[MaverickMom]

Hello everyone!! I know it's been a while since I posted here. After my last Betta (Rosey) passed from Cancer I took a break from working with them. Recently though on the 11th (after taking some time to seed a sponge filter for a quarantine tank), I got a new gorgeous boy; Angus. He's been the spitting image of health up until the 20th of October. I've done water tests daily to ensure there has been no Ammonia/Nitrite and healthy levels of Nitrate. But despite that, something is wrong, recently I noticed he developed Cataract-like white spots on both his eyes, and now his fins are getting holes, just little tiny ones.

He seems very aggressive, and glass-surfs a lot despite me covering the sides of his tank with white paper, and now keeping his light off to prevent his reflection. There is a stone pebble "home" (that was sanded down to prevent sharp spots), a "Zoo Med" Betta log, an Indian Almond Leave, Sponge filter, an Inkbird Temp. gauge, and a heater in the tank, nothing else. So if he's scratching his fins/eyes on something I'm bewildered as to what it is. I read a theory somewhere that if a Betta glass-surfs enough they can cause abrasions on their eyes, causing white spots? Would love to hear your opinion on that idea. Regarding his fins, I have just recently learned about "Betta Blowout", but I've never seen him full on flare. Would swimming around, suddenly turning back and forth, cause blowouts just the same?

I plan to pick up some Seachem Stressguard today, as I've heard that does wonders for small tears/holes in their fins. But if he is hurting himself on something I can't figure out what it is. For now I've removed the Betta log as the first test to see if the tears get worse or better with it out.

Housing:
How many gallons is your tank?: 5 Gallon Quarantine
Does it have a filter?: 1 Sponge Filter
Does it have a heater?: Yes
What temperature is your tank?: 79 - 79.4 F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?: No
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind?: None

Food:
What food brand do you use?: Xtreme and Hikari
Do you feed flakes or pellets?: Pellets
Freeze-dried?: Frozen Bloodworms
How often do you feed your Betta? How much?: 3 Times a day, spaced out between 9:30am-5:00pm. If I feed him Xtreme pellets he gets 3 each time, if he's fed bloodworms I just guestimate when he's full.

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change?: Weekly (He'd only been in quarantine for a week so far, so he'd only had 1 water change)
What percentage of water did you change?: 25%
What is the source of your water?: Tap Water
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water?: No substrate in quarantine
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner?: For the first few days I added some Seachem Stability to ensure the filter I seeded for him did well. I condition water with Seachem Prime.

Water Parameters:
What are your water parameters? Please give exact numbers. If tested by pet store please get exact numbers. "Fine" or "Safe" won't help us help you. Important: Test your water before the regular water change; not after one.

Ammonia: 0 PPM
Nitrite: 0 PPM
Nitrate: 5 PPM
pH: 8.0
Hardness (GH): 125.3
Alkalinity (KH): 89.5

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms?: I first noticed cataract-like dots on his eyes on the 20th. The small holes in his fins appeared the day after up to the present day.
How has your Betta’s appearance changed?: He's getting like small blowout holes in his dorsal fins, his fins overall are getting like a tiny "shark tooth" shape to the edges
How has your Betta’s behavior changed?: N/A, he's still perky and crazy.
Is your Betta still eating?: Yes
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how?: I did an extra water change yesterday (the 21st), and was planning to do daily water changes for a week.
Does your Betta have any history of being ill?: Not that I know of, I only got him on the 11th (He looked very healthy in the pet store, no physical problems and was perky)
How long have you owned your Betta?: 12 Days
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased?: No

^12th of October: Day after I picked him up

^21st of October: Cataracts appeared on the 20th, small holes in dorsal fin (see picture two) appeared 21st.

^22nd of October: Cataracts still there, more small tears/holes and rougher edge to all his fins.
----
I realize after only 12 days of owning him it might be a bit too soon to panic, but if any of you remember Maverick, my first Betta I posted about here, he got cataracts and then small holes in his fins, and he needed to be put down after becoming very very sick. I don't want the same for Angus.

Any and all help/opinions are greatly appreciated. 💕

 

[MaverickMom]

Are you sure those are holes? They could be opaque/white iridiphores, it is a marble after all. Can you see through them? I'm thinking the same for the white around the eyes.

Hello!
Some of his markings are opaque markings in his tail, but some are holes and have now developed into like a "saw blade" pattern.

