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Hyperplasia
Common Name: Hyperplasia
Scientific Name: Hyperplasia
Description: physical gill damage
Symptoms: unnaturally red or
swollen gills, partially open operculum, rapid or labored breathing
Cause: injury or exposure to toxins
Medications: clean water, aquarium
salt
Ingredients: Sodium
chloride
Notes: bettas may survive gill
damage when other fish would succumb because they primarily utilize
their labyrinth organ to breathe.
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More Information
Gill tissue is quite sensitive and susceptible to damage
from toxins.
Ammonia and nitrite, for instance, can reek havoc on fragile gill
tissue even at seemingly low levels like .25 -.5 ppm. In basic water
with a pH above 7.0 toxins become considerably more potent. It’s not
uncommon for damaged gill tissue to form a stringy mucus similar to
that of a bacterial disease like Flavobacterium
columnare.
Gill tissue doesn’t tend
to heal very well and in some cases
will grow a coating of new cells that causes the swelling and partially
open operculum (gill cover). This new tissue growth is what we
call Hyperplasia. It’s essentially creating a scar that makes it harder
for the Betta to get oxygen from the water.
Another
thing to keep
in mind is that toxins aren’t the only cause of gill swelling. This
could easily occur from an injury, either from tank décor or
other
fish. If your water quality is in good shape it’s
possible the cause is from physical irritation. Chlorine and
chloramine exposure could also create a problem. Keep in mind exposure
to toxins may have occured before you purchased the fish.
Severe
Hyperplasia is generally irreversible but there are some steps you can
take to help your Betta. First, keep the water clean and free from any
toxins. Separate out any aggressive fish that may be taunting your
Betta and remove or fix any sharp or jagged aquarium décor.
Aquarium
salt can be very useful for improving gill function and is frequently
used to guard against nitrite poisoning. I recommend 1 TBL spoon per 5
gallons of water. Be sure to use aquarium salt and not table salt and
add the salt to the change water instead of the tank directly. This
will help you avoid an accumulation of salt over time since it doesn’t
evaporate. Since your Betta may be relying on his labyrinth organ more
then usual, he may be more comfortable near the surface. Make sure the
water isn’t too deep and that he has places to rest near the surface.
The labyrinth organ
works independently from the gills, so your betta has the advantage of
having a secondary means of getting oxygen over other fish that would
succumb from the gill damage. In some cases, hyperplasia may also
effect the labyrinth organ.
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