How do you treat a bacterial infection near gills of a beta? (FISHY PLEASE DONT DIE!)

[fly0away0]

I am a sixteen year old new beta owner who received Sir. Squishy as a birthday present on October 5th, 2008. When I first got him, his fins were curled up and he was an over all dull-black color... Few day's later his fins were stretching out more and his coloration improved significantly... (I suspect where ever the guy who bought him for me got him from [probably walmart ] didn't take very good care of the poor thing...) Anyways... recently I've noticed slight discoloration near his gills...then what looked like a scar... and then I noticed some swelling. I feed him about four food pellets every 12 hours apart (6AM and 6PM...the little guy reminds me to take my medicine ) He is currently in a one gallon container for the moment. And I added a teaspoon of salt to his water. I clean his water once a week and use aqua-safe to treat the water.

I am pretty darn sure he has a bacterial infection of some sort. He has been eating a maximum of two pellets per feeding and spitting them out often. He was acting normal until last night when I noticed he was swimming like crazy scratching his "scars" anywhere he can (gravel and side of tank). I suspect this is making his infection worse...(kind of like poison ivy on me). After putting salt in his water, the swelling went down and the scar shrunk in size. I live in a small town where the closest good pet-store is a long way from home so I can't get Sir. Squishy there and back... and ask specifically what is wrong with him...

My question is how do I treat him and what can I do to make him feel better??????????

below are pictures of him. I used a magnifying glass with the camera lense to get a clearer picture (he swims so darn fast...it took me about an hour to get non-blured pictures):

Right Gill swelling and scar pre-salt addition:


Right Gill swelling and scar post-salt addition:


Left Gill swelling and scar post-salt addition:





Any beginner-at-betas advice is greatly appreciated!!! please and thank you!

~Mayisha

[aunt kymmie]

I can't advise on your betta's problem but I will say that using a magnifying glass with a camera was a clever idea, very clever!

[fly0away0]

Originally Posted by aunt kymmie

I can't advise on your betta's problem but I will say that using a magnifying glass with a camera was a clever idea, very clever!

thank you! tehehe...I've found myself becoming a photography geek recently...anything dealing with lenses, lights, shadows...and overal cameraocity interests me... more of my photography/art

unfortunatly that still doesn't help my poor fishy... *sigh*
he's still scratching himself on gravel and the glass walls of the tank...

[aunt kymmie]

I know someone will be getting back to you soon on help for Sir Squishy!
I wish I could help but I only got my very first betta a little over a week ago. Interesting fish they are.

[fly0away0]

Originally Posted by aunt kymmie

I know someone will be getting back to you soon on help for Sir Squishy!
I wish I could help but I only got my very first betta a little over a week ago. Interesting fish they are.

thank you very much!!!

yes they are interesting fish...first thing I did after my sweet sixteen party was research betas (how I found this site) Siamese fighting fish...rice paddies in Thailand... I personally think all creatures are better off in their natural environment (un-caged) but of course I'm not in Thailand...and most likely Sir Squishy wouldn't be able to hunt for himself after being fed by humans all his life...
they're very prettyfull fishies too!!! I can just imagine walking on bridges over Thia rice feilds and seeing these colorful little creatures in the water after the bugs that eat the crop... they must be such a joy to farmers!!!

Its a bit discoraging to have a sick fish after only having him around since Oct. 5th...which was what? three weeks ago!?!?

[dramaqueen]

Are you using table salt or aquarium salt? I use just a pinch of aquarium salt in my gallon containers. I wouldn't use table salt. I use aquarium salt as a disease preventative. Someone else will have to advise you about the swollen gill but if he is scratching himself on everythhing, he may have velvet or ick. I can't tell from the pics if its either one of those.

[fly0away0]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

Are you using table salt or aquarium salt? I use just a pinch of aquarium salt in my gallon containers. I wouldn't use table salt. I use aquarium salt as a disease preventative. Someone else will have to advise you about the swollen gill but if he is scratching himself on everythhing, he may have velvet or ick. I can't tell from the pics if its either one of those.

erm...oops... I used table salt O.o? is that bad??? it seems to be helping though because the swelling went down after a day... Like I said...we have NO pet stores around here so the only chance I'll have to drive to a larger town to get aquarium salt is this weekend... I may be able to get it earlier if I don't have much school work the next few days... *prays I don't* and how much exactly is a pinch? hmm...from what I know ick means white spots...and there isn't a trace of white on him other than the fin that was already white to begin with... as for velvet, I'm not sure either... could you advise me on what kind of pictures I should take to be able to tell? I didn't consider parasites...I haven't fed him live food and there aren't any plants in the water so I wouldn't know where he'd catch that from.... I did have a cold not too long ago...is it possible for fish to catch diseases from humans and vise-versa??? do you by any chance know someone who could give me some advice on the swelling? thank you very much by the way!!! I'll get that aquarium salt ASAP!

[dramaqueen]

A lot of times fish get sick from the poor conditions they are kept in at the petstores so its probably not from anything you did. It sounds like you are taking good care of him. Some people DO use table salt but I prefer aquarium salt. A couple of grains is good.I can relate to not being able to get to a petstore. I used to live in a small town where the nearest mall was 90 miles away.

[fly0away0]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

A lot of times fish get sick from the poor conditions they are kept in at the petstores so its probably not from anything you did. It sounds like you are taking good care of him. Some people DO use table salt but I prefer aquarium salt. A couple of grains is good.I can relate to not being able to get to a petstore. I used to live in a small town where the nearest mall was 90 miles away.

oi...sounds exactly like middle of no-where louisiana to me! hmm...so do you think he'll get better soon enough? and how long does it normally take for fish to get better?

[dramaqueen]

I don't know. It could be a couple of weeks.