small fuzzy round growths around head

[lowie29]

Please help,

My betta has small fuzzy growths around his head. He is eating well, and swimming sporadically. He lives in a 10 gallon tank, with filter, gravel, and light. The temperature is 76 degrees approx. I condition and clean 15% of the water every week. What could it be ?

[BettaxFishxCrazy]

It sounds like it's a fungal infection. If you could take a picture, that'd be great.

[lowie29]

Thank you for responding, and sorry to hear about Flame. I'd been keeping up with your posts about him.

I have uploaded a picture of Lowie (it's my first time, so I hope it worked. I attached it).

Some info I did not mention in my last post is: Lowie is housed with 1 zebra danio. He has been in this new 10 gallon tank for 3 weeks now. He was previously in a vase, and seemed pretty happy (was making his bubble nests) After some research I decided to give him more space. (He did not appreciate water changes in his vase) they seemed to stress him out. I also decided to get him some tank buddies. Reacted with curiosity, no hostility at all. But now he has these little fuzzy growths. The danio does not have them. Could it be the cycling of the tank that is stressing him out? I have yet to take it in to my local pet shop to be tested.

I have conditioned and changed the water (15%). I also put 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt, and turned his lighs off at night. My next thought is to purchase a heater... any suggestions? Thanks a bunch!

[lowie29]

You can see one of those little fuzzy spots right infront of his gill. It looks almost lie a discoloration, but if I get close, it looks fuzzy. He also has a few on his little swimmer fins (not sure what the proper term is) the two little propellers at front.

[kelly528]

Hmm. Really hard to see anything from the pic lol. Keep the aquarium salt on and keep a very close eye on the growths to see if they get any larger.

My first guess would be that this is a bacterial infection (which many people wrongly call 'Fungus'), but just as your doctor would agree antibiotics should only be saved as a last resort. So keep tabs on it and see whether they spots shrink, grow or stay the same with the aquarium salt. Update us tomorrow and we will go from there.

As far as heaters go, any 50 watt heater will do. A good rule of thumb when selecting a heater is 5 watts per gallon. I am a fan of submersibles myself but they also sell ones that hang on the rim of the tank for a few bucks less.

[lowie29]

Thanks kelly!

I'm definetely keeping a close eye on him. I'll see if I can get better pictures.The fuzzy things are still there, but other than that, he seems perfectly normal. Swimming/eating the same. Still comes up to glass to greet me. I'll keep you posted.

[lowie29]

Hi Kelly. I bought my Lowie a heater. But could not get any good pictures. It turns out most of the gray fuzzines was around his chin area and a few fuzzy dots around his eyes. The aquarium salt did not seem to make a big difference. I went to the pet store and they convinced me it was protozoan parasites so I started him on Quick Cure yesterday. He is becoming less and less responsive and sits atop the tank w/out moving.Also, when he swims he seems to push (and shake himself forward in sudden movements) rather than using his fins. Should I continue the treatment.Please Help!!!

[BettaxFishxCrazy]

I would take him off of the medicine if he's acting like that. When you were using the aquarium salt, were the growths getting bigger?

[lowie29]

Actually, no they stayed the same. I also noticed that since the med, his eyes look dark. Thanks, I will discontinue meds and do a 20% water change. Do you think daily salt baths would help at this point?

[BettaxFishxCrazy]

I don't know any good bacterial medications, but you can research it online. I would keep doing the salt baths until you can find the right medication. You should always use salt first because that's less stressful than medication. How long were you giving him salt baths for? Sometimes it takes 5 days and several dips if they're really sick.