Lump on Side of Betta Fish

[rooey1005]

Hi - I've just joined this forum so I apologize if I'm not doing this properly.

My betta fish has developed a lump on the side of his body. He still eats and swims around, but I notice him sleeping(?) a lot leaning against a castle we have in the tank.

Housing
What size is your tank? 10 gallon
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? Biowheel?
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 One Betta Pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? Every night 5-6 pieces. Every so often, we skip a day during the week.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every 30 days we change 2/3 of the water. We also top up the evaporated water to the fill line once a week. The owner of a fish specialty store told us to use Natural Spring water - so that's what we use.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 66%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? We do put a water conditioner in, but it's natural spring water we use, so it doesn't have chlorine in it.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

No, have not tested.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Yes, large-ish lump on side of his body closer to the head then the tail.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Not too much, but 'lies down' a lot.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? I noticed it about 3-4 weeks ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? No
Does your fish have any history of being ill? No
How old is your fish (approximately)? We've had him for just over a year.

I could attach a picture if that's allowed and someone can tell me how to do this. Thanks - I appreciate any advice.

[shellieca]

Wow you only do water changes once a month & you've not had any problems? The majority of aquarist do weekly water changes as there are minerals I water that need to be replenished & it keeps the nitrates at a reasonable level. But it looks like what you're doing works. In any case can you post a pic? I've seen Bettas with a lump but didn't have any problems so it may be nothing to worry about or there my not be anything that can be done. Has it gotten bigger ip since you 1st noticed it?

[rooey1005]

Update: I found the albums section in my profile: http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?u=46702
And yes, I do believe it has grown.

Thanks for your reply. Do you know how I can attach a picture?

[eatmice2010]

i usually upload my pics to photobucket and copy and paste my pics

[shellieca]

Originally Posted by rooey1005

Update: I found the albums section in my profile: http://www.bettafish.com/album.php?u=46702
And yes, I do believe it has grown.

Thanks for your reply. Do you know how I can attach a picture?

Under the quick reply box click on go advanced & then manage attachments (if I remember correctly that's what it's called).

[shellieca]

I see the pic in the album. It's always there? Not just after he's eaten? IMO there probably isn't anything you can do about it unfortunately but somebody may have a different opinion.

[callistra]

Most spring water is actually ro water and not okay for fish unless you treat it with something like Equilibrium or RO right. What is the source of your water? What is the ph, gh and kh?

Your feeding is on the high end. Is he pooping daily? what does it look like? You might try cutting back to 4 pellets. I also would feed no more than 2 or 3 per feeding so split up his food to two smaller meals a day (one am and one pm). He always needs a fast day a week, not just occasionally

You need to be doing a weekly water change of no less than 20% but most commonly suggested around here to do 50%. this needs to include using a gravel vac/siphon to get all the poop off the bottom, not just removing water off the top. At this point I would do a series of 50% water changes over the next 2-3 days with the vac to get water quality under control. I would also test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate before and after changes.

I would treat this by getting water quality under control and using epsom salts - 1 tsp per gallon predissolved and added very slowly over an hour to the tank. ES is like AQ in that it does not need to be redosed until a water change happens because it does not break down or evaporate. The salt needs to be 100% magnesium sulfate with no dyes perfumes or additives or any kind per the ingredients label. I'd leave him in these salts for 1-2 weeks and see if the swelling goes down and monitor poop during this time to make sure it's not an internal infection.

[rooey1005]

Thanks for the replies so far. We will break up the feeding into 2 times a day with 2-3 pellets, and skip a day every week.

I've answered some of the questions below:

The bump is always there.

We get the spring water from the store. We're on well water, and after our first betta fish died after a year, the owner of a fish specialty store told us to use natural spring water.

I bought test strips; and have the following results:

GH = 180
KH = 180
pH = 8-9
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 20

So from reading the pamphlet of the test strips - I see that the first three are too high. Would this cause my fish to form a growth on his body?

[callistra]

That's very hard water for spring water.. I wouldn't have expected that. But it's fine. You don't need to add anything special to it.

Your nitrates are on the high end though. That's the max they should ever be, but not unsurprising considering your water change routine.

I would start with the water changes, feeding changes, and epsoms as outlined above and see how he does.