Inflamed Gill? Betta Flares One Side More Than The Other

HI all, I’ve had this betta since June 2017. He was upgraded to a 5 gallon with an internal filter in November. He’s steadily lost weight but his activity level is high, he eats like he’s ravished, he isn’t showing any signs of disease, but I had never seen him flare - even when I tried showing him a mirror a couple weeks ago.

Today, I got him to flare. His right side came all the way out, but his left gill barely moved half as far. Is that a normal quirk some bettas have?

Some preliminary research suggested it could be an inflamed gill, but he’s red colored and almost never stops moving, so it’s really really difficult to tell. It’s not obviously more inflamed than the right side.

I was about to put the ghost shrimp in with him, as its 4 weeks of quarantine is up, but if I have to medicate the tank I’m going to wait.

He’s alone right now with 2 marimos.

Parameter info:
Temp 79 F
I tested parameters close to a week ago, a day or so after I did the last water change. It showed .25ppm ammonia, but that’s the result for my filtered tap water, so I wasn’t surprised. The tank is definitely cycled. Parameters from liquid test kit then were:
Ammonia .25ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm
pH 8.0
Last night there were NO nitrites according to the strips, and I was just verifying today and there was NO ammonia according to the liquid test.

Couldn’t get a good picture of the bad gill, but here he is starting to flare with the good gill:





Here are some pics from other angles I’ve taken in the last week or two.







Maybe AllieSten do you have any ideas? Thank you!

 

It's hard to tell from those pictures, but I don't see anything wrong with him. If he's losing weight try adding another feeding each day. Don't feed him more with each feeding- you don't want him packing his craw, just give him another meal. In other words, if you're feeding him once a day, feed him twice a day. Just avoid getting him bloated. Keep in mind, though- Bettas are naturally skinny fish.

As for flaring, I can't say I've specifically heard of a Betta flaring one side more than another, but if there's no red in the gill tissue I doubt you have a problem. I'd say you've got a Betta who's a lover, not a fighter, and only making a halfhearted attempt at it. I think I've seen mine flare maybe three times in the last year. I've shown him a mirror several times and he's only flared once.

 

HI all, I’ve had this betta since June 2017. He was upgraded to a 5 gallon with an internal filter in November. He’s steadily lost weight but his activity level is high, he eats like he’s ravished, he isn’t showing any signs of disease, but I had never seen him flare - even when I tried showing him a mirror a couple weeks ago.

Today, I got him to flare. His right side came all the way out, but his left gill barely moved half as far. Is that a normal quirk some bettas have?

Some preliminary research suggested it could be an inflamed gill, but he’s red colored and almost never stops moving, so it’s really really difficult to tell. It’s not obviously more inflamed than the right side.

I was about to put the ghost shrimp in with him, as its 4 weeks of quarantine is up, but if I have to medicate the tank I’m going to wait.

He’s alone right now with 2 marimos.

Parameter info:
Temp 79 F
I tested parameters close to a week ago, a day or so after I did the last water change. It showed .25ppm ammonia, but that’s the result for my filtered tap water, so I wasn’t surprised. The tank is definitely cycled. Parameters from liquid test kit then were:
Ammonia .25ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm
pH 8.0
Last night there were NO nitrites according to the strips, and I was just verifying today and there was NO ammonia according to the liquid test.

Couldn’t get a good picture of the bad gill, but here he is starting to flare with the good gill:
View attachment 399450
View attachment 399451

Here are some pics from other angles I’ve taken in the last week or two.
View attachment 399463
View attachment 399464
View attachment 399465

Maybe AllieSten do you have any ideas? Thank you!

Normally Bettas will flare from both sides equally. It would seem that the ammonia present in your tank has something to do with his condition. If you don't mind, a few questions might lead to an answer to the problem. Do you do water changes ? If you do , is the new water treated with Prime or equivalent ? You indicated your temp. is 79F. Is it fairly constant ? Is your tank cycled ? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to help.

 

Normally Bettas will flare from both sides equally. It would seem that the ammonia present in your tank has something to do with his condition. If you don't mind, a few questions might lead to an answer to the problem. Do you do water changes ? If you do , is the new water treated with Prime or equivalent ? You indicated your temp. is 79F. Is it fairly constant ? Is your tank cycled ? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to help.

Well there’s no ammonia now, and I’ve been dosing Prime daily since I got that result, which as mentioned I think was from the tap water from the water change.

Water changes weekly with light gravel vac
Water is filtered tap and treated with Prime, alternating with Tetra Betta Safe, or sometimes API Stress Coat
Always between 78.8-79.1 F
Yep it’s cycled.

 

HI there. I do think he is a bit on the skinny side. What and how often do you feed him? I would increase his protein intake. So that is frozen blood worms and/or frozen brine shrimp. A couple times per week. This will help put on some weight. The dried blood worms are high in fat, but should be soaked before feeding. This will help fill him up also. I would alternate between the foods for sure. Feed small amounts twice per day. Instead of a larger amount once a day.

Also I would add deshelled peas to his diet. Feed them once per week to keep the digestive tract flushed and no constipation issues. I take 1-2 frozen peas, micro in a tsp of water for 15 seconds. Peel the shell off (they can’t digest the shells) and mash it up. I add minced garlic to the mash. It is a good immune system booster. They sell garlic guard too, especially for fish that you can add. I use what I have in my fridge lol I usually feed these the day before a water change. That way I can get all the left over mess out of the tank quickly. It has been working well for me.

