hey my female betta has been actting really really odd the last day or so her gills are going really really fast like it cant breathe and its swiming oddly and when its not its seem to float about doing nothing but trying to breathe any clues to what it is??

p.s water levels and great nothing wrong with the water

How is your aeration.

when was you last water change.

are there other fish in the tank.

what temp do you have the water at?

how do you know nothings wrong with the water? are you using some sort of liquid test kit? taking it to get tested at your lfs is almost useless cause they'll tell you its fine hoping you'll buy more fish anyway and test strips are flat out inaccurate, and as stated abouve how often and how big are you water changes? how big is the tank?

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10g- 2 hi-fin fm platys, 3 koi & red wag sword fry
40g Breeder- 6 danios, 4 female swords, 1 male swords
"I was born with nothin and I still got most of it left."- Seasick Steve

im using the APi master test kit thing.. and i normaly do a change once every 2 weeks.. and the tanks 100litre with homemade c02 and internel filter for a 200l tank its also has loads of live plants.. temp is around 27'c or 28'c

have filter with aero mode..

last change was last week.

temp is around 27/28'C

yes i have 1 male betta 3 females counting the one which is ill 1 nero tetra 1 catfish 2 wood shrimp 2 ammo shrimp and 6 Celebes Rainbowfish

ok if it only one fish that is affected I would separate it.
do you have a small isolation or hospital tank?
if not it is real easy to do so.

I really don't think it is a tank issue.

how old is the female affected.

yes its only the one.. which is well over 8 months old prob 9 now. and the others are about 1 to 3 months old
and no thats one thing i do not have.. i have a old goldfish bowl which is ok but nothing to heat or filter it.

any ideas?

You have a male in with female bettas?This is a big no no unless they are wilds.

What are the exact levels of

Ammonia
NitrIte
NithAte


You should be changing the water weekly.You have all these fish together?

Please get a picture of the female.Any tattered fins?

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

yeah i did ask that in the shop but the man selling them said it would be fine. and so far they dont fight at all.. theres the odd chacing but nothing big. none of them have riped or tattered fins.. when i got the male he was in bits because of the shop keeping all the males in the same tank.. that was a month or 2 ago and now hes looking great most of his fins have grown back.

PH 7.2
Ammonia 0.25ppm
NitrIte 0ppm
NithAte 5.0ppm

photos red male. and female where its been for ages.. i move it with the net and it swims off breatheing like mad

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OH goodness stay away from that store!
beta males should never be kept in the same tank.

could that be the reason?? the females ill?

No,
that is just a really bad practice on the store keeper he should know better.

there is something going on with that one female.

having a 3 to 1 ratio of female to males is correct but if you are not going to breed them you do need to keep them apart.

This is not a schooling fish at all.

as far as the gold fish bowl that could be a great isolation/hospital tank.

depending on the temp of the area you keep it in that will determine if you need a heater.
you can get a rally small heater for a 38L tank that will do fine.
I have seen ones that are factory set to 25C that are pretty inexpensive

I would get a small air stone on a control valve.
Gravel or substrate is not needed.

filtration is also not needed as water changes and adding meds to the tank
90% of the time requires that the carbon be removed.

ok thanks i will need a heater as i live in scotland so i will go to the shop 2mz and get one. i already have a airstone so thats no problem.. but what can i do to help it?? if there is anyway? or is this jst a sorta end of days for the poor fish?

No,it is not correct I am sorry to break it to you.male and female should not be together unless for spawning.Also,vvery hard to tell form the pic but that female looks like a short finned male to me.Its got longer finnage on the bottom which seems to taper to a point.

Bettas are very territorial,a trait improved upon by breeder to make fighting machines.They are not bred to live in a three to one ratio,I dont care if it works for a year it is bound to go sour.

The best thing you can do is to seperate all the bettas,place them in their own setups,at least three gallons of planted and heated space.Or rehome all but one.

__________________
http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

I thought I said that

I will agree with separating them until time to breed.

Its the one to three ratio that is wrong.That causes too much confusion and usually ends up with one of the females being bullied.I guess I should have said only a pair in the tank when spawning.

__________________
http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

you are most defiantly the beta expert here.

thanks for making things clear.

yeah im a complete newbie with fish guess i should have jst gotten guppies. thanks to everyone for helping with everything.. i know not to buy from that shop again :/