Betta With Inflamed Gills

[Bettajones’smom]

Hi All,
So I’m pretty new to bettas, I have 3 total, 2 VT’s in 5.5 gallon tanks, one DT in 2.5 gallon, 1 VT had signs of swollen gills so I started medicating with api fin & body cure for inflamed gills & it’s still inflamed, now my newest addition, the young DT, suddenly (like overnight) has one blown gill, what could be causing this? My medicated betta is in fully cycled tank, o ppm ammonia, o ppm nitrite & 10 ppm nitrates, ph at 7.6, or 7.8, DT is in uncycled tank, doing fish in cycle monitoring water for ammonia & doing 40 to 50% pwc every day to keep that ammonia at zero. Is there something else I should be doing? I didn’t see any gill flukes, just swelling on Katherine Betta Jones (my red VT in fully cycled tank) & now one swollen gill on splash gordan with daily 40 to 50% pwc. I see that both are eating well, swimming up to greet & beg, both betta Jones & splash gordan are maturing, I can see the fins are getting bigger, no tears, the 1st betta I got (Spamela Manderson’s tank still hasn’t cycled and I’ve had him longer than betta Jones), he’s super healthy, never had a problem. I’ve had to move my golden mystery snail (Michael Slougless) into spams tank since I’ve been medicating jones’ tank. So, what could be causing inflamed gills when my water parameters are good, and is it serious? I’ve been careful to not use same gravel vac & test tubes for sick tank, so no cross contamination?? Also soaked & fed Michael Slougless in declorinated water & waited till he pooped before moving from betta Jones tank to spamela’s tank. All are in heated tanks, spamela & splash are at 80 degrees , betta Jones is at 78 degrees. Any insight would be much appreciated

 

[DutchAquarium]

Could you post a picture of your betta, this very could simply be his beard and not inflamation.

 

[Bettajones’smom]

I really don’t think it’s their beards, splash gotdon definitely has just one gill that won’t close, this is Katherine Betta Jones, the one that I’ve been medicating. Also, his eyes have had this reflective film or cover o the bottom half of both eyes since I got him, he used to be very skittish & seemed like he was having a hard time seeing unless he was looking upwards, is that normal or is that some kind of eye issue on top of the gill inflammation?

 

[DutchAquarium]

Could we get a picture of your bettas so that we could diagnose.

 

[Bettajones’smom]

Hi All,
So I’m pretty new to bettas, I have 3 total, 2 VT’s in 5.5 gallon tanks, one DT in 2.5 gallon, 1 VT had signs of swollen gills so I started medicating with api fin & body cure for a week for inflammed gills & now my newest addition, the young DT who suddenly (like overnight) started showing signs of one blown gill, what could be causing this? My medicated betta is in fully cycled tank, o ppm ammonia, o ppm nitrite & 10 ppm nitrates, ph at 7.6, or 7.8, DT is in uncycled tank, doing fish in cycle monitoring water for ammonia & doing 40 to 50% pwc every day to keep that ammonia at zero. Is there something else I should be doing? I didn’t see any full flukes, just swelling on Katherine Betta Jones (my red VT in fully cycled tank) & now one swollen gill on splash gordan with daily 40 to 50% pwc. I see that both are eating well, swimming up to greet & beg, both betta Jones & splash gordan are maturing, I can see the fins are getting bigger, no tears, the 1st betta I got (Spamela Manderson’s tank hasn’t cycled yet and I’ve had him longer that betta Jones), he’s super healthy, never had a problem. I’ve had to move my golden mystery snail (Michael Slougless) into spams tank since I’ve been medicating jones’ tank.

 

[DutchAquarium]

I don't see anything wrong. The gills to apear to stick out a bit when they get closer to a mature age.

 

[Bettajones’smom]

Better pic of Katherine betta Jones

I really don’t think it’s their beards, splash gordon definitely has just one gill that won’t close, this is Katherine Betta Jones, the one that I’ve been medicating. Also, as you can see, his eyes have had this reflective film or cover on the bottom half of both eyes , been there since I got him, he used to be very skittish & seemed like he was having a hard time seeing unless he was looking upwards, is that normal or is that some kind of eye issue on top of the gill inflammation, and if it is an eye issue, what would you recommend? I appreciate any help I can get, this site is amazing

 

[CanadianFishFan]

I really don’t think it’s their beards, splash gordon definitely has just one gill that won’t close, this is Katherine Betta Jones, the one that I’ve been medicating. Also, as you can see, his eyes have had this reflective film or cover on the bottom half of both eyes , been there since I got him, he used to be very skittish & seemed like he was having a hard time seeing unless he was looking upwards, is that normal or is that some kind of eye issue on top of the gill inflammation, and if it is an eye issue, what would you recommend? I appreciate any help I can get, this site is amazing

Some bettas flare to much and there gills can get stuck open.

