What would cause a betta's gills to swell?

Question

His gills are sticking out, his face looks kinda irridescent. He's quit eating or he'll bite his food then spit it out. He's a lot less active, and I think he may have fin rot. His fins are deteriorating, but there's no visible fungus. He doesn't have spots of any sort and there's no cottony or velvety look to him. Also, he's a lot paler and his color is changing to a stressed out blue.... Please help! Thanks.

He was in a community tank. Right now he's in his old bowl, because I noticed he was sick and since I dont' know what he is sick with, I thought it better to isolate him till I do know. The tank he was in is a 10 gallon which I do a 50% water change on weekly. Tried the flashlight thing and I couldn't see anything, so as far as I can tell it isn't velvet (thank God!)

His gills are sticking out from under the plates. His tail is splitting and it looks like there might be s little bit of something white on the edges, it's very hard to see it. Since I isolated him last night he has been a little more active and was even curious about his food (even if he won't eat it.) I tried to take a pic, but alas.... it's a hand-me-down and very poor quality. You can barely see that he's a betta, much less what is wrong with him.

Answer 1

My first thought is ammonia or nitrite poisoning. If he's in a small bowl (under 2 gallons) change all of the water, in a tank change 1/2 of it to get rid of the ammonia and nitrites. If you have a test kit test the water first to see if that's the problem, if not then change the water in case it is. Ammonia problems can cause gill swelling and fins to deteriorate as well as lose of appetite. Iridescent colors are common on a bettas face and gill plates, the only thing I would say to look for is a golden or rusty colored shine when you shine a flashlight or other bright light on him. That would be a sign of velvet parasites. You can treat that just like you were treating ick.

Color change is often related to ammonia problems or temperature changes.

Everything seems to point to ammonia which I hope it is as that is so easy to fix.

EDIT: Is it his gill plates sticking out or are his actual gills sticking out from under the plates? You say fins deteriorating... like rotting or breaking off or bad splits and tears? If there is any way you can post a pic ture of him or email me one, please do. That might help a lot. [e-mail]

MM

Answer 2

couple of things if thier si high levels of toxic in water and even chlorine change the water and add novaqua or amquel. the swelling is also could be ICK a worm that ataches to the gills i suggest getting some copper medicine it kills all fungus and parasites if you dont have any coralsor invertebrates mainly salt water do not use but if a fish only tank fresh or salt I would recomend the use

Answer 3

lol there you go, you would do 50 percent water changes weekly which is already a high amount. Your betta is going down the drain, because he has a high amount of amonia burn. When the gills swell it is because the amonia has burned out his body and his blood veins are popping. Id give him about 2 days before he hits the dirt, or in your case the gravel

Answer 4

You may also want to check out his food. Bettas should eat red blood worms (it's not as gross as it sounds). You can get them at any pet store. If you're feeding dry food (flakes or something else), they can cause the fish to backup, become constipated and the symptoms are often exhibited through swollen gills and pale coloring. Also check out "dropsy" - just search it online as Dropsy + Betta. I'm thinking you need to check out your food and insure that you're feeding him the correct amount. Overfeeding can also cause this issue. Good luck!
Stacy
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