I think Pi has ammonia burns!!!! Please help!!!!

[Saphira101]

Hey guys, My brother got a Betta today, (It's name is Brisinger. He's a HM juvie. I convinced my brother to join the forum; his username is Eragon101.) and I was floating the little guy in Pi's tank while his heater warmed up. I noticed Pi was clamping again, and upon closer inspection, she had little red stripes beside her gills. I immediately tested the water for ammonia with my *new* liquid test kit. The reading was 1.0 ppm. YIKES!!!! I cupped her and floated her and Brisinger in another Betta tank that is 78*F while I did a 100% water change in the kritter keeper with stress coat. I tested the tank for ammonia again, and it is 0.50 ppm. I thought "this can't be right" and decided to test my tap water for ammonia. It's 0.50 ppm too. Is there any additive I can buy to neutralize this?? Please help!!!!



Housing
What size is your tank? Nearly 2 gallons-- It's a Petco brand "kritter keeper".
What temperature is your tank? 78*F
Does your tank have a filter? No.
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No.
Is your tank heated? Yes.
What tank mates does your Betta fish live with? None.

Food
What type of food do you feed your Betta fish? Omega one Betta buffet pellets.
How often do you feed your Betta fish? Two pellets in the morning, one at night.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 2x weekly.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 1x 100% 1x 50%.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? API stress coat+

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? I've only tested for ammonia. However, when I did the 100% water change, I set aside a jar of the old tank water in case the need arises that I should test the other parameters.

Ammonia: 1.0 ppm before WC, 0.50 ppm after WC.
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your Betta fish's appearance changed? Clamped fins, sitting on bottom, small red streaks on gill flaps.
How has your Betta fish's behavior changed? Sitting on bottom of tank, clamping fins unless I wiggle my finger above the water or put food in, then she comes up to eat or investigate. She's still coming up to breathe. (I put a Betta hammock in, but she ignores it.) She is eating normally.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Yesterday, but especially about 2 hours ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Cupped her and floated her in other Betta tank, 100% water change in old tank. I'm waiting for her heater to re-acclimate.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Fin rot since I received her, but it is currently improving.
How old is your fish (approximately)?No idea. Adult, I guess? I got her on the Christmas of 2012.



Please help me!! I'm feeling really bad right now. What did little Pi deserve to be in this situation? Can I replace her cup water with stress coat water? It'll cut the amount of ammonia in half... Also, how do I go about treating ammonia burns, if she does have them? How do I lower the ammonia in my tap water?

Thank you, ~Saphira

[callistra]

You need Prime and you need to redose every 48 hours, or ideally a little before.

Honestly with water like that I would look into cycling a tank to permanently neutralize the ammonia.. I think it will be very hard to keep bettas healthy in that..

[Saphira101]

I'll run to the pet store as soon as possible tomorrow, (it's closed right now) and get some prime.


I also have a new HOB filter on hand, I can cycle a tank and divide it.. Though I'll have to get prime regardless, as I hear cycling can take up to 8 weeks. :/

[Azurelove]

You can also buy Tetra SafeStart to speed the cycling process.

The red streaks aren't burns, they sound like septicemia, a result of poor water quality. You can look it up and see if the pictures match what Pi has. You can treat this with Maracyn or Maracyn Two, most other fin rot medications cover it too, or just frequent water changes (I usually try that before medication).

[callistra]

Red stripes on gills is ammonia poisoning.. I'm not sure where you get septecemia..

[Saphira101]

She seems to un-clamp when I float her in another tank. Why is this? It's the same temp as her old tank...

[Saphira101]

So, I just have to put her in clean water with prime to fix this?

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Re the unclamping while floating her --> Are you floating her in a transparent cup, or an opaque one (that she can't see through)?

[Saphira101]

Transparent... I'm confused. She's in the line of sight of the betta in the tank (super aggressive male VT) and a juvie HM boy (also floating) She doesn't even bother flaring at anybody either... (???)

[Azurelove]

Originally Posted by callistra

Red stripes on gills is ammonia poisoning.. I'm not sure where you get septecemia..

Simply because silly old me didn't read the gill part :P

If it's on other parts of the body it's usually septicemia.

By transparent, it means can she see through the cup or not?