Okay onto the gill. It may be gill flukes. It is almost always the reason a gill appears inflamed. Flukes are a parasitic worm and can be a bit difficult to get rid of. But lucky for you, it is a very easy med to get. And it is safe for shrimp and snails. So you won’t have to worry about that.

HikarI Prazi-Pro is the best anti-parasitic/dewormer to use. You will need to do at least 2 rounds, possibly 3. It won’t mess with your cycle at all, and I keep it in my fishy first aid kit. I do a preventative treatment on all my new fish. Prevents problems later down the line. If you can’t find PraziPro, the med you want is Praziquantel. Check on the packaging if it is safe for shrimp. Some other brands are a different dosage, and inverts can’t tolerate it.

One thing, I wouldn’t alternate your water conditioners. They do different things, it is better to use one product and stick with it. Stress coat has aloe Vera in it, and can make your tank get a film on everything. Prime has a stress coat in it already, btw. Especially since you have ammonia in your tap, I would stick with Prime. Tetra Betta Safe doesn’t detoxify the ammonia. So for the 24 hours until your cycle eats the ammonia, your fish is being exposed to it. I know it is a low level, but you might as well keep him protected, since you have it available.

Hope I have helped. Good luck!

 

Thanks AllieSten!

I feed him HikarI Betta Biogold, HikarI Freeze Dried Bloodworms, and frozen brine shrimp. He typically gets the pellets most days of the week and sometimes I switch it up. He gets 3 pellets at a time, once a day. Otherwise it’s a couple freeze dried bloodworms or an amount of brine shrimp around the size of his eye. I’ve been feeding him twice a day every couple days but haven’t been doing that daily.

I bought Spice World minced garlic in a jar. I checked and someone else here posted they had used it without issue as it does have phosphoric acid. He refused to eat the pellets I soaked in it while my other betta ate them right up. He also refused to eat the ones soaked in Vitachem. Picky eater I guess? But maybe he’d eat the dried blood worms soaked in it.

How quickly do fluke worms work? He really has no other symptoms but I guess it wouldn’t hurt! I can get Prazipro on Amazon. Is a 1oz bottle enough for his 5 gallon? I can’t see instructions in the product photo.

For the water conditioners, I had someone tell me the BettaSafe had different minerals in it specifically for bettas. Have you ever heard that? I can’t find evidence to back it up.

I also just read online that tap water with chloramine can give a false ammonia reading...so now I’m extra confused!!! I am not liking chloramine. I decided to stop drinking my tap water after I found out about the ammonia. And I only cook with the filtered water now.

 

Bettas don’t need different minerals than any other fish. They say that just to sell a product. It isn’t true at all.

Chloramine can break apart into ammonia and chlorine. So when you use a dechlorinator it will destroy the chlorine leaving the ammonia. But Prime also detoxifies the ammonia, so it will in no way harm your fish.

If the chloramines aren’t broken down, which is the case in your tap water, you won’t have issues with ammonia. Your positive ammonia in your tap, is most likely a different source of ammonia, not related to the chloramines.

You could use an on tap water filter. If it is a good quality one, it will remove the chloramines from your tap water all together. This may be easier for you than using bottled water for everything. Don’t use the filtered water for your tanks. A lot of times the filtering will remove those minerals needed in the tank. Better to use straight tap water even with ammonia in it.

What do you mean how fast do the flukes work? They can be present for a long time, and then all of a sudden appear and cause problems. They are sort of like ich or round worms. Usually there will be a period where the fish’s immunities are lowered and then they attack. It could be that he has had them for awhile, his body has been fighting them, and he is losing the fight. So it’s time for meds. It’s hard saying why now, but it is definitely worth treating. Especially with a med like PraziPro. It is so gentle and effective. I wouldn’t hesitate to use it, even not being 100% sure this is the cause.

The dose is 1/2 tsp for a 10g, so it would be 1/4 tsp for 5g. You only need to add it once every 4 days. So 1oz should be enough to treat.

 

Thanks! I know I have lots of silly questions. I had a feeling the betta mineral thing might be a ploy. LOL.

Ohhh I didn’t think about the filter removing minerals. Would just straight carbon help remove the ammonia and not the minerals? All my tanks started with straight tap to help with cycling, so I will just go back to using that. Easier to match temperature that way too. I’ve been told the established BB in the filter will remove the ammonia quickly anyway. I was just concerned about it prior to being removed, but that’s no concern with Prime! Didn’t even occur to me.

I just wasn’t sure how flukes worked, mostly as in how quickly he’ll be affected. I’ll definitely order the meds now so I can dose this weekend! I’ll just treat him alone and wait to move the ghostie. I don’t need its tank until my cherries arrive next week.

Thank you again!

 

Hmm...Maybe something like this for the tap water? I could use the container as a sort of filter by cutting holes in the bottom and runnig the tap water through it into the pitcher for the tank? Or AllieSten would you just not worry about it?

Marineland PA0392 Diamond Blend Activated Carbon/Ammonia Neutralizing Crystals, 50-Ounce, 1417-Gram

 

The Prazipro arrived today so I went ahead and dosed the tank with 1/4 tsp for the 5 gallons. Will top off the water this weekend and do a water change in 3-5 days. I will update with how he’s doing.

 

So the swelling never went down. He’s starting to hangout at the bottom of the tank a lot. I’m wondering if it’s scar tissue? I don’t see any flukes hanging out or anything. Anyone have any thoughts?