Coughing fish?

Question
Hey Chris,

A friend just gave me this betta fish to "rescue". She didn't want to keep him anymore, because she said his little vase smelled bad. I just cleaned his vase, and it's fine now. I was just on the computer, and i heard a very weird noise coming from his vase. I looked over, and he was... it looked like he was coughing! He made like a coughing sound,his body shook, and all of this murky water came out of his gills. It hasn't happened again, but he did it like 4 times in a row.
 do you have any idea of what's going on??
-Shelby

Answer
Hi Shelby;

I'm so glad you have rescued him! He's probably spitting up crud that used to be in his water, or he bit into a particle of crud or old food and expelled it out his gills as he tried to spit it out. As long as he seems okay now I wouldn't worry too much.

It is important that there is a place for him to get air from the top of the water. Bettas breathe with a specialized "lung" because they are adapted to live in low oxygen water. They must be able to take a gulp of air from the surface every few minutes.

What he needs next is a bigger container. He would do great in a small tank of 3 to 5 gallons with a heater and filter. Bettas can do okay in tanks without filters but they really thrive and stay much healthier in tanks with them. They are also easier to clean and maintain. A small tank with no filter needs a 100% water change at least once a week. A filtered tank only needs a weekly 25% change. Vases, in spite of their popularity, are not good betta homes at all. Here is a web page that explains why;

http://groups.msn.com/TheBettaObsession/thelilyvaseadeathtrap.msnw

Here is another page from that site about general betta care;

http://groups.msn.com/TheBettaObsession/newtobettasthisisforyou.msnw

Have fun with your new little friend!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins