Gray On Male Betta's Gills

Okay, so I already dosed general cure yesterday. Would I add in the Erythro and another general cure today? Or just Erythro? I didn't really get what you meant by "the second" one.

I'll try the every other day doses and changes, I just don't want to stress them out more.

 

Meds really won't stress them. Its basically like us taking steroids or antI biotics.

If you have both, do a waterchange today and dose both.

 

Okay, got it. Thanks.

 

Hold on. Meds are a stress on fish. They're a stress on us! Even if the meds don't work on whatever the patient has they do affect microorganisms of many kinds and if a bunch of those are killed off it can really cause trouble! When we take antibiotics it can really mess with our gut flora (for example) and cause digestive issues.

Any change in environment, whether internal or external, no matter the reason, is a stressor. Which is why medications should be carefully chosen to treat an illness and used for the recommended length of time.

 

Aquaphobia Oh no, that's what I thought. Maybe I should stick with the recommended amount of time the package says? Add API, wait 48 hours, add more API, wait 48 hours, and do a 25% water change. Would this be less stressful to my fish since its following the rules?

If I were to use Erythro and follow the rules, would I have to do it after the general cure? Would that cut down some of the stress? I'm asking because you keep in Erythro for 24 hours before adding more, and for general cure it's 48 hours.

Also, do you know a good place to put the carbon? I currently have it in a bucket with no water, and I want to keep the beneficial bacteria "alive". Should I add dechlorinated water?

Thanks.

 

API what? API is just the manufacturer. I would read the instructions carefully and look for any contraindications. If it says not to use it with any products then just make sure none of what you want to use is contained in the ingredients. Are all the products you bought from API?

To keep the BB alive on your media you'd need to add an ammonia source. Just keeping it wet is good though and it may actually survive for a little while at least without a food source. Do you have any other media besides carbon in the filter? Did you take that out as well? That would be where most of your BB are so I wouldn't worry so much about the carbon.

 

API General Cure. Sorry.

The only product I have purchased is the General Cure, and I'm deciding whether or not I should purchase the API E.M. ERYTHROMYCIN. I looked online and for the Erythro it says, "Can be used with any API Ich, fungus or parasite remedy to help prevent secondary bacterial infection". The general cure is a parasite remedy.

My filter consists of the carbon and a bio holster. The bio holster is still in the filter.

 

If it were me, I would just use the one medication and see if that helps. If it doesn't, then start the next choice after a decent interval and water changes to remove the first medication.

 

Got it, thank you.

 

API and GC are often used simultaneously, they can help one another. IE when a fish loses a parasite, the other medication prevents infections from where the parasite was.

And generally its a redose daily for 3 days, and more if no symptoms show.

 

I think he's doing better. He's swimming around a lot more, and he's actually reacting to what's around him. For example, when he was leaning against the divider and the baby came near him, he'd just turn his head and ignore her. Now he actually turns his whole body and fans his tail out. Sure, his gills are still messed up, but at least he's acting better.

What I don't understand is why the baby isn't affected. I mean, they're in the same tank and they both get treated the same way. Any bacteria or fungus or parasite in the tank would attack both of them, am I correct?

 

Not necessarily. It may be that his immune system is weaker and he's more susceptible to infection. It might be due to his age, previous handling, genetics. You name it!

 

Happy to hear hes doing better! =]

 

Man, that sucks. I don't want him to be in pain. Well, at least he's getting better.

I'll have my dad look at him tomorrow, he's pretty experienced at fish keeping, maybe he'll help me diagnose what this "thing" is.

Thank you for all of your help Skyy2112 Aquaphobia

 

I don't think he's in any pain! He might just be more likely to come down with illnesses. Be sure to keep the water very clean

 

Okay, that's good. If he's really prone to illnesses I'll probably move him to his own 5 or 10 gallon where I will have better control of his water rather than having him in a shared tank.

I'm thinking about starting a guppy tank in the 10 gallon I currently have and adding in the female if everything turns out well and I won't have to start my tank over. I'm hoping for the best, fingers crossed.

 

I talked to my dad about aquarium stuff and one thing he mentioned was that I shouldn't keep the cartridge (with the carbon) out like that. He said that it'll start rotting and build up ammonia because of the lack of movement in the bucket, and that if I were to put it back into the tank it'd be a problem. So, he told me to cut open the cartridge, dispose of the carbon, and put the cartridge in without the carbon. Is this a good idea? Should I put the carbon back in later?

 

Carbon doesn't really "rot", though if there's any fish waste or organic matter stuck in the media that could rot and produce ammonia I suppose.

Were you adding an ammonia source to the bucket? I seem to recall that you wanted to keep the BB alive. If that's so then you'd need to feed them. If you're just going to toss out the carbon then you may as well put the cartridge with floss back in the tank

 

Yeah. I wasn't adding an ammonia source other than the waste that was attached to the cartridge. I think I'm going to separate the carbon and add it in a mesh bag once treatment is done.

 

Sorry, Ithought I mentioned it. Cut a hole in the filter and remove carbon only. The carbon absorbs many chemicals along w/ medications. The bio media (filter floss) will be fine in meds.

 

My dad just updated me and told me that my fish is doing good. He's not lethargic anymore and his gills aren't as red.

I'm guessing the General Cure worked

 

I'm back with not so good news. I'm coming to the end of my trip, and my dad just notified me that the big guy is not eating. I don't know the details, but that's what he said. He did a water change yesterday, so it can't be anything with ammonia and nitrite, (he also dosed prime).

I'm coming home in 3 days, so this is the only info I have available as of now.

 

Aquaphobia I have a little bit more info! He has red gills and he's still not eating.

 

Red gills usually indicates the presence of ammonia. Or something irritating the gills. They're very sensitive to water quality.

 

there's no ammonia, nitrite, or nitrates. my dad also said he's lethargic and that he caught him floating upside down.

 

EMERGENCY!

I just came home right now and he is laying on his side breathing heavily. His gills look like they're painted on, he's breathing heavily, a part of his tail is a metallic black, and the baby is doing just fine. I'm moving him into a 2.5 gallon with shallowish water.

 

Anyone? Aquaphobia Skyy2112 ?

I had no idea what to do last night so I added general cure to his 2.5 gallon. he's currently laying on the ground , still breathing, and his gills are less red.

 

Did you test the water?

 

yup. 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate

 

Is that in his old tank or the new one?

 

old tank

 

Does that tank normally have zero nitrate?

 

yup, it was in the process of cycling. both the baby and the big one are in separate tanks right now, as I'm cycling with ammonia.

 

He has passed away.

I still have no idea what this is. Maybe his immune system? Like, for example, his tail never healed. Could this mean something?

 

It could. Elderly bettas for example have difficulty healing. Maybe he was a lot older than the others at the pet store and he just couldn't handle the stress of the moves

I'm so sorry for your loss x

 

Thank you. At least he's swimming in a better place now.

 

Guess what. Now the baby's gills are red. No ammonia, no nothing.

 

Gahh! This is so confusing. She's eating great, super active, and the red is only seen in some lighting.

I moved her to a 2.5 gallon tank, because I'm planning on adding more fish to the 10 gallon and I don't want her to infect the tank, (if it is contagious). Speaking about seeing the red in certain lighting, in the 2.5 gallon lighting you can't see the red, but as soon as there's a flashlight on her, the red is visible.

 

Can you get a second opinion on your ammonia reading? Just in case your test is faulty.

 

The ammonia is at 0-.25ppm, (I'm using prime), but I've noticed that the ph is a bit high. Could this be causing the red gills?