skittish/ cotton growths

[bettablue]

My recently new betta has a small cotton growth on his fin and it seems to have grown since last week. Today I did a 50% change of water in his 5-gal and I also added some tetracycline. He seems a little skittish now and the temp is in the 75's. What should I do?

[TaylorW]

Can you please answer these questions? Than you :) :) http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233

A picture would be helpful if you could post one as well!

Cottony growths can come from a number of things, so it really depends on what they look like/how often they occur and other symptoms.

[bettablue]

Housing
What size is your tank? 5 gal
What temperature is your tank? 75
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? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? betta pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? 5 pellets every day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? one 50% and 1 gal in between
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? prime dechlorinator

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? small cotton growth on fin
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? more skittish
When did you start noticing the symptoms? one week ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? used salt and now using tetracycline
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? since I got him from petstore he looks about at least 1 year old



well I can't post a pic cause the growth is so small you won't be able to see it....

[TaylorW]

I wouldn't mix the salt and meds together, it's a bit dangerous to mix them, too much strain on the fish... If it's just a small spot, maybe just try aquarium salt and more frequent water changes for a few days...

I've never used tetracycline, but it's an antibiotic, which will do nothing for a fungus, which is the most likely cause. So if your fish has a fungus, it's not doing anything but stressing him out...

I wouldn't use medicine until you've figured out what you're treating, because unnecessary medicines can do more harm than good, especial when mixed with salt...

I would just up the water changes and use salt only for a few days, and just keep an eye on him! :) Hmm, maybe you could bump the temperature up a little bit to about 80 degrees to boost his immune system as well! I think that will help :)

Edit: Hopefully someone more experienced than me can stop by and help you out! I'm pretty new to bettas, but my fish had several cottony spots as well, so I thought I would chip in :)

[bettablue]

well I don't have salt anymore and the meds seems to be getting rid of it, it's shrunken down now so I'll just use it for one more day then do a 25% change of water and see if he's better....