My Betta is very sick :( PLEASE HELP

[Lucinda1]

Hi guys! I need some serious help. My betta is very sick and I took her to Petland and 2 Petcos and no one knows what is wrong with her. I have had her a little over a month and I purchased the entire beta start up kit for her. I clean her tank weekly and was instructed to feed her everyday. Unfortunately on my last visit to Petco someone told me that she should only be fed weekly or every few days. Everything was fine for about a week and then she started getting redish/brown stringy things coming out of her anus and then sometimes white stringy things. I researched and found that it was poop and that she was constipated. I skipped a bunch of days feeding her until the poop went away. I feed her flakes. Soemtimes my mom feeds her if I cant make it home and I think she has been over feeding her. Anyway, my Lucinda is really smart, very interactive and spends a lot of her time swimming around. Sunday i noticed a little red bubble protruding from her anus. Monday it got a little bigger, so i did not feed her. Yesterday it had doubled in size by morning and I brought her to the pet stores. It also appears to have a white fuzz growing on the red bubbles. She also has now turned grey. She is normally bright blue and pink. The petco gave me fungus drops and i changed her water yesterday and added the fungus drops. Today she doesnt look any better but she doesnt look any worse either. This is my first fish and I absolutely adore her. Please any help would be appreciated. I am thinking of feeding her a pea when I get home. I have attached pictures of Lucinda.

[Tikibirds]

Unfortunately on my last visit to Petco someone told me that she should only be fed weekly or every few days.

Um, WRONG. Petco employees usually have no idea what they are talking about. Bettas should be fed every day, with maybe 1 day a week of fasting. I'm afraid to ask but what did they give you for medication? Usually they only have bettafix which can do more harm to the betta then good. It as a tree oil that can damage their breathing organ. If she had fungus, she would have white fuzzies growing on her skin.

I would skip feeding her the pea, I think that is more for goldfish. I

Betta poop should look like little brown cinnamon buns. White poop is usually a sign of internal parasites.


Answer as many of these as you can, in the meantime, I'm gonna go get some others to look and see what they think you should do.


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)?

[Lucinda1]

Housing
What size is your tank? .05 gallons
What temperature is your tank? I dont know
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? Nutrafin flakes
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day - I have been skipping days because I thought she was constipated

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? All of it
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? Nutrafin Max flakes

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? She is really teenie (that hasnt changed) She is now grey and she has red "ball" shaped masses hanging out of her anus. THere is a little fuzz on the bottom of the masses. She was originally blue and pinkish
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? She is normally very friendly and will swim around and come to greet you when you come near the tank. She will hang around her plant a lot or at the top of the castle. Now she is hiding inside the castle (which she never even bothered to stay in before) She would hang out looking out from inside, now she just goes in there and lays..I cant even see her in there
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Sunday night
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? I cleaned her tank last night with hot water and added the usual dechlorinator. I added one drop of the pimafix antifungal medication that PEtco gave me.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? I have only had her 2 months. She eats like a maniac but sometimes she has brownish/redish strings hanging out from her anus and once or twice a white string. I thought she was constipated so I stopped feeding her for a few days.
How old is your fish (approximately)? Not sure, I only have her 2 months

I attached a picture of what I was given at Petco. That is her tank and what I feed her and add to her water.

[Lucinda1]

Thank you for any help that you can give! I am a brand new fish owner and followed all of the instructions I was given. It might sound rediculous but she has the coolest personality and I want to make sure that I help her get better. I spoke with the people at Petco - now 3 different people and one was the "fish expert" and they said a heater, filter, was not required for such a small fish/tank. She is a little thing. I appreciate anything that can help. I feel so bad for her, I can tell she is suffering, but she still tries to greet me and play. I try not to go near her tank too much because I dont want her to tire herself out.

[EvilVOG]

does it look anything like the pictures in this thread here?: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=87029

And like Tiki said peas are bad unless someone here specifically tells you to use them. It is for goldfish. Betta fix is bad for the tree oil.

feed twice a day like 2-3 pellets per feeding, maybe a day a week of fasting.

[Lucinda1]

Sort of yes but much, much bigger and roundish in shape with furry or fuzzy white on it. I attached a picture.

[Lucinda1]

Sorry - here is the picture

[EvilVOG]

most likely internal parasites then. Here's a better pic tho just for confrimation:



Bettas need warmth. 78-80 is preferred.

[Lucinda1]

I dont think it looks like that picture the best thing I can compare it to is it looks like human tonsils with fuzzy white on it

[EvilVOG]

sorry i'm having trouble seeing it in your picture... It could be lympocitis or external parasites or fungus, pretty much all have the same treatment of aquarium salt, but the anti-fungal medication may be right or better. I don't know for sure. i just hope i got enough helpful info out for the next person. I don't have much experience in medicating beyond the conservative treatment.

Is she rubbing on her decorations/ resting on that spot specifically?