HELP! betta grows fungus and his skin is severly dammaged on one side of bodyl

[jade10025]

Housing
What size is your tank?
5 gallons

What temperature is your tank?
I try to keep it betweem 70 and 80 degrees.

Does your tank have a filter?
Yes, but currently I need to buy it the charcol insert. The filter is just circulating water right now.

Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
Riverstones and gravel. A live plant from petco that is doing fine, and a driftwood log I am removing because I believe it may be contributing to the problem. Im gonna strip it to just a little gravel after i clean it out.

Is your tank heated?
Yes.The heater is under the gravel.

What tank mates does your betta fish live with?
Just a plant.

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish?
Betta pellets

How often do you feed your betta fish?
once at night

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change?
I have a few tanks, and a recent shoulder injury, so not as often as I should. I did a half tank clean out about a month ago, and refilled the evaporated water with new treated water a few days ago.

What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
Usually half to full depending on if the fish looks like there is a problem.

What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?
Always Aquarium salt, water conditioner with a slime coat enhancer, and sometimes a little ammonia neutralizer, but that's not often.
Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?
I need to get the tests and learn to test he water.

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
One side of his body tirned to a pinkish color, with the skin looking slimy, not scaley. Fungus appears to be growin on him, or the rotting skin at least. His fins do have a bit of darkness around them. I have been concerned he may be getting tail rot, and keeping a close eye on him. yesterday I was busy and didnt look at him. but the day before he looked fine.

How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
He has been lethargic recently and it has made me concerned. I have done water changes, but probably not often enough. He has been eating. but he hasnt been swimming much. he lays on the rocks.
When did you start noticing the symptoms?

Hes been lethargic off and on for a couple months now, and Ill do complete water changes, and hell seem better for a while. then not swim much. I thought maybe he was just not very active. I have a few fish, and some are more active than others. The whit cotton like growth and slimy peach skin, which is normally a iridescent teal/pearl/purple color was noticed about 5 minutes ago.

Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
I have moved him into an emergency 1 gallon tank with 100% new water. Its cooler than hed normally like, but I thought that may be better for him to heal. I added Melafix, Pimafix, at the doses recommended, water conditioner with slime coat at the recommend dose for the emergency tanks new water, and a little ammonia neutralizer. I am going to add aq salt in a few minutes, once its dissolved into a cup of water.

Does your fish have any history of being ill?

A few months ago I added a log to his tank, and the water turned yellow after about a week and he was lethargic. After water changes and cleaning the log like i should have before I put it in there he was fine again.He has had trouble off and on with fin rot. He has unusually long fins that turn an iridescent pearl color at the edges, so they're not always easy to see. I focus on his front hanging fins, and they seem to short, though they are equal length with each other.

How old is your fish (approximately)?

Ive had him for about a year. He has grown since i got him, so probably not much oldre than that.

[chrissylee13]

is there any way you can get a picture of him? i don't have any experience with fungus on my fish but i have heard that anything ending in 'FIX' like the medications you use can harm the betta's labyrinth organ they use to breath. so i would suggest stopping that form of medication. did you read the sticky on the diseases and treatments? if not here's the one on fungus...

True Fungal Infections
•Symptoms: White cottony like patches on its body or head, Lethargic, Not eating, Clamped Fins, Pale Colors
•Treatment: Conservative: Lower temperature below 76* F and treat with Aq.Salt at 1 tsp/gal. Increase water changes to 100% daily. Replace accurate amount of salt following water changes. Never continue salt treatments for more than 10 days. Medication: If Conservative treatment is ineffective after 10 days or you see the fungus spread rapidly during the course of conservative treatment, move to medication. Add “Fungus Eliminator” by Jungle, API Erythromycin, API Fungus Cure, API Triple Sulfa, OR Mardel’s Maracyn II. Change water every day and add a new dose of the same medication. Continue until all fungus has disappeared.

and fin rot...

Tail rot or fin rot
•Symptoms: Betta’s fins and/or tail seem to be getting shorter and shorter or they seem to be falling apart and dissolving, Black or red along the edge of the betta’s fins/tail, Bloody tips, Behavior may not change
Treatment: Conservative: Treat with Aq.Salt at 1 tsp/gal. Increase water changes to 100% daily. Replace accurate amount of salt following water changes. Add Stress Coat to help repair tissue. If there is little to no improvement within the first 5 days, you can increase the salt dosage gradually to 2tsp/gal but do not continue any salt treatments past 10 days. Medication: If Conservative treatment is ineffective use API Tetracycline, API Fungus Cure, API Triple Sulfa, OR API Erythromycin. Also add Stress Coat to help regrowth. Continue until fins/tail stop receding and start showing some new growth.