Fish injury?

Question
I just changed my betta (Jaws) tank water. He is in a 1 gallon tank,we use bottled water for the tank. He has a bubbler in the tank so we change it about weekly or when we notice it's not crystal clear.When I put Jaws back in his tank I noticed his left gill area looks skinned and fleshy and is looking kinda like it's bleeding a little. He didn't jump out of his tank or fall when I changed him so I have no idea how he could have injured himself. He's swimming around but he's breathing heavy. What should I do, I don't want him to die. If you need more info or a picture of him please email me.

Answer
Good evening Lucy,

Keeping a betta in a gallon of water isn't as simple as it seems. A tank this small has little surface area to develop beneficial bacteria - the "good" bacteria that turn raw waste (ammonia) into much less harmful nitrates. A bubbler helps add aeration to the water, but it probably is doing little for filtration.

In other words, the only way to keep the betta's tank clean is to deal with his waste as it occurs and be very careful never to overfeed. Bettas stomachs are the size of their eye, so if you feed pellets, 3 pellets a day and maybe a few dried bloodworms would be fine. I would change water every other day, about 50% (half gallon).

Using a half-filled gallon water bottle would be what I would do, only don't use the bottled water - use tap with conditioner in it. One dechlorinator that works very well for betta tanks is Prime, by Seachem, the 50 mL bottle. Two drops makes 1 gallon safe for fish, so half a gallon would just require one drop. Other dechlorinators would work too, but it might take some math to figure out how many drops to dose since most give you the amount as 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons or one capful per 10 gallons.

The reason you should use tap water is that tap water contains earth elements that your betta needs. Bottled drinking water (even spring water) often times is stripped of these essential minerals. Your betta should get used to the pH of your tap water without trouble. If your pH is very high and your water is very hard, maybe you could continue to use spring water. However, try the tap water!

If you do those 50% water changes every other day, your betta should perk up. It's not hard to foul one gallon of water - the tiniest bit of uneaten food will do it. The way your betta is acting suggests it has been exposed to nitrites or ammonia. The best antidote would be 50% water changes every other day. Don't change 100% of the water all at once, as this is stressful to fish. Always leave a little, at least between 20-25%.

I hope that helps!

If you haven't already, check out this site:
http://www.bettatalk.com
It's full of fantastic information about bettas.

Take care,
Nicole

P.S. If it would make you feel better to "add something" - a little aquarium salt wouldn't hurt, but you'll have to be very careful about dosing. Don't add more than 1/4 of a teaspoon. Let the salt completely dissolve in the water before adding, since salt can burn the skin of your fish.

Incidentally, aquarium salt is the same thing as kosher salt or non-iodized cooking salt, which you can find at the grocery store for cheaper. Just FYI!