Sick?

[diablo13]

Hi all, im new to this forum, but a longtime reader. I noticed this morning when i went to feed one of my fish, chuck, he had a whitish film around his body just between his ventral and anal fin. Is this Columnaris, Body Slime Infection, or something else?

Housing
What size is your tank? 1.8 gallons
What temperature is your tank? Around 74 degrees farehnhiet
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, going to get one soon
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? Alone

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon Betta Food
How often do you feed your betta fish? Twice a day, 4 pellets in the morning and 2 at night

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Weekly
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? Seachem Prime Water Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
N/A
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? White film around body
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? Ignored food, but actively swimming
When did you start noticing the symptoms?This morining around 10 o' clock
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? None, yet
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Not that i know of
How old is your fish (approximately)? Had him for a week, other than that don't know

[Oldfishlady]

Welcome to the forum......

Can you post a clear pic.....

When fish make excessive slime it usually means something is irritating them...either something about the water or external parasites......is he flashing or rubbing himself on objects in the tank, lethargic at all...he is not eating...has he eaten for you at all.....I see you have only had him a week...right....

[diablo13]

Yes, he's eaten for me since wednsday, and I got him on Sunday. He's not really my fish, he's my moms, but he might as well be mine, because I do everything for him. I just told my mom what I need to fix him, she not only said no to AQ salt and medicine, she wouldn't even let me move him to cleaner, warmer water!

[diablo13]

Oh, sorry OFL, he actually won't flare at me, and he's not scratching against things, he's just swimming around in the front of the tank, not even near decorations. And sorry, my camera broke

[Oldfishlady]

In a 1.8gal filtered tank...it needs at least twice weekly 50% water changes....
1-50% water only and 1-50% to include the substrate cleaning to maintain water quality.....

Filter media needs a swish/rinse in old tank water with a water change a couple of times a month....

I would start by making 50% water only changes for 2 days and see if this will perk him up any...it may just be a water quality issue and be sure and dose the dechlorinator for the full volume of the tank and not just the amount of replacement water as a general rule....you may also need to increase the temp a tiny bit...although 74F isn't that bad....he may be happier in 76-80F range....some Bettas can be more sensitive than others to water temp......

Keep us posted.....

[diablo13]

Okay.... Were about the go to petco, and I was going to change his water 100% this afternoon. Just in case, I'll try to get some AQ salt

[TheBlueBettaFish]

This is kinda what OFL said:

You shouldn't change 100% of the water. Tanks collect bacteria that fish need to be healthy. Taking all of that out will stress your Betta. Also, you might have ammonia, so at your local PetSmart you can buy "Ammonia Testers" to check what your fish feels 'Good', 'Stress', 'Bad', or 'Danger'.

Hope this helped!

TheBlueBettaFish

[diablo13]

Okay, thanks bluebetta, I'll make sure just to do a 50% change

[ANHEL123]

But it has to be 2 times a week though like OFL say. Because 50% once a wk not enough for 1.8 gall.:)

[diablo13]

Ya, I got that, oh, and for a five gallon what should I do weekly? I currently do a 100%