My Betta has a Big lump on one side??

[EmDC]

Hello Everyone,

SOrry if this is a thread that has already been posted.... I can't find a difinitive answer..

Housing
What size is your tank? 25L
What temperature is your tank? 80-82 Degrees Farenheit
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
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? 6 Neon Tetra (not my idea, it's my mums tank, I told her no but she wanted them. i just look after them! lol)
Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Betta Flakes, Frozen bloodworms (defrosted in tank water then drained of the fluids) half a pea once a week.
How often do you feed your betta fish? Usually only a little. couple of pinches for all 7 fish. although, it has been 5-6 days a week recently.
Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every thursday
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25-50% (depending on water condition, for some reason, some weeks are worse than others)
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Nutrafin products, Cycle and... aqua plus I think, also a tablespoon of Aquarium salt every 2 - 3 changes (im a bit paranoid about it)

ater Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
Ammonia: 0
Ntrite: 0
Ntrate: N/A
pH: 7.0
Hardness: N/A
Alkalinity: N/A

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? A Large lump on his right side behind his pectoral fin(center of the body) It seems to be stretching and changing to a whitish colour. His finsall seem flat down though

h's behavior changed? Nope. He’s still active, responsive, still eating, etc.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? a little while now. I have been treating it as constipation... feeding cooked frozen pea, starving him a little. He has had fin rot recently (when mum added the Neons) but I managed to fix that fairly easily.

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I have changed the water, keeping it cleaner.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Fin Rot Twice.Treated with Melafix and Aquarium Salt

How old is your fish (approximately)? 6 Months approx.

[Bettanewbie60]

First thing...don't feed him peas..this can really mess up his insides. Other than that, I say one day of fasting...then minimal feedings, two pellets twice a day. Do as you are doing, clean, warm water.

[Bettanewbie60]

Oh, and if you a feeding him blood worms, only give him one once or twice a week..they are only a treat, not regular food. I can't tell you exactly what the bump is, but I'm pretty sure the peas aren't helping that. Hope he feels better!

[EmDC]

Really?? No Peas?? A Frozen, boiled de-shelled pea is an extremely common cure for constipation/bloat though?? There are a LOT of people recomending TO give them peas? Now I'm confused.

Nope I only give him blood worms as a treat... not very often at all.

I hope he gets better, although I suspect it's a tumor..... but I'll ask anyway in case there is something I can do for him, other than than keeping his tank clean and well cared for.

[mursey]

Someone on this site said to try to find frozen Daphnia instead of peas for bloating. (I had a fish with swim bladder so I used to feed peas but now I try frozen Daphnia and a little epsom salt in his tank)

I know nothing about tumors though. :(

Um, isn't that bump not even where a betta's stomach is, anyway? I thought I was told that the stomach is much closer to the face. Actually, I can't find anything that says where the stomach is, just the esophagus and intestine.

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&c...r:4,s:15,i:140

[Bettanewbie60]

Originally Posted by EmDC

Really?? No Peas?? A Frozen, boiled de-shelled pea is an extremely common cure for constipation/bloat though?? There are a LOT of people recomending TO give them peas? Now I'm confused.

Nope I only give him blood worms as a treat... not very often at all.

I hope he gets better, although I suspect it's a tumor..... but I'll ask anyway in case there is something I can do for him, other than than keeping his tank clean and well cared for.

Yes, I have heard a lot of people say give them peas to help with constipation..however, most of the more experienced people on this site will tell you it can permanently damage there digestive tract. I'm sorry I can't give advice on what you should do...I have no way of knowing what is truly wrong with that lump.

[TheCheese909]

People do use peas for bloated Bettas, but peas are not digested by Bettas since these guys aren't meant to eat them, the pea simply pushes whats inside the fish out and it can cause problems.

Use frozen Daphina if you can find it, if not frozen Brine Shrimp helps as well since both are natural laxatives.

It doesn't look like it's a stomach/bloating problem though, but this could help for sure. This almost looks like it could be a tumor but only time can tell.

You can also try to give him an epsome salt bath, it's also a laxative and it pushes what's inside, out. It's also used to rid off internal parasites. The formula is 1 tsp per gallon. I've heard of people doing this for a few hours to up to a few days but I don't recommend that, it's made my fish even more sick in the past. I call it a "bath" meaning no longer then 30 minutes tops. You can do this daily though, so don't worry about that.
Make sure you find unscented epsome salt, with no dyes. You can find it at your local drug store.

[EmDC]

EEk! Ok no more peas. Will try find some Daphna tomorrow. Now I have images of a pea staying in his digestive system blocking it up.

I'm glad I'm not the only one stumped by this! Ive been trawling the web trying to figure it out.. I am nervous about the epsom salt bath... Ive heard it can do a lot of harm too.. but I guess if its going to help theres not a lot to lose.

The lump seems to be starting to protrude out the other side. I've never seen dropsy but I really hope this isn't it... I can't even look at those photos on the internet I dont know what I would do if it happened to my own fish :S

[TheCheese909]

So long as you don't over use the epsome salt you should be fine. Some people say you can use more then 1tsp per gallon something like 3tsp but I personally wouldn't do it. I think 1tsp is good enough and should be a bath for no longer the 30-35 minutes at a time.

Can you get more photos of him? If it is Dropsy then these ES baths help with that too.

Dropsy looks like this:
http://www.bettainfo.com/wp-content/...dropsy-top.jpg
http://www.americanaquariumproducts....ropsybetta.jpg

He would be a bit puffy and his scales will start to stick up.

You can try using Maracyn2 as well, it may be a bacterial ulcer or cause one. I did find this thread and the little female on there looks like she went through the same thing your guy is going through.

http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/fr...ale-betta.html

[EmDC]

Ok will try the ES...

Heres a couple of clearer photos...

Went to the pet shop today, they had NO clue, and I suspect we don't sell Maracyn 2 over here either. Nobody stocks it. (Im in New Zealand)

Poor Boy... I have no idea what to do... his scales are still lying flat. But I am worried he's going to pop.