Making sure...

[whimsicalbrainpan]

I think Bradbury has a fungal infection but I want to double check to be sure. He is lethargic, has no appetite, and there is a wispy, barely visible substance near his dorsal fin. I am about to add AS, and lower the temp. I have only had him for a week. I feel awful that he is sick.

Housing
What size is your tank? 5.5 gal
What temperature is your tank? 80 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Omega Betta Buffet pellets and Bloodworms as a treat.
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day, usually about 3 pellets

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week (I've only done it once so far).
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Prime

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? I had my water tested at the store a couple of days ago. The Ph was a little off (got something to correct that), but otherwise it was fine.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? His color keeps changing on his body. It was pale for a while but is fine now.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He has become lethargic, or rather more lethargic than what I am used to, he is just getting used to his tank.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Yesterday, I didn't notice the "wispy stuff" until today.
Have you started treating your fish? Not yet. But... If so, how? When I sign off here I'm adding AS and lowering the temp.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? I have only had him for just over a week. When I got him he had a damaged fin but no signs of disease. I'm sure there might be some that would say that I shouldn't have gotten a fish with a damaged fin, but I thought he was beautiful and seemed otherwise healthy.
How old is your fish (approximately) I have no idea.

I am wondering about something, should I take the cartridge out of my filter? Will it remove any of the salt I add to the tank?

Have I diagnosed him correctly? Is there anything else I should know?

[kyasarin5]

It could be that he is shedding some of his slime coat. Usually fungus is in patches. Don't lower the temperature. Keep the temp at 80 for now. Do his fins have black edges where they are torn? It could be fin rot.

I would leave the filter cartridge in for now too. It shouldn't remove any of the aquarium salt you put in. If you add a medicine however then use a filter that doesn't have any carbon in it as the carbon would remove meds.

If it is fin rot then I would recommend maracyn II. I have had good results using it for fin rot. Others recommend daily 50 percent water changes and just using aquarium salt.

Also using the dose of stress coat for fin repair will help his fins heal too.

[LebronTheBetta]

A picture should define it. When Bettas shed their coat, it's usually all around their fins. Lebron sheds his when I do 100% changes. I know a lot about it. This is slime coat shedding:

[Oldfishlady]

In what relation did you see the changes to the water change....before or after the water change and with the pH altering product and was that to increase or lower the pH. Also, how much dechlorinator did you use with the water change and did you leave him in the tank or remove him and if you removed him how did you re-acclimate back to the tank.

What I would recommend right now-hold off on the salt for now-turn off the filter-since this might be causing stress-make a 50% water change leaving him in the tank and dose the dechlorinator for the full volume of the tank and stop using the pH altering product-the only chemical additive you need is the dechlorinator.

Possible cause-not enough dechlorinator used, pH swings and re-bound from chemical additives, space and water movement...all this can cause stress that can compromise the immune response.

Can you post a pic....

Keep us posted.....

[Myates]

Have to agree, sounds more like a little bit of slime coat had sloughed off.. no need for AQ salt at all, nor lowering the temp.
As for his energy.. he may be just settling in and isn't exploring as much, or maybe he is tired.

If he stops swimming all the time, stops eating then I would worry.. you are looking for patches of fungus, which is similar to white patches of fur like substance.. and for bacteria it will be black.

For true fin rot all you need is 1-2tsp of AQ salt with daily 100% water changes, but what you describe sounds nothing like fin rot. No need to use medication for it, nor salts at this time. And if you ever had to medicate you will want to do it in a separate tank rather then the home one..

Is your tank cycled? If you hadn't cycled it for the 6+ weeks, then he may be sloughing the slime coat due to chemistry spikes which happen at any time and he is warding off something he doesn't like by creating the slime coat.

I would recommend going ahead and doing a 30-50% water change now to make sure the water is clean and to rid whatever had irritated him.

Also on side note, no need to play with the pH, sometimes that causes more problems then it's worth- bettas are very adaptable to whatever pH you have normally.

Edit: OFL beat me to it :D her advice is spot on

[whimsicalbrainpan]

The fins are fine. No sign of discoloration along the edges. I will put the temp back up and invest in some stress coat. What is going on does look like the pic LebonTheBetta posted (thank you for that). I can't get a pic of it however, I tried and it is not showing. I only noticed it when Bradbury turned to swim the other way. It is long and wispy rather than short like fuzz.

I noticed all of this after the water change and PH product.

I figured his behavior might be his settling in but he isn't eating and that is why I am worried.