Fungal infection--advice please!

[dorymomory]

Hello!

My betta, Benvolio, has a fungal infection (I think) and he doesn't seem to be responding to the medicine I got for him. He started out with a few white dots on the side of his head, which I thought was ich. I got him some medicine for that (APA Liquid Super Ich Cure), but he didn't respond. His spots turned into a patch of white cottony fungus in the same spot, so I got him some general antifungal medication, Pimafix. He's on the fourth day of treatment with that, but he is getting worse. He has always been a very active betta--nearly always moving even when he has been sick in the past, but for the last two days he has been sitting on his plant in one place with his mouth at the surface of the water, I think breathing with his labyrinth instead of gills. He only ate a tiny bit of his food today, also unheard of for him.

Benvolio lives in a gallon bowl with a small heater that keeps his water at around 79 degrees. I do 100% water changes once a week.

I'm wondering if maybe he is having a bad reaction to the Pimafix, or if I just caught the infection too late. Maybe the sickness isn't actually a fungus? Any advice?


(you can see the fungus in this picture--the white patch on the right side of his head)

Thank you so much for any help you can give me to get him healthy again!
Dory

[earthworm88]

Hi Dory,
Sorry to hear your Benvolio isn't doing well. From what you have described so far, it is very possible your betta has columnaris along with Ich. However, I am not able to see that well on your photo, I only detect some color differences between his head and body. Could you try to take another photo of the close-up of the white patch in question? It is possible this columnaris is also affecting his gills. I am not a big fan of the "-fix" meds as I believe there are other meds out there with less questionable side effect, but some people swore by it. Pimafix has been known for small success in treating columnaris in very mild cases.

Do you have easy access to medications like Jungle Fungus Clear, Maracyn I&II, Kanaplex etc? If he is not eating, then that's not a very good sign. Do you have Jungle antibiotic food? For now, take him off the Pimafix. Change his water completely, and wait for a day. Then I would do Aquarium salt 1 tsp/gal in preconditioned water. I would probably want to increase to a dosage of 3 tsp/gal by the end of 24 hours. So by the second day, he should have a concentration of 3 tsp/gal, and change the water daily with this dosage for the next 10 days. In the meantime, investigate if your LFS nearby stock any of the meds mentioned above, you may need them in case the AQ solution isn't enough to combat the problem. Try to feed him frozen blood worms or other high protein food as he needs his strength to fight this battle.

For future reference, a 1 gal tank should have at least twice 100% water changes weekly. Ideally if you can, try to upgrade him to a larger tank if you don't think you can do frequent water changes. Also, with Ich, normally it can be taken care of with AQ salt without medication intervention in most cases.

I am sure someone will chime in along the way.

Good luck!

[dorymomory]

Earthworm,

Thank you so much for your help! I did a full water change, and although I haven't been able to make it to the store to get anything yet, he has been doing much better! He is moving around again (although still more slowly than usual) and ate a full meal. I'm thinking I don't like the Pimafix. :/ He is still breathing from the surface more than usual, but isn't staying there constantly.

I'll get some aquarium salt and good food as soon as I can! I'll also do water changes more often. Unfortunately, I don't have space for anything much bigger.

My camera doesn't do well picking up much detail in closeup photos through water, but this is the best I could get:



It looks quite painful--there are some spots where it looks like it's eaten through his scales. :(

[earthworm88]

Originally Posted by dorymomory

Earthworm,

Thank you so much for your help! I did a full water change, and although I haven't been able to make it to the store to get anything yet, he has been doing much better! He is moving around again (although still more slowly than usual) and ate a full meal. I'm thinking I don't like the Pimafix. :/ He is still breathing from the surface more than usual, but isn't staying there constantly.

I am not an expert in this, but I am happy to help and hope that others can chime in if my recommendation isn't good enough. If he is eating, that's always a good sign

I'll also do water changes more often. Unfortunately, I don't have space for anything much bigger.

I hear ya. As long as you are willing to do more frequent water change, Bonvolio would be super happy and healthy.

My camera doesn't do well picking up much detail in closeup photos through water, but this is the best I could get:

Thanks for posting up another photo. It sure looks quite different from the first. But it shows the problem you were describing about.

It looks quite painful--there are some spots where it looks like it's eaten through his scales. :(

I am sorry I am not 100% sure if it's columnaris or true fungus. The second photo doesn't really show the fuzz either way. Because of the missing scales, it could be a bacterial infection. But you had used Pimafix which treats fungus and bacterial infection but with no improvement. In any case, AQ salt treatment if done properly and in a timely manner will help in any of these cases. In the meantime, please try PM OFL, DM, Sakura, Myates (the list can go on) to get a second opinion?

Good luck!