Sick betta! Swollen lip, white lump under gill. PLEASE HELP!

[BETTACHKALOVE]

I agree if you don't cycle you need regular weekly changes. You can do 50% weekly and 100% every 2 weeks. And if you don't cycle you really don't need filter. Filters is only for cycled tanks.
If you really think that he been overfed just wait for 2 days don't feed him and if he is better it will be the answer. Also if you can get frozen daphnia in the store it really will help him if he is constipated. I saw dried daphnia in the store. I think it will help too. I just think if you fed him 5 pellets and your sister fed him then it probably what it is-overfeeding. So you can hold on Epsom salt. If he is not better in 2 days definitely -Epsom salt to go. And still
check his poop just to be on the safe side.
If you just used one dose of medications i would stop it. I don't think he needs it. How is his lip? Still has white pus? I just think if it was slime coat like someone wrote you really don't need to use medications. Super clean water will help. And also i would not use filter at all i think he needs as less water movement as possible. So i would take it out and do regular water changes since you don't cycle thank any way. And start with 50% water changes.

[BettaLinz]

Thank you for that info! I don't think I will be cycling so the regular 50% amd 100% water changes will be a must for me. I was able to go and get some Epsom Salt today but I think I will wait until tonight to see if I want to use it - don't want to stress him out too much. However, he still looks just as bloated as last night. As for his lip, after one dose of the medications it is looking much better today! The swelling has gone down a lot but is still there, so I really want to go ahead with the medication to be on the safe side. On the box it says it treats mouth fungus, so thats what I would be using it for. If it did happen to be something even more minor, the meds won't hurt him, will they??

As for the filter, I will turn it off now. Maybe he will want to swim around more. :)

[callistra]

If you keep that filter running and do 50% weekly and 100% on week two you will eventually end up with a cycled tank anyway (so long as you only rinse the filter in tank water and don't let it dry out). It's not hard, so I do suggest looking at the sticky. http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=47838 However, 50% and 100% alternating is not enough. Sorry. You need at least two 50% during the week followed by 100% at 2 weeks end according to the mods here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=66595 Personally I've never had such a large tank without a filter so I can't bring any personal experience to the table, but if you want to change less often then you should use a drops test kit for ammonia daily after the one week mark and any time you see any ammonia at all it needs a change. You'll start to get a pattern and learn how long you can leave it before you need a change. And ideally, you change before you see ammonia. Like I know with my 5 gallons unfiltered they need changes every 5 days because on day six, like clockwork. I have ammonia show.

Erythromycin is a pretty good med. It might help with any external infection, but it's very unlikely to touch the belly bloat. Right now he really needs the epsoms for that bloat. You can use epsoms and the Erythromycin together.

[BettaLinz]

Earlier today I did a 100% water change and cleaned out Sparky's whole tank. While I was cleaning the water, I had him in a bowl of his tank water mixed with 1 tsp epsom salt for about 30 mins. I only used his tank water because I was worried about having a temperature difference...should i just go with clean water next time, even if the temp is a little different? Anyway, after his salt bath I put him back in his tank and treated it again with the medicine. As of right now he is acting a little better, but is still pretty lethargic. His lip is definitely getting better, but the bloat does not seem to be any smaller yet. I also have not fed him today. How long does it usually take for bettas to recover? Is there something else I should try?

[AyalaCookiejar]

They are very resilient and can usually recover from things quickly, IMO. I would not risk the temperature change. It could shock him which would make his symptoms worse. Try getting the tap water at the same temp as the tank water using the same thermometer in both. I would stick with what you are doing now. It often takes a few days for the bloating to go down so just be patient and don't feed him anything. They can live weeks without food.

[callistra]

+1^

Also, you don't need quick salt baths. He can stay in the epsom salts for weeks right along with the meds. He'll need to be on them for a few days to see any results.

With bloat like that I would expect up to two weeks for full recovery. I'm glad he's starting to act a little better :)

[sunlight]

If you can buy thermometer that you can stick outside of the tank , i think it called stripe thermometer. It really show the temperature change right away. What i do. First i know what temp he is in. I scoop out all water. Then i pour new water in the tank about more 75%. And l i check the temperature. Then i see if i need more cold or warm to add to reach the temp that i need. And if it about 2-4* difference it fine, because you can just keep adding small amount to the changing cup and let him acclimate in it. And like Ayala wrote you need to keep him in the salt water. You really can go with 2tsp/gall so if he is in 10 gall you need to pre disolve 20 tsp for 10 gall. Epsom salt is very mild on fish you can use it even up to 3tsp/gall. for long time.

[AyalaCookiejar]

I personally don't trust the thermometers you stick on the outside because the outside of the tank is usually colder than the inside. I just have a hard time believing they can be that accurate. I would also slowly add the salt at first, just to get him used to the change. I don't think it's a huge deal, but it is what I'd personally do.

[callistra]

Adding salt slowly is a good idea 1/4-1/8 tsp per gallon should not be stressful, but if you're going for a full tsp I would increase it slowly over a few hours. I've never used over 1 tsp but I know others have used up to 3. Since the salts also cause a ph drop, I'd be really careful if you have soft water (PH close to 7.0 or even less). If you have hard water it won't effect the ph as much as isn't as big of a deal. I have seen fish stressed by 1/2 tsp epsoms so I wouldn't assume 3 tsp is very mild, but if you acclimate apparently they tolerate it.

[BettaLinz]

I've been told a lot of different things in regards to the Epsom salt, lol. Should I add 1 tsp pet gallon to the tank or just do baths? I want the most effective way to help cure him without putting too much stress on him.

And I will be using a thermometer that stick to the inside.