 

[Bettajones’smom]

So if they did get this from too much flaring, is the API fin & body cure helping, or will this resolve on its own? I don’t want them to be in pain, if there’s anything I can do for them I’m willing to do it, also, wondering about the red VT’s eyes, is that reflection on bottom half of his eyes normal or does he have an eye condition as well as the inflamed fins? Any help is very much appreciated

 

[Bettajones’smom]

So the 1st pic is of the newest addition, splash gordan, very young DT male, he’s the one with one blown gill,(right gill), you can kind of see it it this pic, right gill won’t close all the way, that happened overnight, he was fine one night & when I went in 6 hours later to check on him, gill was swollen & would no longer close, he’s the one in 2.5 gallon uncycled tank,I am in the process of cycling (if it can be done in the 2.5 gallon, I know I’ll have to upgrade to 5.5 gallon in time), the 2nd photo is Catherine Betta Jones, I’ve been medicating with fin & body cure by api, it’s been a week & gills are still swollen, and as you can see from the pic, the lower half of both eyes have this reflective thing going on with lower half of both eyes, sooo, 1st ?, should I continue medicating, 2nd ?, is the eye thing something I should be worried about, betta Jones is in fully cycled tank, 0 ppm ammonia, o ppm nitrates & 10 ppm nitrites, even during medication, 2.5 gallon gets 50% pwc daily until small tank is cycled or I get a larger tank.

So

 

[CanadianFishFan]

So if they did get this from too much flaring, is the API fin & body cure helping, or will this resolve on its own? I don’t want them to be in pain, if there’s anything I can do for them I’m willing to do it, also, wondering about the red VT’s eyes, is that reflection on bottom half of his eyes normal or does he have an eye condition as well as the inflamed fins? Any help is very much appreciated

*deep sigh* Hmmm i cant remember much about the stuck gills. I think there was a chance it can go back on its own but im not sure about meds for it...

 

[wolfdog01]

Can't really see the blue one's gills but the red one looks fine. I had a halfmoon who's gills were always like that. I wouldn't continue medicating unless there is something visibly wrong, as for the reflective eye, could be his iridescent gene. It looks like his scales are shiny as well, at least some of them, so it could be from that.

 

[Bettajones’smom]

View attachment 438535

Thank you Gala, and everyone who replied. This is the 1st I’m hearing about an iridescent gene, I’ve already put some charcoal in the filter and did a pwc on red VT, I know it’s hard to tell on blue DT, but he does have one gill that won’t close, think I finally caught a break & have a pic, it’s the left gill, that happened seemingly overnight, he was fine 1 day, 6 hours later I woke up & checked & gill was blown. So I’ve been doing 40% pwc everyday since he’s in a 2.5 gallon tank, I’m attempting to cycle but will no doubt end up buying another 5 gallon. Is there anything I should do other than water quality for DT? Also, I had to move yellow mystery snail to my other 5.5 gal (Spamela’s tank, he’s pretty chill but Michael Slougless does prefer K. Betta Jones tank), so how long do I wait to get meds out so I can transfer him back to home tank? Thanks to all who replied

Still learning how to use forum, sometimes posts won’t show up, so I do want to thank everyone who took the time to reply, it means a lot, thank you thank you thank you!!!

 

[Bettajones’smom]

Yeah, I stopped medicating today, BB still there, the meds didn’t affect the bio filter, water parameters are perfect, I’m still stumped on why newer tank is fully cycled and older tank, (about 3 weeks older), is still not cycled?? I’m going to buy another bottle of B.B. to add to Spamela’s tank and I’m going to attempt to cycle the 2.5 gal with the young DT, his left gill is definitely blown, finally got a good pic, I’m just doing 50% daily pwc for now, no doubt will end up buying yet another 5 gallon as he grows. I have another thread (cycling betta tanks driving me nuts), was told the B.B. I bought could have not dispersed evenly, so I was advised to buy stability, maybe prime, I’ve also heard great things about TSS, will see if that helps. I’ve spent upwards of $300 in 2 1/2 months for fish that cost just a few dollars, but these guys have such great personalities that I’d do anything for them! I’m hoping the newest addition (DT, splash gordan) maybe justblew the gill from over flaring when I first brought him home & he was acclimating to the new tank, he was flaring a lot that 1st day. Hoping it resolves on It’s own, don’t even know how I would figure med dosing for a 2.5 gallon if I needed to medicate. Again, will no doubt end up buying another 5 gal, maybe use the 2.5 as a QT tank? Here’s the pic of the blown gill, you can really see it if you zoom in