Why does my betta fish gasp all the time?

Question

I rescued a betta with ammonia poisoning a while ago and he has been doing VERY well for a week, he is active, flares, builds bubblenests and is interested in objects out of his tank, but he still gasps for air (not at the surface though) i would think that i did not have enough oxygen in the water but i have several betta (all kept seperate of course) who have no problem at all. He has plenty of space and i keep up with water changes. anyone have any ideas?

Answer 1

Keep him stress free and keep doing small water changes as often as you feel needed and wait it out maybe another week or so.

Sounds like he's still reeling from the burns and needs to heal. If he is eating great.

I had a torpedo barb with the burns and i dosed with melifix for 7 days and he pulled threw nicely.

Melifix helps with healing wounds. Just research its compatibility with Betta's.

It's just subtle help but it worked for me. I always dose pimafix and melafix together by reflex but i doubt that made any difference.

Good Luck!!!  

Answer 2

Ammonia burn affects their gills as well as their scales and fins, so it's possible he may have underfunctioning gills right now. However, since they have Labryinth organs that enable them to breathe air from the surface, he should be fine once his gills heal up. Good Job rescuing the betta!!

Answer 3

I also rescued a few bettas with ammonia poisoning... the gasping is pretty hard to look at.  For any betta with gill distress, gentle aeration is always a good idea-- I like small airstones that provide oxygen without too much water movement, like this.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl...

If you aren't already, adding some blackwater extract or indian almond leaf to the tank also helps with the rescue guys.

Don't medicate unless he's showing other signs of illness, since many medications deplete oxygen in the water and will make it worse for him.  

Answer 4

That is him breathing! He takes in water, uses the oxygen and the rest goes out his gills. Betta's have an organ on the top of their head so they can breathe from the air and live in VERY low oxygenated water, so that is not it.