Betta Fish with black gills?

[lovelysoul]

I feel like a terrible fish mommy. All three of my betta fish have black gills, and from what I have read it's bad, but none of them have trouble breathing and swim just fine. Any ideas? I've been having a challenge keeping the tanks clean with limited money and living in a pretty humid basement. I do have a whisper filter in each tank, and all three are 1.5 gallons. As of this weekend I'm buying new filters and a gravel vacuum. I am currently treating them for fin rot and will be doing water changes in a few more days. Any tips for keeping the tank clean and happy fish?

[Oldfishlady]

Can you post a pic.....is it the gill itself or the gill plate that is black...Under the gill plate the gill lamellae-filaments should look bright red....

How much and how often are you making water changes in the 1.5gal filtered tanks-any live plants, type of additives, and tank mates, appetite/food-how long have you had them....

[OrangeAugust]

Were their gills black when you got the fish? That might be their natural coloring. I got a pastel pink betta about a month ago and he has black outlining his gills. It's just his natural coloring. He also has two black dots- one on his anal fin and one on his dorsal fin.