Injured gill/Sick Fish

[kjuracek]

Sick/injured beta fish

Hi all,
I got my betta fish about a week ago from petsmart. (I know, I know-not the most reputable store). Any rate, he has a .5 gallon tank with rocks, a cave, and he HAD a plastic plant. This morning I woke up to find him with what appeared to be his gill stuck in a plant leaf. Immediately, I took him off, took the plant out, but it looked almost like his gill was bleeding. There was no actual blood in the water, it rather looked like something was falling out of his gill. Any rate, I went to class and when I came back he looked even worse.

Upon finding him looking to be what was on his deathbed, I immediately called a local fish specialty store to ask them what to do. They said to clean the water. I put him in a cup with extra conditioner, and he began to liven up. I then took my fish in his cup as well as his tank to the local fish specialty store. They tested the water, said pH, nitrate, and ammonia levels were all okay. I bought him a new, live plant, took it home, and put it in the tank.

Since arriving home and being placed back in his tank, my beta has not eaten, will not leave the surface at one corner of his tank, and is hardly responsive to anything I do. The pet store said I would not need antibiotics unless his gill appeared to not be healing properly.

HELP...what do I do?

[Mahachai]

Maybe you can drop by Walmart to see if they sell any Melafix. Those are medications created for injured bettas. And if he seems fine in the next few days but does not eat then I suggest you should try to give him a different kind of meal like frozen bloodworms from Petsmart. Hope he gets better.

[kjuracek]

Thank you! If he is still like this tomorrow, I'll go back to the pet store and get him some Melafix. Also, do you know if aquarium salt would help? Or if the new, live plant could be bothering him?

[Mahachai]

No problem. I've never use aquarium salts before, but I know that it's used for badly injured bettas. If he seems like he needs it then you can treat him with it or else keeping his water clean would be enough. I think if the plant has caused him a problem before then maybe you should recommend a different plant like java fern or a soft plant that doesn't look like it can cut him.

[Hopeseeker]

Somewhere, I remember about Melafix not being an ok med for bettas. It might have been on this website. I'm not sure though. I would research first.

[kjuracek]

Yes..I just looked it up actually and read that, too. I am sure there are many similar options that are betta fish-friendly. Thank you!

[Mahachai]

Originally Posted by Hopeseeker

Somewhere, I remember about Melafix not being an ok med for bettas. It might have been on this website. I'm not sure though. I would research first.

I'm just speaking in my opinion because it worked for me.

[Hopeseeker]

I was just double-checking, just making sure, for my future reference....long life of betta-keeping in my future..

[kjuracek]

Okay so woke up to find him in the same exact spot acting the same exact way. I'll go get him an antibiotic today and should I do a full water change? Or partial?

[Withered]

I think a .5 gallon tank might be way to small for him. I know that some people beleive that Bettas can live in such a small area, but unless you are doing 100 percent water changes like every day his water probably isn't clean enough. I would suggest going out and buying at least a 2 gallon tank for him. Also, to help with healing his gill, I would try to get some API stress coat as it helps healing the skin. You might also want to get some Aquarium Salt and add 1tsp per gallon to help aid in the healing process as well. If none of this helps, then you might want to look into the antibiotic route, although I am not sure which meds you would need to use.