bump on betta

[dragonflower]

Housing
What size is your tank? 3 gallon critter keeper
What temperature is your tank? has a heater but I don't have a thermometer on tank
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? don't have the bottle, it's mini pebbles, not the regular sized pebbles
How often do you feed your betta fish? 2 times a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? 50% once a week, 100% once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%, 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Barrier classic standard water conditioner

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? bump on his side behind his head and just above his fin
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms? almost 7 days ago. I cupped him to do a water change last sunday instead of using the net like I used to do.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? got him about 6 months ago

[LebronTheBetta]

I Quote "Mini Pebbles". Haha you mean Pellets, right? Okay. Pellets are good. :)
It might be a Tumor. Can you post a Picture? It would help me confirm.

[dragonflower]

Sadly, he won't let me get a pic of his bad side. He seem shy today which is odd cause normally he gets very excited when I come by the tank. I did move his tank on Thurs to a different room but he seemed fine w/ it. When I try to get a pic today he hides behind his plant (silk).

[dragonflower]

So here are 2 pics I finally got. The 2nd has him swimming away and you can see the lump sticking up off him.

[LebronTheBetta]

I'm afraid that's a Tumor. Go PM Old Fish Lady, Mo, Sakura8, or other Betta Pros. I'm afraid that there's not much to do. Hope he gets better!!

[Oldfishlady]

Its hard for me to tell much by the pic...I do understand how hard it can be to get a good pic of a moving target.....they never want to sit still when you have a camera in your hand....lol.....Anyway....

Usually lumps, bumps, raised areas...etc.....are either a parasite or tumor-Most tumors are not cancer.....Not a lot can be done for tumors and usually they are not fatal unless they grow so large that they impede on daily living.
If parasite-depending on what kind it is....they either need to be manually removed or you wait until they fall off or finish their life cycle. I don't recommend the use of chemicals to treat-especially when you don't really know what it is......

As long as the Betta is asymptomatic-keep the water quality good, maintain proper temp, good nutrition and observe.....

In a 3gal without a filter-without live plants-water changes of twice weekly...1-50% water only and 1-100% to maintain water quality

You can try a natural treatment using Epsom salt 2tsp/gal, tannins in either a QT container or the tank itself-Be sure and vacuum deep to remove any cyst if it is a parasite if you do this in the tank.
The Epsom salt may or may not help-but it won't hurt and can safely be used long term and with live plants.
The Epsom salt can help edema/swelling as well as provide antibacterial/fungal properties and the tannins can help do this as well.
Tannins-I use, naturally dried and fallen from the tree Oak leaf (20 crushed/gal) but you can also use IAL (Indian almond leaf-1 lrg crushed/gal)
It is best to premix all this in a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water to use for the water changes.

Good luck...