Betta has a lump on his side (Not sure what it is)

[Sky]

Hello everyone!

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5 Gallons
What temperature is your tank? N/A
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
Is your tank heated? No
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Pellet food
How often do you feed your betta fish? Usually four pellets a day, but I’ve started giving him just 2 a day when I noticed the lump.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Every 2 weeks
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? None

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: N/A
Nitrite: N/A
Nitrate: N/A
pH: 7.0
Hardness: N/A
Alkalinity: N/A

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? A little bit of fin rot, but most noticeably a small lump on his right side at about the middle of his body.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Nope. He’s still active, responsive, still eating, still flaring, still jumping, making bubble nests, etc.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? I noticed the lump 2 days ago.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I have changed the water and have him on Bettafix.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Only with fin rot.
How old is your fish (approximately)? I’ve had him for over a year now.


I’ve had my betta fish, Thunder, for over a year now and the only illness he’s really had is fin rot. Usually, I’m on top of cleaning out his tank and do it every 2 weeks or so, but this time circumstances prevented me from cleaning out his tank as usual. He was in the same water for nearly 4 weeks, and his tank had a lot of green algae in it. At that time I noticed a bit of fin rot, but I hadn’t noticed anything else. The day my water was de-chlorinating (about 4 days ago) I finally noticed a small lump on his right side. It’s located about the middle of his body and I tried my best to take pictures of it, but Thunder got agitated with the camera and would swim away after a few shots. The lump itself is circled in red. It has me really concerned.

I did some research, and I’m afraid that it’s the beginning of dropsy, but as you can see his scales aren’t raised or anything. He’s actually not behaving any different. I put him in clean water now, and he’s still alert, he’s flaring, he’s jumping, he responds to me when I walk into the room, he’s still got a big appetite, and he even made a bubblenest.

I spoke with someone at Pet Supermarket and she told me that she thinks he’s been overfed. I usually give him four pellets a day, but she said that betta fish sometimes eat algae and that could be the cause of his lump. I’m not too sure if I believe that. I’ve never heard of it. I’ve started to give him Bettafix (this is now the 3rd day on it) and I’m going to be making sure his water is clean.

Does anyone have any idea what could have caused the lump or what it actually is? I’m pretty sure it was caused by the dirty water, but I’m not sure what it is or how to get it to go away. I’ve also reduced his meals to 2 pellets a day now just in case he has been overfed.

Thank you.

[nunuchan]

I've got the same issue with my betta right now (however MUCH more severe). I'm treating him for constipation. Epsom salt should do the trick.

[newbie32]

He could be having trouble going to the bathroom. You need to fast the betta at least once a week. Mine doesn't eat two days a week.

Also, I think with a tank so small, you need to up the water changes. I have a 10 gal and I change 50% once a week. You can see the difference in our practices.

Also, bettas need the water to be warm. Between 76 and 84 degrees. I've seen conflicting numbers, but this is about the range. You should heat your tank and get a thermometer to make sure your little guys is feelin nice and cozy.

[newbie32]

By the by, he's beautiful!

[Sky]

Originally Posted by nunuchan

I've got the same issue with my betta right now (however MUCH more severe). I'm treating him for constipation. Epsom salt should do the trick.

Thanks for responding! Okay, I'll give it a try. I've never used it before though, how much and how often should I use it?

[Sky]

Originally Posted by newbie32

He could be having trouble going to the bathroom. You need to fast the betta at least once a week. Mine doesn't eat two days a week.

Also, I think with a tank so small, you need to up the water changes. I have a 10 gal and I change 50% once a week. You can see the difference in our practices.

Also, bettas need the water to be warm. Between 76 and 84 degrees. I've seen conflicting numbers, but this is about the range. You should heat your tank and get a thermometer to make sure your little guys is feelin nice and cozy.

Thank you for responding! Yeah, I haven't fasted him for a while. I'll go ahead and fast him today. I've actually looked into the heating and thermometer, but I was worried about my acrylic tank. Would the heater melt right through the tank? No one has been able to give me a straight answer. It's for that reason that I've never gotten a heater b/c I don't want anything to happen to the tank.

And thank you for the nice compliment!

[newbie32]

I've never heard of a heater melting an acrylic tank, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I would do some research online. Perhaps in the product description it will say whether the heater may be used in an acrylic tank. For no more power than a heater would need to heat a small tank, I don't think it would be a problem. You would only need a heater will a low wattage. Is wattage a word? lol

I have a 10 gal and I have a 75 watt heater. More than I really need, but I keep it kinda cold in my office. I would suggest you get one that is adjustable. I had a preset one and absolutely hated it. Couldn't keep the water warm enough. Also, there are heaters that you place under the bowl. I'm not sure if it would work for a mini-bow.

Actually, now that I think of it...try Amazon and look for a hagen mini elite. Or called something like that. I've seen posts about that heater and people really seem to love it for small tanks.

Hope this helps!

[Tisia]

I have a couple acrylic tanks and a couple sterlite containers that I use as qt's and haven't had any melting issues. might be possible if it malfunctions pretty badly, like if it cooks your fish it gets so hot, but should be fine during normal use

[SnowySurface]

I have my bettas in 1gallon tanks until their permanent tanks are ready. I do a 50% water change every other day and a 100% water change once a week. Since your tank is 2.5 gallons, you should probably do 50% and 100% once a week.

I know this thread isn't about the fin rot, but I figured I would mention that you need a water conditioner to remove chlorine from tap water. I noticed you said 'none' for additives added during water changes, so I wanted to warn you if you are using straight tap water. The fin rot is more likely caused by ammonia levels if if you only change the water every other week. But, I wanted to toss both ideas out there. :)

I have a heater in my acrylic tanks and nothing has melted yet. As long as the watts aren't through the roof you should be fine. Mine is about 10watts, so I wouldn't go above 15 watts for a 2.5 gallon.

I hope this helps. :)

[BettaFishRule]

It could be a tumor or a parasite try putting aquariam salt in the tank if its a parasite it will kill it but if its a tumor then he might die