the change in his behaviour that lead to his gill plate popping out.

I also have to wonder why your tank is taking so long to cycle.. maybe a cycle guru could help you out.

 

Hi alven!

Sorry to hear about your little guy. If you can get some Prime conditioner by Seachem, it will help to hold the toxicity of the ammonia and nitrites for 24 to 48 hours, thus giving you a little more time to do water changes.

If you don't see anything growing behind his gill, maybe it will go back normal, like mentioned above. If you begin to see anything start to grow or build up behind that gill, you will need to treat with medicine.

Hope he gets better!!!!