Just to let everyone know, I did try the epsom salt, but he still has the bump. Worst than that, the day right after I gave him the epsom salt he lost nearly half of his fins. It scared me so I only gave him the salt once. I'm not sure what to do.
I plan to do a water change tomorrow and start giving him the bettafix again for his fins. I think it may be a tumor. I've been fasting him and the lump still hasn't gone down.
I'm sorry your boy isn't doing better. Can you take a pic so we can see his fins? I have never heard of Epsom Salt doing that, it is so safe it can be used long term... It is possible that he bit his own fins... Don't use BettaFix, it harms their labyrinth organ and will not really help his fins. Aquarium Salt is a better alternative at 1tsp/gal to prevent secondary infection. As for the lump, if fasting isn't working then it is most likely a tumor. There is nothing you can do for a tumor (there are no fish chemotherapies...), however you can help him by keeping his life stress free. Keep him comfortable. Heat his tank so it is at a stable temp (78-82*F) and use Stress Coat as the dechlorinator. Make sure you perform water changes regularly (one 50% and one 100% per week). I'm sorry we couldn't tell you something better, good luck with him and keep us posted.
I'm so sorry to hear that you're little guy didn't respond to the epsom salt treatment =( His fins may be becoming a bit brittle due to the tumor, my fish's fins have become soooo frail since all this started. But then again, it could be due to his age (he's three). How old is Thunder??
I'm sorry your boy isn't doing better. Can you take a pic so we can see his fins? I have never heard of Epsom Salt doing that, it is so safe it can be used long term... It is possible that he bit his own fins... Don't use BettaFix, it harms their labyrinth organ and will not really help his fins. Aquarium Salt is a better alternative at 1tsp/gal to prevent secondary infection. As for the lump, if fasting isn't working then it is most likely a tumor. There is nothing you can do for a tumor (there are no fish chemotherapies...), however you can help him by keeping his life stress free. Keep him comfortable. Heat his tank so it is at a stable temp (78-82*F) and use Stress Coat as the dechlorinator. Make sure you perform water changes regularly (one 50% and one 100% per week). I'm sorry we couldn't tell you something better, good luck with him and keep us posted.
I think he lost his fins due to stress, but I've also been fasting him and he hasn't gotten better. Here's a picture. It could be worse. I've also noticed that he's been having patches in his fins that are white or just lighter and not the right color. It's a bit strange. You can't tell in the picture but you may see the lump.
I'm so sorry to hear that you're little guy didn't respond to the epsom salt treatment =( His fins may be becoming a bit brittle due to the tumor, my fish's fins have become soooo frail since all this started. But then again, it could be due to his age (he's three). How old is Thunder??
I'm sorry to hear about your boy too. Thunder has gotten those off color patches on his fins a little bit. They may become like those patches I saw in the pictures you provided me. They aren't too large but his fins aren't the same color as they were in some spots.
I'm not too sure how old he is, but I've had him now for over a year. He does look like an older fish though based on his size. I wish there was a way we could figure out a betta's age. I got him from Petsmart but who knows how long he was there.
The off-color patches must be something that's common with the tumors =/ vincent's started out small too, and i didnt even notice them at first since his color is already a silvery blue. but then they grew and they turned completely white, and those patches of fins seem thinner than the rest of the fin. its really odd!
I got Vincent at petsmart too, and i estimated him to be about a year old since he was pretty large and never really grew to be much bigger than he was when i bought him. but it is hard to tell, i wish they could just tell us how old they are lol.
I'm so sorry about poor thunder, i wish i could tell you what to expect. I can tell you that Vincent has been living with this for about 6 months now, so it does seem to work on them very slowly. He's gotten veryyyy thin, and has lost almost all of his coloring (but i can't tell if that's from the tumor, or just his natural aging process). He spends most of his day sleeping now, but he still greets me enthusiasticly when i walk to his tank =D. He hasn't lost his appetite one bit, and he still seems to enjoy life despite not feeling so great. Clean water seems to be the thing that keeps him feeling the best, and high protein food! But every creature responds to illness in different ways, so i can't say for sure if the same will happen to your Thunder. He looks to be younger than my Vincent, so he has that on his side!!! I truly hope he handles his illness well!! It sounds like he's getting really good care, and that's what's most important!! I really wish you luck with him!!! Please keep us posted!!
The off-color patches must be something that's common with the tumors =/ vincent's started out small too, and i didnt even notice them at first since his color is already a silvery blue. but then they grew and they turned completely white, and those patches of fins seem thinner than the rest of the fin. its really odd!
I got Vincent at petsmart too, and i estimated him to be about a year old since he was pretty large and never really grew to be much bigger than he was when i bought him. but it is hard to tell, i wish they could just tell us how old they are lol.
I'm so sorry about poor thunder, i wish i could tell you what to expect. I can tell you that Vincent has been living with this for about 6 months now, so it does seem to work on them very slowly. He's gotten veryyyy thin, and has lost almost all of his coloring (but i can't tell if that's from the tumor, or just his natural aging process). He spends most of his day sleeping now, but he still greets me enthusiasticly when i walk to his tank =D. He hasn't lost his appetite one bit, and he still seems to enjoy life despite not feeling so great. Clean water seems to be the thing that keeps him feeling the best, and high protein food! But every creature responds to illness in different ways, so i can't say for sure if the same will happen to your Thunder. He looks to be younger than my Vincent, so he has that on his side!!! I truly hope he handles his illness well!! It sounds like he's getting really good care, and that's what's most important!! I really wish you luck with him!!! Please keep us posted!!
I think both our boys are going through the same thing. I can't tell you how happy and thankful I am that you responded and shared your experience with me about Vincent.
Thunder is the same way. He's still always hungry and he's active. I'm planning on getting him a heater, so hopefully that'll help. It's just difficult finding him one for my tank that's reliable. I think Thunder still has a lot of fight in him though, so I expect that he'll pull through for a while even with the tumor.
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