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white fuzz?

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white fuzz
878 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  LittleBlueFishlets 
#1 ·
I got my rescue male VT betta Gator from Wal-mart a little over a week ago, he was lethargic, very skinny, had labored breathing (possible gill inflammation I was told?), fins are curled and had fin rot. I've been treating him in his quarantine tank with aquarium salt, 1 tsp/gallon until a couple days ago when I noticed a little small fuzz on one of her ventral fins. It was hard to tell as it fell off immediently when I came close to inspect (he's feeling so much better! He's eating like a champ, gaining weight, flaring at my finger when I test the temperature of the water, and going crazy every time I get near his tank). Just in case I upped his salt/gallon to 1 1/2, then 2 tsp/gallon. Today I saw another rather large peice of fuzz fall off of him when I went near his tank- not sure where it was but I think it was near his head, he just gets so excited when I come home I have to be quick. He's still eating and obliviously feeling pretty good. I'm just wondering if I should continue my salt treatments since it will be 10 days on Wednesday, or if I should stop on Wenesday and use medication?

Also, I'm kind of curious on an unrelated note- when I first got Gator he was orange with some black spots, and the end of his tail/fins were translucent- I don't know if the translucent was part of the tail rot or not, but now that part is a very pretty turquoise color, as well as some of the scales on his body and part of the orange part of his tail? Is that normal (as in not any sort of weird infection) or is he just changing colors on me?

Housing
What size is your tank? 2 gallons, filled up with 1 gallon of water
What temperature is your tank? 80 F
Does your tank have a filter? no
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? pellets, Top Fin/Omega one mix
How often do you feed your betta fish? two-three times a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every day
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Stress coat, 1 ml, as well as aquarium salt (1 tsp/gal for 5 days, 1 1/2 - 2tsp for 3 days)

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

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 8
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? white fuzz, hard to tell where exactly, it falls off when he becomes excited/moves around a lot
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? it hasn't
When did you start noticing the symptoms? three days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? only increasing aquarium salt
Does your fish have any history of being ill? fin rot/ gill inflammation
How old is your fish (approximately)? I got him a week ago, not really sure but he's not a baby.
 
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#3 ·
It is hard to say much without pics, but certain antibiotics have a lot of anti-fungal activity such as many of the TMP sulfa drugs and doxycycline, plus a wide spectrum of anti-bacterial activity. If fungus is possible in combo with bacteria (which is common as fungal infections are usually secondary), the antibiotics with anti-fungal activity are probably the best choices.
 
#4 ·
Can you post a photo of him?

As for his color, they tend to brighten up when put in clean, warm water. While at Walmart, he was in an unheated cup. Now, he's in warm water. He's no longer cold, and his true coloration is starting to come out. He'll continue to gain color awhile longer, now that he's in clean, warm water and getting better nutrition. :)

The original inflammation and labored breathing may have been due to toxins and wastes (such as ammonia) in the store cup. By doing daily water changes, you're keeping the levels of these low, which is allowing him to heal up.

The white fuzz may be Columnaris (a bacterial infection) or Saprolegia (a fungal infection), or it may old tissue that's flaking off. If you can post a photo, that will help us determine if there's something going on with him, or whether it's just the normal healing process.
 
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