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Very Sick Betta Help!!!

971 views 24 replies 3 participants last post by  clynne 
#1 ·
I have 2 10 gallon tanks, both have filters, heaters, & live plants, as well as a couple ornaments that provide hiding places. Last thursday I purchased two spotted cory's (one for each tank). By friday night my catfish in tank #1 was dead & my betta's tail looked like it was getting nipped. Saturday morning the catfish in tank #2 was missing, literally no where to be found. Saturday afternoon my betta in tank #1 had a white spot by its mouth and his tails were turning black. Later that day my betta took a turn for the worse and i quarantined him after reading on here that I should do that. Sunday morning my betta was dead & the Betta in tank #2 had a white spot on its head, the catfish also turned up dead. I have my second betta quarantined & for the past two days he will not eat. The white spot has gotten a lot bigger and now parts of his tails look funny, they aren't rotting away, but they almost look like they have growths on them. I have been treating the water with something called Betta Revive and its supposed to treat for bacterial or fungal illnesses, but I see no improvement. Any suggestions? I really do not want to lose this betta after just losing my other one. Also none of my other fish have been affected. And my other two catfish are fine.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Sounds like a fungal infection to me as the symptoms match yours

Symptoms
White, or fuzzy growths on the outside of fish
Fish has become less active
Won't eat
Diluted colors
Patches of white

Treatment
This disease is very common with stressed fish and is cured with Higher levels of added salt, easing the temperature within the tank to 80 will also help as it will speed up the life cycle of the disease. If the disease progresses then invest in a high quality fungus treatment to help aid the treatment, if that doesn't work then I highly suggest that you either euthanize the fish or heavily Medicate, sterilize, and heat the temp even higher within the tank

Cause
There are many factors to what causes this specific disease but it's similar to many others.
-poor water quality, like high ammonia, and nitrites along with unecxeptable Amounts of nitrates
-stressful tankmates and constant nipping
-being battered around by flow
-not acclimated properly
-stressful housing
Are all main factors to the disease as they all lead to a lored immune system which leaves all fish helpless towards all diseases
 
#7 ·
Upon further inspections on the picture it seems to be a wound of some sort. DO you have any sharp or recently added decorations within the tank itself? If you do then that is most likely the cause of the wound. if it really is fungus then just adding a treatment won't do as much as it guarantees in that short amount of time. Ideally you should save the treatment until it is dire, usually it clears up after salt treatments, heat, and salt baths. I wouldnt recommend any of those unless you are sure that it really is a disease as they do cause stress in the fish in very specific ways it still help treat diseases
 
#8 ·
No sharp objects, the wound appeared after i had introduced a new spotted cory, and the cory died a day later. I have checked my levels over and over and everything is normal. His tails now are also ratty looking more pics to come soon.
 
#9 ·
It seems as if you have plastic plants contained in the tank which are notorious for ripping fins, and leaving them in an unacceptable conditions which look rather unsightly. So in your situation I don't see any problems unless the fins have a black edging or fuzzy edging

To the real question, from not properly quarantining your fish they could have easily have introduced something into the tank but still typically your fish shouldn't get theses diseases unless it's immune system is low, for now you should just

-maintain water parameters and test the water daily, doing 25-50% water changes daily or every other day
-raise the temperature to 80 as this will speed up the life cycle of the disease and it will go away faster
-take precautions and start a low dose of salt, of it doesn't seem to affect the fish negatively then raise it to a full dose
- if these precautions to eliminate the disease don't work them you should add a high quality treatment but if you wanted to you could just add it during or before you take the previous suggested treatments
 
#12 ·
I just posted new pics & he's not normally in a tank with plastic plants, I put him in that tank to quarantine him which I read on here was a good thing to do. His normal tank has live plants, a bamboo, a fern and I forget what the other two are. There are also two smooth surface cave-like ornaments & a castle which he never went in, he would rest on top of it and watch the other fish.
 
#13 ·
It still seems as if to be the plastic taking affect on his fins, they are notorious for ripping them, I would highly advise against ever having them with a Betta. Also PS the bamboo will eventually rot in the tank, and can easily cause an ammonia spike within the tank resulting in stressful conditions that could lead to diseases
 
#14 ·
The bamboo is healthy and not rotting, I keep a close eye on it, the plastic plants are out of the tank, and i have started taking procedures to cure the disease. Should I put him back in his normal tank since I do not have a spare heater?
 
#16 ·
okay so I placed him back in his normal tank, the temp is around 80 just a tad over. right now he is laying on his favorite plant. I will be keeping an eye on the other fish to make sure they don't bother him, although they haven't in the past.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Here Is a bit of info concerning fin rot, as with the new information that you've provided us with, it seems like it is fin rot. At first initial guess I thought it was plastic plants but they usually don't cause the black edging



Symptoms
-Ripped tails, bloodshot, black edged, or has a fuzzy white appearance in the edge
-The Betta will become unusually inactive
-Won't eat
-Looks pale, and looses lots of color

Causes
This profilic disease is caused by stressful water conditions primarily but here are a few main examples of the conditions it is most likely found in

-Poor water quality with unacceptable amounts of ammonia, along with nitrites and nitrates
-Nippy tankmates
-Incompatible tankmates
-Tailbiting
-Plastic plants ripping fins constantly
-Over feeding
-Over crowding
-Sometimes after a disease, while the bettas immune system is low it can strike unexpectedly

Treatment

This disease is most commonly treated with mainly

-daily water changes of around 25-50 so more diseases dont settle in while the Betta is vulnerable
-a high quality fin rot treatment. Use tetracycline or Ampicillin for the best possible results

Prevention
-Keep the water clean
-don't over feed
-choose the right tankmates
-make sure that the bettas fins are always in the best shape
-keep the water heated
-change the water weekly
 
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