Red gills

[bbulino]

So about a week ago two of my bettas gills started to redden in color now ones reddish and the other bettas gills are really oddly colored. any idea whats going i think it might be ammonia poisoning but not sure because i regularly change the water.

[Myates]

Red gills can be a sign of ammonia burns.. how often and what % of the water are you changing? Water conditioner?

Sometimes they change color in different ways as they age- so not all red will be burns.

[bbulino]

100% every 2 weeks and i do use conditioner along with Ick guard to treat the water(tap water).

[ZergyMonster]

you're going to want to do more than 1 water change every other week. It is recommended that you do at least 2 a week, 1 being a 50% change and the other a 100% change.

[Bombalurina]

What size is your tank? Zergy's schedule is correct for an unfiltered tank, but filters and/or larger tank sizes can alter that...

I'd also suggest that you stop using the Ick Guard stuff. Constant use of medications (even preventatives) can be bad for them, and clean warm water is a better preventative anyway.

[bbulino]

They're both in 2 gallon hawkeye hexagon tanks with undergravel filters. And kk ill stop with the Ick Guard. So i should start doing 50% water changes twice a week?

[Myates]

That size of a tank most opt not to use a filter as they can sometimes be too strong for the male- if you keep a filter in it then 2 50%s, 1 water only and 1 with vacuuming or stir/dip to remove waste/debris out of the substrate.

If you remove the filter you will want 1 50% and 1 100% per week water change.

Regardless of size and filter, you will always need to do a water change per week.

As mentioned above, no reason to use medication- that right there can be irritating him and his gills, along with an ammonia build up after 2 weeks of no water change.
Just a good water conditioner is all that is needed.

[bbulino]

Kk i did a 50% change today and didnt put any ick guard in. Should i do another 50% about wednesday or next sunday?

[ZergyMonster]

I do my water changes on this schedule: 100% every Sunday and a 50% Wednesday or Thursday whenever I have time during the day.

As long as you're using conditioner and doing these water changes your fish should be looking better within a week or two, if they are not getting better be sure to post an update to see if there is something else that may be the problem.

[bbulino]

Ok, thanks for help!