Sick Betta

[Muneca83]

A few days ago my betta had a small white growth on his right lower lip and since then he has not been doing well. The growth appears to be gone now, but he is having difficulty eating/opening his mouth. I can tell he is hungry, but he barely opens his mouth when he approaches the food and after a while it looks like he stops trying. I bought some aquarium salt and betta fix (using for 2 days now) and he seems to be more active, but is still having difficulty eating (even when I crush the pellets smaller). Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do?

[flowerslegacy]

Hi Muneca - The growth could be a few things, but without pics then it's hard to diagnose. There is a form at beginning of the "Fish Diseases & Emergencies" that you'll need to complete and post for us. Without more information, at this point I'd do this:

Stop using the Betta Fix and keep him on the AQ salt. 1tsp/gal with 100% water changes daily for 10 days max. Make sure his water temp is up to 80 degrees and that you're using a good water conditioner. If he's having a problem eating, then move him to smaller food. Frozen brine shrimp is good. It's small and easy to eat. Make sure you don't overfeed. 2x daily in small portions. Plus, since he's fighting something, he'll need the pure protein to keep his immune system up. If you're feeding pellets, hold off until he's back to normal.

[Muneca83]

Thanks flowerslegacy for replying! I found that form and have posted it below. The white growth is gone now so I can't take a picture of it, but I'm going to do what you suggested and hopefully he will get better.

Housing
What size is your tank? 3 gal
What temperature is your tank? 76 deg
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? yes
Is your tank heated? no
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? pellets and freeze dried bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? once daily

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? once weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? at least 25%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? aqueon "betta bowl plus"

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? was a white growth on lip, but no longer there
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? appeared lethargic and has difficulty opening mouth fully to eat
When did you start noticing the symptoms? 5 days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? added aquarium salt and betta fix
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? not sure, I've had him for 18 months and he was full grown when I got him from the pet store

[Aus]

When you say 'growth' -- what did it look like? Was it like a little hard, white bump/pimple? Or was it more fuzzy-looking?

It's a good idea to figure out what's actually wrong with your fish before hiking the temp and adding any medications (including salt). Some illnesses thrive in higher temps, some don't like them. Salt can make some illness worse..

I'm hoping it's ich, so that the heat/salt is helping it.. some more description will help identify the problem, so accurate treatment can be advised.

[BETTACHKALOVE]

If it was fuzzy looking and it fungus then you need to lower the temperature since fungus get worse with warmer temperature. So do not increase the temperature. 76-80* is perfect temperature for bettas


For 3 gall 25% not really enough water changes.

Aus you are right, but i think it most likely bacterial or fungus infection along with ammonia poisoning. I think aquarium salt would help especially if Muneca wrote he is more active and growth gone. Is it gone after you started him on aq salt?

[BETTACHKALOVE]

just read the post again and if fish sick for 5 days and they are better after you are using salt for 2 days then it probably helping...

And for 3 gall i would do 1-50 and 1-100% water changes a week. Definitely not 25%...

[Aus]

Aus you are right, but i think it most likely bacterial or fungus infection along with ammonia poisoning.

TBH, so do I.. I'm just hoping it's ich and not flex or something since ich is relatively easy to treat and cure .. poor fishy.

[BETTACHKALOVE]

You are absolutely right.
If the growth was fuzzy cottony like than it fungus.
But spot disappeared any way.
I actually spoke to someone and they told me that when it not severe (ich) it not necessary to raise the temperature up to 85-86 *
Do you think it good idea then to keep temp on 80* in case it ich? Or at least 78?
I would think if fish was sick for 5 days he would have other ich symptoms...don't know though how long it takes for the symptoms onset
Also i would really recommend to take aut everything from the tank wash it in the hot boiling water or just put it in the boiling water,let it cool down and then put it outside to dry out for a few days.

If there is a live plants put it in the water NO conditioner for 2-3 weeks.

EDIT: I don't know why i have feeling that it not ich but not sure though...
if Muneca remember what kind of growth it was and if he had any other symptoms. Did he tried to rub his body on objects? Was he darting around?

[Muneca83]

Thank you everyone for replying. The growth looked just like a zit/whitehead (not fuzzy at all) and when it first appeared my betta was acting normally. After 36-48 hours it disappeared and that's when he started acting lethargic and having difficulty opening his mouth/eating. He is more active now and appears hungry, but is still having some difficulty opening his mouth all the way when trying to eat.

[Aus]

That.. sounds a lot like ich to me. Here's a fish with typical ich white spots. Did it look like this?




If so, your fish has ich and he has it because his water is dirty and slightly too cold. The spot didn't vanish, it dropped off due to the salt and hatched - if the salt was not correct dosage or you stopped using it too early, it released loads of wiggly parasites into the water, infesting his gills.

Once this bout is gone, do more weekly water changes. Bring the heat up to 78-80. Hopefully, no more ich.

Stop using bettafix.. Get him into some anti-protozoan medication containing malachite green - ask for one that's not harsh (I used Protozin, wonderful stuff). There's also the salt/heat method but if the ich is infesting his gills so badly, I'd put him on meds pretty quick.