White Puffy Clouds on Fins

[Turt8]

I have had my Betta for three days and it has been sick for 2 of them. I don't think that I am the cause of this, but I want to fix it. It's the second one that I have gotten from this large chain store, and probably the last.

I have him in a 1.5 gallon aquarium. I used special Betta drops to dechlorinate and I also used a pH corrector to keep the pH at 7. I also had a small charcoal filter going until the fish swam into it, now he has none.

So, the next morning after I got him I noticed that his tail looked ratty. I assumed that either he bit it or it got caught in the filter. OK, I assumed it would heal. He continued to eat. Later that evening, there was a white, transparent, cotton ball appearing form on the spot where his fin was damaged.

I was searching online and came to the conclusion that it was fungus. Several websites suggested to do a water change and add aquarium salt. So, I did that. Also adding the usual mixture. The white puff seemed to grow.

This morning I looked at him, thought I was going to have to flush him, and then he started swimming again.

I don't want to give up on him, but I'm not prepared to spend a ton of money. My husband thinks I'm crazy. The fish doesn't seem to like the salt, so before work this morning I emptied some out and replaced it with fresh un-salted water.

Any suggestions?

[BlueHaven]

Does he have a heater that adjusts?
You can set it to warmer temperatures from 80 -85 degrees, it really helps them fight illnesses and i've found my bettas love those temperatures.

If you look up the website bettatalk, they have different kinds of medications to use for different health problems.
:)

I hope your betta gets better!

Raising the temperature would need to be done slowly though so it won't shock your betta.
And for small aquariums like yours, the hydor mini works great.

[Oldfishlady]

Welcome to the forum and sorry you are having problems......

First...please don' ever Flush a fish...it is not only cruel but it is bad for our environment.....bury, burn, wrap in paper and throw in the trash...please.....

What was he doing that made you feel he did not like the salt....what kind of salt did you use and how much?

Stop using the pH adjuster...not needed and this can stress the fish compromising the immune response from the pH swings without proper buffers...he will adjust fine to your source water pH....

Start making 50% water changes with like temp dechlorinated water several times today to get all the additives out....

Maybe the reaction he was having was to the pH swings and not the salt....he needs high does of aquarium salt 3tsp/gal along with 100% daily water changes, lower water temp in the 76F range...but if he can't tolerate the salt....its going to be a challenge to treat with natural methods.....

[Turt8]

I will stop using the pH adjuster if you think that may not help him heal, but I have always used it in his water, so I thought that may not be a factor.
I bought just regular aquarium salt, I believe it said it was evaporated sea salt. The directions on the box stated to use a 1/2 tsp per gallon, so that was what I did. If you think that 3tsp/gallon is more therapeutic, then I will do that.

Should I do the 50% water changes with or without salt?

I feel like he may not have liked the salt because he became more lethargic with it, and this morning I thought he passed. I was just worried that the salt was causing more harm than good. I have never used it before.

Maybe I am wrong, but I feel like I didn't do anything to cause this to the fish. I had all clean water waiting for him, everything was cleaned with HOT water only. The only source of a fungus I can think of would have been from the water he came with. I added that water thinking it would help with the bacterial environment. Do you think he came sick?

Do you suggest I treat it with an anti-fungal? Anti-bacterial? Any suggestions?

P.S. I will now never flush another fish. Thanks :)

[Oldfishlady]

If you think the salt caused a negative reaction...be careful using it...add it slow in small amount to start...I would get his water cleaned up and back to just your source water with extra dechlorinator for now with back to back 50% water changes over a couple of hours and watch his reaction...this will help rule out things one at a time so-to-speak

Make sure and keep the water temp between new and old water within a couple of degrees between them so you don't cause temp related shock issue....and use extra dechlorinater dosed on the full volume of the tank not just the replacement water for now.......with some dechlorinator direction require double when you also have chloramine in your tap water not just chlorine...check the label to be sure.....shake well and check the expiration date too......

Don't worry about him eating at this point...sometimes it can take a week or so for them to adjust to the new environment before even healthy Bettas will eat....

The water that he came in can contain high levels of bacteria/pathogens...etc... and when a Betta is stressed from the move and change to different source water it can sometimes compromise the immune response...thus anything can affect them negatively.....not really anything you did wrong per se.....stuff happens......so don't blame yourself....

I only treat with natural methods...I don't use OTC medication due to their harshness on both the fish and environment.... and so I can't recommend anything......

[Turt8]

Thank you for your information. Unfortunately, when I got home from work the little guy passed.
Is there a better way of cleaning the tank other than with hot water? I do not want this fungus to get on my new fish.
Should I scoop out the fish from the container it comes in instead of pouring in the water?
Thank you again.

[Oldfishlady]

Sorry for your loss.....

When you get your new Betta...you need to acclimate them to both the water temp and chemistry of the new source water.

If they came in a cup-pour off half this water and slowly over 20-30min add small amount of the dechlorinated tank water to the Betta in the cup....repeat until the Betta is in about 100% of the tank water.....net the Betta and add to the tank...discard all the water in the cup...top off or fill the tank with fresh dechlorinated water to replace water used for acclimation......

If the Betta came in a bag-transfer the Betta to a small container with the pet shop water and acclimate as posted above.....

I would go ahead and a do a full tear down of the tank and rinse well and re-fill with fresh dechlorinated water for the new Betta.....