Red Gills and other problems....

[lordcactusjack]

Hello. Dorian is not well again. I believe he has ick in his fins and a little growth on his lip and reddened gills. I recently bought some "Start Zyme" it has good bacteria to lower ammonia. i started treating him for ick. i just did a full water change after mold started growing. i added some conditioner just to make sure there was no chlorine. please help us.

[Blue Fish]

What are you using to treat him for the Ich? I know that some of the meds can be really hard on them. I got (ugh, this is painful) coppersafe for two of my boys when they came from the petstore with Ich...little did I know that copper is horrible for fish, and it got rid of the Ich...but will probably shorten the lifespan of my fish. :( I also noticed that after two days of treatment they stopped eating, and red streaks appeared on their fins. Many of the meds are really, really hard on them and I'd bet they could cause the red gills.

As for the mold...never had that problem before, but it sounds like something's not right in your tank. Did the mold start after you put in the start-zyme, was the tank new or was it old, is the tank in direct sunlight or in a darker/wetter area?

If you are treating him with meds, many people on here recommend using AQ salt with daily 100% water changes for about a week for Ich and for fin rot, and the salt would probably help your mold problem too. Just make sure you do the daily 100% changes (the Ich parasites fall off the fish and are on the bottom of the tank, that's why the changes are vital) and that seems to work for the majority of people.

I'm sorry you're having trouble, I hope that things are looking up soon!

[Tikibirds]

when you say mold - do you mean fuzzy stuff on the betta's body?Or is it growing in the tank?
If its on the betta - you most likely either have a fungus or cotton mouth disease which is a form of columnaris.
If its growing in the tank, not sure what it would be there might be too much of something in the start zyme that is causing the growth?

COTTON MOUTH
Symptoms: Loss of appetite
White spots on mouth, scales, and fins
Cottony growth on mouth
Fins disintegrate beginning at the edges
Looks like a small cotton ball

Symptoms of Stress & Disease
Cotton Mouth General Description Mouth Fungus is so called because it looks like a fungus attack of the mouth. It is actually caused from the bacterium Chondrococcus columnaris. It shows up first as a gray or white line around the lips and later as short tufts sprouting from the mouth like fungus. The toxins produced and the inability to eat will be fatal unless treated at an early stage. Hard to treat, but not impossible. Like any disease best caught early. There are commercial products available to treat cotton mouth. Also change the water daily 20% and use a regular dose of salt in your tank.

http://www.fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/cotton_mouth/

I would try treating with an antibacterial medication such as furan 2 IF this is what your fish has. However if it is in fact ick, then a medication such as quick cure would work.

Do you have a picture of him?

[Aus]

If you fill out the questionnaire in the sticky on top of this forum section, it will help a lot in figuring out what's wrong.

I am wondering if your tank is a little cold, and maybe your water changes aren't too regular?

in any case, your fish sounds very run-down. He needs to be treated for the ick with anti-parasite meds, and for the infection with antibiotics. Most infections are gram negative, so something like Kanaplex would help, maybe Maracyns 1 & 2 combined..

Filling out the form and proving a pic can help make sure the disease is id'd correctly, too!

PS: I do hope you're using water conditioner at every single water change.. your post wasn't too clear on that...

[lordcactusjack]

Housing
What size is your tank? 1 gal (most I can do for now)
What temperature is your tank? stays in range of 75-80 most of the time
Does your tank have a filter? yes but i don't use it regularly since it is too strong
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? nightly by a lamp
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food:
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? betta pellets and sometimes dried bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? about once a week. lately though not as much since i am very busy.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Start Right conditioner. i recently added Start Zyme after the symptoms arose. the mold was there before it. white fuzzy stuff on filter and floating on water.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? no

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? red patches on gills, growth on lip, and white growths on fins.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? only that he scratches himself. other than that he still swim frantically at me when i walk up to him.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? about 3 days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? yes, i am using Quick Cure for ick and protozoan parasites.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? only had ick once when i first got him.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I got him 3 months ago

[lordcactusjack]

i just did a 50% change this morning just in case it was ammonia burns on his gills. I did not add anymore start zyme. here is his tank though it has on silk plant in it and no filter so there is more room. im planning to get a bigger one for Christmas http://www.petco.com/product/114820/..._shopAquariums