betta has white patch on underside Help!

[backflip]

i have a male blue and red betta fish for about 3 weeks. i feed him 3 pellets twice a day and he is doing very well. today i noticed a decent sized white patch on his underside right below his gills that is about 2mm by 2mm and he's moving slower than normal. i also noticed that hes pacing himself in the tank. its a 2.5 galon tank and i recently changed the water what do i do!

[bahamut285]

Hello Backflip, welcome to the forum, I'm sorry your fish isn't feeling well. Could you please fill out this form so we may better serve your needs!

Housing
What size is your tank?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have a filter?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Is your tank heated?
What tank mates does your betta fish live with?

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
How often do you feed your betta fish?

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

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?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish (approximately)?

[backflip]

What size is your tank? 2.5 gla
What temperature is your tank? 77
Does your tank have a filter? no
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? pellets
How often do you feed your betta fish? twice a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every 1.5-2 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 i use distilled water

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters? no

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? not really
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? a little hes a little slower
When did you start noticing the symptoms? today
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? no
Does your fish have any history of being ill? no
How old is your fish (approximately)? 3 weeks

[Sakura8]

Hi backflip and welcome to the forum.

So I understand your betta has developed a white patch on his belly? Does he look fatter or bloated in that area at all? Often when they get a white patch, they bloat up too. For now, I'd like you to not feed your betta for a day. No food at all. When you start feeding him again, cut down his food to only 2 pellets twice a day. If you can, getting him some frozen bloodworms and feeding him 1-2 worms for one of his meals would be good, too. Bettas love variety.

If your betta looks bloated at all, please post back and let us know.

I believe your betta has slowed down because he needs his water changed at least once a week. For his 2.5 gallon tank, you really should change at least 50-75% of the water once a week. Ideally, it would be best if you could change it twice a week but I understand that sometimes there just isn't enough time. But if you could definitely try to change it that much once a week, I think your betta will perk up a little more.

Also, unless you live in a tropical area where the weather stays in the 80's year round, you are going to need a heater before winter. Bettas are tropical fish and need waters around 76-80 degrees so when it gets cold, your betta's tank will get too cold also. A good heater to look at is the Penn-Plax Cascade heater. Also adjustable heaters by Marineland and Marina are good but be sure they are ADJUSTABLE.

I hope this helps you. Good luck and keep us posed.

[backflip]

thank you. but he doesnt look bloated at all and its not ick because it doesnt look like grains of salt. i dont know if this is normal but i can still see the definition of the scales on the white patch. ill try 2 pellets and bloodworms

[bahamut285]

How bad is your tap water at home? I see you are also using distilled water. Distilled water is lacking in many important nutrients that fish (and humans!) need in their system when consuming water. If your tap water is irreparably bad, I recommend either purchasing SPRING water instead.

[DarkMoon17]

I agree with Bahamut on the distilled water. It really isn't a healthy option. Tap water is cheapest in the long run. You'll just have to get a dechlorinator but it is much more cost effective to use tap water when you do once-twice weekly water changes!

Is there any way you might be able to get a pic of him? Is the white patch fuzzy or is it more of a lump? There is the possibility that it is just a normal color change as well.

[backflip]

my tap water isnt bad at all and i have de chlorinator but buying distilled water was most conviniant. i will keep tap water in mind though and thanks.