PLEASE HELP MY BETTA!

Question
I currently have 2 male bettas.  they are each in their own 2.5 gallon tank.  recently, my oldest betta, i think he's about two and half, has developed something fuzzy on his tailfin and barely on top of his head.  He now has two red spots on one of his gills and it looks like it is getting harder for him to breathe.  I think he might be beginning to have swimming bladder infection, but I'm not sure.  he keeps falling straight to the bottom of his tank.  i put in a lower-water level tank for right now.  I'm really upset because i don't know what is wrong with him.  please help me as soon as you can!!

Answer
Good evening Erica, thank you for your question.

While I am glad to hear you have your bettas in tanks instead of bowls, there is still a water quality issue going on. You should be changing 50% of the water at least twice a week in a small sized system such as this, wastes will build up quickly in a little tank and the filters only help direct it your way for removal, they don't eliminate the wastes. So do keep up on your filter maintenance, rinsing your filter cartridges every week in used water (from your water changes) and replacing the cartridges every two weeks.

The gasping for breath that you are witnessing is a symptom of ammonia poisoning, it won't help to lower the water level - in fact it makes matters worse, since wastes build up even more rapidly in the smaller volume of water.

If you have a test kit, test your water. I would be willing to bet that ammonia is registering. Ammonia and nitrite are two levels that must always be at 0 ppm - always! A cycled, healthy tank, never registers these levels since they are both toxic. Nitrates should be kept below 20 ppm.

Your betta may have an infection (fungal or bacterial) but there is no use medicating with what I suspect to be high levels of ammonia in the water, water quality is the main issue which must be addressed ASAP. Change out 50% of the water with fresh, dechlorinated water right away. You probably should do the same on your other betta's tank, if you follow the same maintenance schedule. Then, later on this evening or early morning, change out another 50%. Make sure to use a dechlorinator such as Prime or Aqua Safe.

Add a 1/2 teaspoon of aquarium salt to the affected tank (you should add 1/4 teaspoon to the other betta's tank) and see if his condition improves. When you have eventually changed out 100% of the water, add another 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the affected tank. It's best to dissolve it in a cup of warm drinking water instead of pouring it straight in - the salt grains will burn if they land on your betta.

Keep up with those water changes, 30-40% a day after today would be my recommendation until he looks much better. You may be overfeeding, only 3 pellets or a few bloodworms at a time daily need to be fed - your betta's stomach is about the size of his eye! Check out www.bettatalk.com for more information on what to feed your betta and general care.

Also, if you don't have a heater in these small tanks, keep in mind that they need tropical temperatures to stay healthy - 78 to 80 degrees, consistently. Since this is not room temperature for most people, I recommend you add a heater to their tanks. Hydor makes a little one that's only 7.5 watts!

Good luck to you, and please feel free to write again.
Nicole