Ugh, LuBu caught something

[Brooke]

My poor little boy is not doing too well..

Housing
What size is your tank? 10g
What temperature is your tank? 80
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Yes
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Two Otto Cats now, who seem to be doing fine.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Freeze Dried Shrimp, Betta Pellets and Flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? Usually once daily, otherwise he pigs out and gets bloated

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 20% - although this last time I moved the tank, so brought it down about 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Just a water conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Tested, all are good, just changed the water Sat.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He has white 'fuzz' on his face and gills, it does look a little goldish in the photos, but I didn't notice it until looking at them. His color is still pretty normal other than the white stuff though.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Lethargic, trouble swimming, hid in his man cave all day today, then he finally came out and I noticed the fuzz - moved him immediately to a 1g tank alone
When did you start noticing the symptoms? About 50 min ago, though he was hiding most of the day
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, with Maroxy (it is what I had) and aquarium salt
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Had possible ammonia poisoning once when I first got him and was new to fish, and definite fin rot around the same time (may have just been fin rot I dunno)
How old is your fish (approximately)? No idea, have had him a year - he has grown quite a lot since then so I guess he was fairly young when I bought him

I am just making sure what I am doing is the best for him. No filter in this tank naturally, but with meds a filter would get messed up anyhow I have read. Had an air stone in, but he can't swim well enough and even the little bubbles turn him over. I put in about half the recommended amount of salt for now, and the correct dose of fungicide. He does seem like he is trying to move more than he was, but he is still moving very strangely, and kinda floating around rather than swimming. I took some pics (it looks a lot 'fuzzier' in his gill than it does in the photo, and excuse the watermarked outside of the tank, I washed it out and got him in there asap wasn't worried about looks hah...):







I also need to know what to do with his 10g tank, do I need to completely take it apart and start over again before putting him back in there (providing I can get him through this), or just treat the tank and change the filter after treatment? His other tank mates seem like they are doing well, but I did randomly lose two Corys that were in the bag with the Otos for about two hours or so, and lord knows if the pet store had them on separate filters or what.

[Brooke]

Also, looking at the pic... That somewhat raggedy fin on his left side is normal, he injured it somehow a few months ago (no clue how), and has been fine since then (until now of course).

[Creat]

looks like a cotton fungus
here is an article that should help you http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Columnaris.html

[small fry]

From the pics, it looks alot like Tony's fugul infection. I don't know about the gold coloring, though. Tony had greenish patches all over his face.

Is the tank cycled? If it is not cycled, I would just do a 100% water change everyday until the symtoms stop. If the tank is cycled, doing too many water changes will just start a mini-cycle.

I don't recomend treating (w/ meds) any fish until the diesase is known. Treatment (w/ meds) is not something that should be done unless the betta needs treatment, and the symtoms show a specific, confirmed illness.

If it is a fugul infection, they are contagious. If you have a 1g hospital tank, move the betta in there for treatment. Don't want the otos to get sick.

Hope your betta recovers Ok!

[Brooke]

His normal 10g tank is cycled and levels are good, but as soon as I noticed the fuzzies, I moved him to the 1g tank until I figure out what is going on/treat him. They say the cotton thing is caused by poor water conditions, but other than an algae issue I have been fighting (thus the new cats), the actual parameters are good (Ph is a big high, but it always is, and I was told he would get used to that).

If he does recover (keeping my fingers crossed), should I do something to treat the cycled 10g? I worry putting him back in there will just make it come back again.. Of course as I said the cats are doing fine (as of now), so does that mean it is not in the tank, and would be safe to return him there when he is better?

[Brooke]

He passed away sometime between 4 and 8 am :(. I have no idea how it happened so quickly, he was eating and just fine Tuesday..

Have the hospital tank in Clorox right now, does anyone know if I need to do something with the 10g he was in, or just see how the Cats do and go from there? I don't guess they can live in an unfiltered hospital tank while Clorox and then re-cycle the 10g?

Thank you for all the advice as well, I am just sorry I didn't catch it sooner, he was a great fish :(.

[small fry]

Keep a good eye on those cats. Have some medication on hand, it should always be on hand, but especially now.

Very sorry for your loss.