Rescue Betta Rapid Gill Movement

Hey, guys... I recently rescued a betta from a store. He was basically lying sideways and seemed distressed in his little cup so I had to get him outta there.

I treated with Aquarium coop’s quarantine trio for about 5 days. He seemed to be doing pretty good but I’m worried for a few reasons.

1. Rapid gill movement. See video Here


2. Spastic swimming/going up for air. See video Here

3. Swim bladder disorder. He seems to chill at the top a lot, and then he’ll start to tilt one way or another and that’s usually when he darts around, gulps for air a few times and then stops somewhere else to repeat the cycle. Seems to be favoring places that keep him upright.

He’s in a small hospital tank right now with a bubbler, some stress guard, and a cattappa leaf. If you guys have any ideas please let me know. I have most meds available in my kit.

Thank you
Lisa Frank thanks you too

 

The first thing I’d test is just turning off the bubbles and see if his movement improves. That is a very strong current for a betta, especially one that has clamped fins and seems to not know how to swim well. Many petco cup betta fish take a long time to learn how to properly use their fins.

 

What was the reason for treating him with anything, if he was in his own tank, did you see something not right?

I would slow down the filter, turn down all the lighting, test for ammonia or nitrite as a start.

 

What was the reason for treating him with anything, if he was in his own tank, did you see something not right?

I would slow down the filter, turn down all the lighting, test for ammonia or nitrite as a start.

Did you look at the video of his gill movement? They are constantly pulsing fast ...in my opinion. But I’m also unsure, which is why I’m posting here. I have two other bettas , one of which used to be in the tank Lisa Frank usually lives in and their gill movement has never looked like this.

The first thing I’d test is just turning off the bubbles and see if his movement improves. That is a very strong current for a betta, especially one that has clamped fins and seems to not know how to swim well. Many petco cup betta fish take a long time to learn how to properly use their fins.

Maybe I should have been more clear. He was acting this way while in his 5 gallon with a bunch of snails, without the bubbler. Plenty of room for him to swim. I put the bubbler in his 5 gallon initially because I was worried about his oxygen intake after seeing his rapid gills and his weird rapid gulps at the top. After I put the bubbler in he swam TO the bubbler and decided to hover there next to it as he is doing right now in the smaller tank. So if anything, I feel like he likes it or needs it. I’m willing to try anything tho. I’m not trying to swat away advice. I just want to make sure we are all on the same page.

His original home is always monitored for ammonia and nitrite and nitrates especially since there are a bunch of snails in there, so that tank gets cleaned more often than the others.

So... if there’s no red around his gills... is there anything that could be wrong with his gills? Or am I worried about nothing?

 

Okay I see what you are saying now. The rapid gill movement was something the beta was doing at the store in his cup already and that's why you brought him home and treated him. You put him in a tank with snails at your place and added the bubbler because you wanted to up the O2 levels in the water. I get it now.

Well you can't unring the bell with the treatment you gave him and if it didn't make him worse, then no harm no foul.

My guess is this. He came from a LFS is a small plastic cup with crappy water quality. Rapid gill movement and clamped fins isn't always a sign of an ill fish, but it can also be a symptom of a healthy fish that is very stressed. The treatment you gave your fish buddy is a trio of medicines for bacterial infections/fungal infections/and parasites.

If you can't see anything externally that's a good sign. Internally, well you will never know. But if he eats and poops normal that's usually a good sign.

I think I would go with the obvious to start. He is stressed out big time and maybe the treatments can also add to the stress. My suggestion is:

1) low light, very little stimulus.
2) lots of hiding places, a floating plant or moss, fake or real. When I had beta's they liked hornwort floating on the top
3) very little to almost no water current
4) exceptional water quality
5) feed in small amounts if he is eating
6) proper temperature

There will be an acclimation process for the beta, even going from crappy little cup with crappy water, to a nice tank with great water that will also be stressful, even if he wasn't stressed before. Medicating an already stressed out fish can be also stressful on the fish.

Good luck, let me know how he does.