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IMPORANT: Watch For These Disease Signs

220K views 593 replies 187 participants last post by  End Balkanization WLM 
#1 ·
I wish to spread awareness about a disease that has struck several times in the recent months. It moves very, very, very fast, often killing within 12-24 hours. Nothing is known about this disease except that it is a bacterial disease that causes rapid and acute tissue necropsy and that it seems to strike blue bettas in particular. Several people are working on identifying this disease, including veterinary student DarkMoon17, but WE NEED YOUR HELP.

If you have a betta who develops the following symptoms or dies, please DO NOT DISPOSE OF THE BODY. It is very important that we have a body to send in for a necropsy. Several people have volunteered to take the bodies to local universities or veterinary clinics near them. All we need you to do is save the body and contact DarkMoon17 or me immediately.

The symptoms of this disease are:

* graphite gray or near black tissue necropsy that spreads from the bottom of the fins upward to the body within hours
* sudden loss of mobility as the swim bladder is affected
* death or conditions so severe that they require euthanasia within 12-24 hours, occasionally as long as 36 hours

The betta will look something like this:
Blue Feather Organism Fish Tail


There have been speculations about what it is, including suggestions that it is an acute strain of columnaris, but NOTHING IS KNOWN FOR CERTAIN. PLEASE DO NOT post speculations about what this disease may be unless you have been able to identify the disease through lab work. Such speculations only cause aggressive debate.

Any and all cooperation is much appreciated as we work to identify this disease so we can figure out a way to combat it. Thank you very much.
 
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#530 ·
Here's some pictures of my poor Norbert. I think he might have this disease, the symptoms have come up in only 3 hours.

Here's a pic of him healthy:


And here he is today. Not lookin' so good:


In the previous picture you can see his scratch he got yesterday. Could that have contributed to this sickness he has?
Also, I cleaned his tank yesterday, so the water is clean.
 
#531 ·
spaceyJC -

I don't see the "today" photo. However, it sounds like he may have a bacterial infection.

In the "healthy" photo, his caudal (tail) fin looks a bit ragged and dark. This can indicate fin rot.

How large is the tank, and how often do you change the water?

I would start by doing a series of large, partial water changes. This will remove any ammonia, toxins and bacteria in the water.

Then, I would try using a gram-negative antibiotic. My choice for fin issues is the furan group, which includes any of these meds: API Furan 2, Hikari Bifuran, or Jungle Fungus Clear.
 
#536 ·
My Betta is sick

Sorry,

My fish has a large infection, as pictured (under his eye), that seems to be rotting the 'skin'. I have only had him for 2 weeks. He is in a small unfiltered tank (I have successfully had other betta's in there before). He has become lethargic, loss of appetite and constantly hiding. Occasionally he swims around, however remains close to the top of the water level.
I'm not sure which questionnaire you are talking about, please direct me to the page...

Thanks again
 
#537 ·
Means this questionnaire:

Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?
 
#538 ·
*Tank is about 2L
*Tank is kept at room temperature
*Tank has no filtration or air stone
*Tank is not heated
*My betta is alone in the tank

*I feed him around 2 pellets twice a day (although not of late, because of sickness)

*I change water at least twice a week. Once at 75% change then 100%. The only thing I add is conditioner

*I have not tested the water.

*I started noticing differences about a week ago. Thought maybe it might be because of the cold weather. It has heated up slightly, but noticed this fungal type infection just below the eye. He has began to stop swimming around, stopped eating and constantly hiding. He rests very close to the top of the water level (appears dead) for most of the day.
 
#539 ·
I don't mean to sound mean or anything but as a lot of the people on this forum will tell you, That tank is WAY too small, especially unfiltered. I'm new to this whole thing myself but even I know that. Also bettas NEED a heater. Room temp is never enough. Temp must be kept between 77 and 80 Fahrenheit (25-27 celsius) (off the top of my head)

That could be the problem to begin with, though I've never seen that before. They don't even look that well if they didn't have the infection there. But as to what it is, I don't know. Maybe someone else has something?
 
#547 ·
I stumbled onto this thread and although I didn't read through every page (55 is a bit daunting!) it seems like there's still not any effective method of treating this infection. For others that are veterinary students, if this is indeed a mycobacterium infection, has anyone else seen the research about bacterial efflux pump inhibitors paired with antibiotics as a possible mechanism of treatment?
Does anyone think that it's a possible theory to be able to use these with bettas, as some of the original research was done on zebrafish?

Some of the articles I was looking at:
Hypertension drugs help fight tuberculosis

Effects of Verapamil (an EPI candidate) on zebrafish

Infections in Zebrafish
 
#548 ·
...well, at least now I know what it is. I've never seen ANYTHING this virulent. Un-flipping-believable.

Late last night, I had a ~9month blue delta tail showing early signs of this. Lethargic but still taking food, what initially looked like columnaris on his caudal. This morning, most of his caudal and dorsal appears stiff and ashy grey/black. Started salt + Furan2 at 4PM. The necrotic(?) areas have completely disintegrated now, looking grim but trying to continue treatment.

Hindsight being 20/20, this probably is what killed my female a couple days ago. Watching my teal marbles like a hawk now... This is going to require the "nuke-'em-from-orbit" option for cleanup, isn't it? GRRRRRRR.
 
#550 ·
Now that I'm thinking about this I think this is what killed my fish today. He was a blue/green dragon scale betta. I noticed about a week ago that he had a tad bit of fin rot, so I wiped it out with triple sulfa. Then yesterday I noticed he was more lethargic then usual. This morning I wake up and Pete is dead :( I noticed he had gray on his fins and on a small part of his body. R.I.P. Pistol Pete (my dad came up with the pistol part xD)
 
#551 ·
Hi.I have my first betta fish already one month. I thing something wrong with him cos he change his collour and lost fins. My fish tank PH is 8.4, KH 20, NO2- 0.5 and i know that can cost illness for Betta fish. Pls help me to find out what i do wrong and how to treat him.
 
#552 ·
I had a blue male betta named Tango which I believe was affected by this disease. I bought him from Petco and had him for about 4 months.. In a matter of hours he went to looking healthy to having his fins decaying. They were a weird greyish yellow color which I thought was odd. By the next day his fins were completely decayed and I knew he basically had no chance. I kept him alive as long as I could before he passed. It was very sad...
 
#553 ·
The Tale of Id the Fish

Sunday Id was fine.
No obvious problem Monday morning.
Tail almost totally black & starting to pine cone under his chin by Monday 4pm.
Water change, Prime, & Triple Sulfa.
This morning, Tuesday, the black took over the back of his body
Full pinecone, but no swelling.
Died around 1:30-2pm today, Tuesday.

Rest in peace, little Id
We didn't have you long enough.

Thank you for starting this thread.
It's the only thing telling me that I'm not alone
& there was likely never anything I could have done to save him.


http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=5791970#post5791970
 

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