Hello everyone, my female betta has an inflamed gill. There was no sign of nitrites or ammonia in my water at all, but i do water changes regularly. She is in a 2.5 gallon that has a filter and heater. I purchased ampicillin for her and i have a couple questions about it. How much should i put in a 2.5 gal? Should i remove my cartridge or can it stay in? Do you have to cut open the capsules? If anyone could give me this info id really appreciate it! Thanks!
We need more info.....hold off on the medication.....
She is in a 2.5gal filtered tank-what is the water temp, any live plants, type of additives used, any tank mates, how much and how often are the water changes, how do you care for the filter media, how long have you had her, appetite-type/amount of food, has she ever been sick and/or treated, what are her signs/symptoms, what are all the water prams for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and type of testing products...If she is a brand new fish-how did you acclimate her to the new tank...also, post a pic....
We need more info.....hold off on the medication.....
She is in a 2.5gal filtered tank-what is the water temp, any live plants, type of additives used, any tank mates, how much and how often are the water changes, how do you care for the filter media, how long have you had her, appetite-type/amount of food, has she ever been sick and/or treated, what are her signs/symptoms, what are all the water prams for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and type of testing products...If she is a brand new fish-how did you acclimate her to the new tank...also, post a pic....
Her water stays between 77-82 degrees. No live plants or mates. Everytime i do a water change (which i do 50-100% water changes weekly) i add a little bit of salt and conditioner. I rinse cartridge every week to two weeks and change it monthly. She eats like a pig andis very active, her habits havent changed yet. I give her a tiny bit of small flake and freeze dried blood worms daily, shes never been sick before, had her for close to a year. I think the test strips i used were by tetra. There is 0 ammonia (the lowest it shows on test strip), 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate. My PH is very high where i live, but ive read its better to adjust your fish to whatever your water PH is because increasers and decreasers cause deadly drops or raises in it. I dont have the pic at the moment. I will put one up when i can. I work at a pet store so i know a lot about fish. Since shes been like this for about a week or so, i do not want to hold off on medicine because thats how fish end up dead. I simply asked about the medicine because we do not sell it at the store i work at and the dosing directions are not that clear. Hope someone can help..thanks.
OFL, is it possible that the salt damaged her?
You aren't supposed to use salt all the time, just for treating sick fish. The long term exposure could have done something.
OFL, is it possible that the salt damaged her?
You aren't supposed to use salt all the time, just for treating sick fish. The long term exposure could have done something.
I dont think so, only because i havent used salt on her the whole time since ive gotten her. The only reason ive been using it recently is because shes been sick. I was hoping that woukd help her gill a little bit. Ive been trying to put just a couple pinches of salt every time i do a water change lately and ive been doing them more frequently because i know the cleaner the tank is, its a better chance of her healing.
Also, what else could cause gill problems like that? I know its usually because of ammonia or nitrite poisoning, but i test her water all the time and there has ever been a problem with it at all.
What I am not understanding is the inflamed gill......is it both gills, the gill plates, are the plates stuck open is she gasping at the surface, clamped...etc.....if the gills are red...that is normal-they should look red in color-this mean she has good oxygenated blood flow.....
And yes, long term salt use with this species can cause issues....
What I am not understanding is the inflamed gill......is it both gills, the gill plates, are the plates stuck open is she gasping at the surface, clamped...etc.....if the gills are red...that is normal-they should look red in color-this mean she has good oxygenated blood flow.....
And yes, long term salt use with this species can cause issues....
It's just one gill and it looks "puffed out" almost like its stuck open
And no, she isn't gasping at the surface, she's still acting normal
Last edited by BlueBettas; 03-29-2012 at 04:41 PM.
Reason: More
Usually when it is one gill that looks to be stuck open it can be caused by a few things.....past ammonia burns or injury that caused scar tissue to build up, an injury or parasites....
Usually when it is one gill that looks to be stuck open it can be caused by a few things.....past ammonia burns or injury that caused scar tissue to build up, an injury or parasites....
Do you think I should still medicate her? I'm afraid to just let it go...
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