betta fish sick?

[semajieo]

my betta just sits at the bottom of the tank only to come up for air. doesnt eat and when i do see it swiming around it it will just stop and sink to the bottom:( it also seems like his gills are not closing all the way. I removed him from the tank and put him in a smaller one with clean water and some aquarium salt. any ideas?

[naturegirl243]

Does he have a heater? He could be cold.

[semajieo]

yah he's at a good temp i keep it at 75 so its not the heat

[Creat]

Is he holding his gills open he could have ammonia or nitrate poisoning, are the gills a healthy pink? Thats my guess and I would suggest raising the temp also. What size container is he in? How often is it changed?

[semajieo]

his gills are red and looks a little inflamed. but for 3 days now it just looks like he's dying. i raised the temp to about 78 and i change the water every day. hes also just in a small 1gal tank, should i put him back in the 10 gal?

[Creat]

Sounds like ammonia poisoning, this can be due to ammonia being in your water supply or not having enough water changes. I would do 100% water changes everyday and raise the temp to 80* And I would keep him in the smaller tank because it will be easier to manage. Also adding an airstone will help him and tannins in the water usually do also. Aquarium salt will also help him recover and help manage the burns.

[bettacharlie]

Test your tap water too. Some people have been reporting ammonia in their tap water. You really ought to get a good test kit of at least pH and ammonia so you know what's going on with the water.