Alright, so I was feeding my Betta's and checking on their overall health. Next was Goliath, my King Betta who lives in a 10 gallon divided.
He was following my hand around the tank when suddenly, he started to shake his head furiously and then there it was. A white worm I guess came out of nowhere on his face and was squirming around on top of his gills. I don't see it right now, but I think it went back into his face >< I can't take pictures either.
What the heck is on his face???? I am greatly disturbed, since I really do hate worms. (Earth worms, I am okay with.) I now have to find some more hospital tanks and I guess put some AQSalt with him and possibly with Atlas, just in case he gets them.
Your betta most probably has Gill fluke, this is not good and you really need to act fast. Do you have other fish or snails in the tank with him? below are some instructions for treatment, get onto it soon or your betta will die.
Dactylogyrus infections often have a very high aquaculture mortality rate. Fish that are in a community tank must be removed right away and placed in an isolation tank, as are bettas whose aquaria contain fish, invertebrates like snails, and so on. Dactylogyrus can be treated via such medicines as potassium permanganate, organophosphates like masoten, a combination of malachite and formalin, or Acriflavin - consult your local pet store to see what is available. Some experts say that the use of aquarium salt baths can also be helpful. Salt can help heal wounds and get rid of damaged cells and tissue.
Hope all works out and your betta survives :)
Your betta most probably has Gill fluke, this is not good and you really need to act fast. Do you have other fish or snails in the tank with him? below are some instructions for treatment, get onto it soon or your betta will die.
Dactylogyrus infections often have a very high aquaculture mortality rate. Fish that are in a community tank must be removed right away and placed in an isolation tank, as are bettas whose aquaria contain fish, invertebrates like snails, and so on. Dactylogyrus can be treated via such medicines as potassium permanganate, organophosphates like masoten, a combination of malachite and formalin, or Acriflavin - consult your local pet store to see what is available. Some experts say that the use of aquarium salt baths can also be helpful. Salt can help heal wounds and get rid of damaged cells and tissue.
Hope all works out and your betta survives :)
I am pretty sure its not a gill fluke, it was on his head and squirming around on the top of his gills. A tiny white worm, I think maybe its called a Microworm or something? I am not too sure.
do you clean the gravel often? maybe it was a nematode - it would look like a strand of white hair but will be free swimming. My sister's tank has them because she is MASSIVLY overstocked. I think they normally stay in the gravel unless disturbed.
do you clean the gravel often? maybe it was a nematode - it would look like a strand of white hair but will be free swimming. My sister's tank has them because she is MASSIVLY overstocked. I think they normally stay in the gravel unless disturbed.
That is EXACTLY what it was D: I do clean the gravel, but when I emptied out the whole tank and got rid of the gravel, you wouldn't believe how many there were ._. And I only have two betta's in that tank XD
I think they are harmless. I'm not sure what causes them, i know my sister's problem is she has 2 goldfish and snails in a 10 gallon and never changes the water
I think they are harmless. I'm not sure what causes them, i know my sister's problem is she has 2 goldfish and snails in a 10 gallon and never changes the water
I think one of them may be trying (or at least it looks like) is eating his face. He is laying at the bottom of the tank right now and on the top of his gill cover its an unusual green color :/ And suddenly, he is all fearful and races around the tank then hides, very out of character for him.
Sounds like detritus worms; if this is the case then they shouldn't be harming your betta. They feed off the mulm and debris amongst the tank's substrate and only usually leave when there is a population explosion due to overfeeding, overstocking, live plants, poor maintenance or cycling (the population can utterly EXPLODE during cycling). They can also leave the substrate if it lacks oxygen as they also require it to live, so they can end up entering the water column and climbing up the sides of the tank in an attempt to keep themselves alive. They're perfectly natural and always present it's just you shouldn't be able to see them.
Detritus worms are often confused with a species of flatworm known as planaria, which are carnivorous. They are thicker in body than detritus worms and have an arrow shaped head -- again they shouldn't do any harm to your betta due to their size.
It could be an external parasite that is causing your betta to feel off-colour (no pun intended regarding the gill cover). I wish I could offer you some form of advice but I don't really know much of anything about external parasites except that they can sometimes be treated using aquarium salt.
I hope someone with more experience comes along and is able to help you more soon -- good luck to both of you :)!
All i know is how to treat external parasites. I can give you instructions in case if you decide it is. I just was helping someone on that. I hope Spooky right and it not going to harm him.
I don't know if it harmful or not but i would isolate him and change the water for other fish. And if it external parasites i would take everything out of the tanks just wash with hot hot water and put it outside in a sun for a few days. Make sure it dries up. The parasites will die without host ....
If it external parasites like ich that is harmful for fish than second betta which is in the same 10 gall tanks can get it.
You need 85* temperature. Raising the water temp will speed the life cycle of the ich and it will help make the ich fall off the fish faster so you can manually remove it from the tank
Temp over 86* ich is said to stop reproducing and some even say it will kill the ich
Pre mix 2 tsp aq salt / gall. Do daily 100% water changes. Make sure you wash and air dry container that you using between changes. And wash his tank every time that you change him.
If it is ich you need to take out everything from the tank.
I am wondering how often and how much you do water changes for you tank?
Last edited by BETTACHKALOVE; 05-29-2012 at 02:55 PM.
How often and how much water do you changes for your 10 gall.
Oh i hope your bettas ok. I have no idea what is it but definitely change 100% of the water.
Like someone wrote if you put gravel and everything in the tank in the sun and let it dry out. Keep it for a few days and parasite will die.
But i hope they not on your betta or in the gills. And sometimes it takes time for fish to show the symptoms.
I just saw the post when someone had a betta and actually saw parasites under the scales. It was black something no one could understand what it was. And when we finally understood it was too late. So watch your fish closely and don't share anything between 2 of them and other bettas .
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