Is My Betta Sick!!! What Should I Do?

I am having this Betta for awhile now.....he was a very very active fish.....Until once he somehow hit his respiratory area and it started to swell and bleed..(pics in the bottom). I was advised to feed him and take care of his water changes and eventually it will heal by itself...and once it swelled he stopped moving it and taking in air..even when flaring at other bettas he wouldn't open that part out....I was worried but eventually the swelling stopped and I was seeing signs of recovery...but now he is not active he can't really move that much and just comes up for food....sometimes he just stay up vertically...I am really scared I am gonna lose him...is there anything I can do to save him...

 

I'm not too sure the swollen gills are caused by an injury. Seeing as he's not recovering as he should if it was just an injury, I'd do some researching on gill flukes as see if the symptoms match. That would be my best guess as to what could be the cause.

 

Is he acting like he's having trouble breathing? Is he breathing heavy or labored? Does he lay at the bottom or float at the top?

 

What size is the tank? What's the temperature? What are your parameters? Do you know of the nitrogen cycle? Are there any sharp objects in your tank? Are there any other symptoms? Does the tank have a filter? Can we get a picture of the tank?

Fish don't just get random injuries unless there's something sharp in the tank or there's another fish that bullies them. I agree with the previous comment. According to your profile, you don't know of the nitrogen cycle. This worries me, as bad water quality can lead to issues like this. I would purchase an API Master Test Kit (chewy has the cheapest) and check your water for ammonia and nitrites. Also look into the nitrogen cycle: Meanwhile, perform 50% water changes daily. Do not mess with your filter media. If this is really an injury, I would suggest using Seachem Stress Guard to help promote healing, but I really doubt it's an injury considering the symptoms you've listed. Here's some information on gill flukes:

Physical/Behavioral Signs/Symptoms:

• Infected gills and skin
• Similar to ick, but telltale sign is movement and possibly eyespots, something that is not found in ick. Use magnification lens to observe
• Once gills are destroyed, fish will die

Cause:
Undesirable environmental conditions—including poor water quality, overcrowding and/or stress by incompatible species—creates conditions that can lead to destructive outbreaks. Flukes are often present in aquariums but remain harmless under ideal conditions. Avoiding stressful conditions is a key to prevention, but once an outbreak occurs, prompt treatment is critical.

 

Is he acting like he's having trouble breathing? Is he breathing heavy or labored? Does he lay at the bottom or float at the top?

He is taking heavy breathing from one side of Gill and he mostly stays at the bottom and only comes up for food...I give him pellets and mostly he eats only 3 pellets...I tried frozen worms but he only likes pellets....I think he hit himself on one of the rocks ......I think I should remove them..

What size is the tank? What's the temperature? What are your parameters? Do you know of the nitrogen cycle? Are there any sharp objects in your tank? Are there any other symptoms? Does the tank have a filter? Can we get a picture of the tank?

Fish don't just get random injuries unless there's something sharp in the tank or there's another fish that bullies them. I agree with the previous comment. According to your profile, you don't know of the nitrogen cycle. This worries me, as bad water quality can lead to issues like this. I would purchase an API Master Test Kit (chewy has the cheapest) and check your water for ammonia and nitrites. Also look into the nitrogen cycle: Meanwhile, perform 50% water changes daily. Do not mess with your filter media. If this is really an injury, I would suggest using Seachem Stress Guard to help promote healing, but I really doubt it's an injury considering the symptoms you've listed. Here's some information on gill flukes:

Physical/Behavioral Signs/Symptoms:

• Infected gills and skin
• Similar to ick, but telltale sign is movement and possibly eyespots, something that is not found in ick. Use magnification lens to observe
• Once gills are destroyed, fish will die

Cause:
Undesirable environmental conditions—including poor water quality, overcrowding and/or stress by incompatible species—creates conditions that can lead to destructive outbreaks. Flukes are often present in aquariums but remain harmless under ideal conditions. Avoiding stressful conditions is a key to prevention, but once an outbreak occurs, prompt treatment is critical.

Well I do water changes every two days....for now I am holding him out in a small tank
..and I can assure you that the water quality is in great condition.....well he is better than before now....he moves around...but sometimes he just stays in the bottom until I drop some pellets....he seems to be not able to carry his body....itss just my assumption....it could be totally wrong
......I am gonna remove the rocks in the tank and just leave it bare bottom and observe him...also I am gonna do 50% water changes everyday....can you suggest me any other medication I can give him....

What size is the tank? What's the temperature? What are your parameters? Do you know of the nitrogen cycle? Are there any sharp objects in your tank? Are there any other symptoms? Does the tank have a filter? Can we get a picture of the tank?

Fish don't just get random injuries unless there's something sharp in the tank or there's another fish that bullies them. I agree with the previous comment. According to your profile, you don't know of the nitrogen cycle. This worries me, as bad water quality can lead to issues like this. I would purchase an API Master Test Kit (chewy has the cheapest) and check your water for ammonia and nitrites. Also look into the nitrogen cycle: Meanwhile, perform 50% water changes daily. Do not mess with your filter media. If this is really an injury, I would suggest using Seachem Stress Guard to help promote healing, but I really doubt it's an injury considering the symptoms you've listed. Here's some information on gill flukes:

Physical/Behavioral Signs/Symptoms:

• Infected gills and skin
• Similar to ick, but telltale sign is movement and possibly eyespots, something that is not found in ick. Use magnification lens to observe
• Once gills are destroyed, fish will die

Cause:
Undesirable environmental conditions—including poor water quality, overcrowding and/or stress by incompatible species—creates conditions that can lead to destructive outbreaks. Flukes are often present in aquariums but remain harmless under ideal conditions. Avoiding stressful conditions is a key to prevention, but once an outbreak occurs, prompt treatment is critical.

His silver scales are falling off and turning black....he has heavy breathing now...on one side of his Gill... And he is not using the other to breathe.....

 

He is taking heavy breathing from one side of Gill and he mostly stays at the bottom and only comes up for food...I give him pellets and mostly he eats only 3 pellets...I tried frozen worms but he only likes pellets....I think he hit himself on one of the rocks ......I think I should remove them..


Well I do water changes every two days....for now I am holding him out in a small tank
..and I can assure you that the water quality is in great condition.....well he is better than before now....he moves around...but sometimes he just stays in the bottom until I drop some pellets....he seems to be not able to carry his body....itss just my assumption....it could be totally wrong
......I am gonna remove the rocks in the tank and just leave it bare bottom and observe him...also I am gonna do 50% water changes everyday....can you suggest me any other medication I can give him....


His silver scales are falling off and turning black....he has heavy breathing now...on one side of his Gill... And he is not using the other to breathe.....

Clove oil may be a good idea at this point for euthanasia. I would suggest API General Cure for gill flukes. Not so sure the water quality is great if this happened. Do you test your water for ammonia and nitrites?

 

It might be gill and skin flukes, you could try either Prazipro or API General Cure. Flukes are a microscopic parasite that you can't see with the naked eye but what you are describing sounds like it might be that - labored breathing, one gill doesn't look like it's working, laying on the bottom... the symptoms match up. The scales falling off could be from skin flukes.