^This white marking I've circled on his tail is a normal opaque white spot in his tail, it's been there since the first day I had him.

^However these tiny saw blade like "cut-outs" on the outside of his fins weren't there before. These tiny "cut-outs" are what I'm most worried about

 

[MaverickMom]

Update: I just went to check on him again before bed and I think I accidentally spooked him. I saw him dart across the tank from the sponge filter, then quickly swim up to the surface and now he's just floating there (right side up), like in a daze. He's never done this before (just float), I think he hit his head on the glass when he darted and now he's in shock.

However I'm now starting to think the sponge filter is the cause of the weird holes/cut outs in his fins, like their tattering. I didn't realize how close to the "wall" the sponge filter was but it's not close enough that he can't squeeze through and therefore scratch himself on the sponge. I can't get a picture of him rn, but it looks like when he darted he scratched some of the scales on (his) right side his face.

I'm going to try some of the stressguard I got, to hopefully help his face, and also try and reposition the filter, so he doesn't try to squeeze against it.

 

[MaverickMom]

Hello! I have an update on Angus;

Two days ago I noticed a small tumor-like bump at the inner base of his dorsal fin, so I kept an eye on it. He'd always had a small mark there but it was never this obvious. Yesterday I noticed it was more raised and lighter in colour, like a scab or blister??

Tonight however it's opened a hole directly in the middle of his dorsal fin. I've started him back on Stressguard (he hasn't had it since OCT 26th when I was treating some small pin/blowout holes he's had in his fins).

His temperament is still crazy and happy and he's had no trouble eating, which is a relief. Hopefully the Stressguard can promote some healing or I might have to resort to salts (we don't have any medications in Canada so this is what I have to work with)

💕

(Apologies for the shaky camera work) I forgot to reply to the previous responses to this thread, but I have had IAL in his tank for some time now. And the small holes/saw/blade edging on his fins disappeared so I thought everything was ok. Thank you to everyone who replied before. 💕

 

[MaverickMom]

Last quick add on;

I feel a should be transparent in saying Angus's quarantine tank has been going through a mini cycle since NOV 2nd. However since that day I have constantly been testing and dosing Prime everyday to ensure he's safe, using the "Fish-In Cycle Method".

With having dosed his tank with Stressguard today, I am aware that Prime used with Stressguard (when overdosed), can cause oxygen issues, however I have dosed the two different products hours from each other, and the tank is oxygenated with a sponge filter.

Today the tank was dosed with;
-Stressguard: 1.25 mL (1:57pm) (This was dosed earlier today before the hole appeared because I was worried about the raised sore, tonight is when that sore opened into a hole in his fin)
-Prime: 10 Drops (10:55pm)

And the levels (as of tonight at 11:14pm) are;
-Ammonia: 0.25 PPM
-Nitrite: 0.25 PPM
-Nitrate: 5.0 PPM

 

[MaverickMom]

Another update; sometimes it's hard to tell if the wound is getting better or worse. Two days ago I was ready to post here that it was nearly closed up and was looking good, and now today the hole is bigger again and the tumour-like mass seems bigger too. I've provided some images to hopefully show how large the mass is on both sides of his dorsal fin. I've treated him with Stressguard since NOV 10th, but now I'm wondering if I should do daily 25% water changes and Stressguard? (I've read it disappears from the water in 24 hours so I would just do the water change around the time Stressguard needs to be re-dosed?) My only other option is salt. I know Aquarium Salt and Epsom Salt are used for different illnesses/ailments so I need to figure out which one to use in "Open tumour/hole in fin" situations.

If anyone else has any other suggestions or ideas as to what this might be I appreciate any and all help

 

[MaverickMom]

Hello!

I think I'm going to start treating him with Aquarium salt, I haven't dosed the tank with Stressguard since the 24th, but this morning I noticed there's a new hole in his fin. Idk if he tore it on something or what. If I'm to understand, Epsom salt is used to treat Dropsy and constipation to reduce swelling, but Aquarium salt is anti-bacterial (which is what I can only assume this is).

My only question is I've heard you have to wait a period of time before changing forms of medications so the new one doesn't shock their system. Should I wait longer to start the Aquarium Salt treatment or would I be good to start it now?

On an unrelated note, somehow a small population of Amphipods/Copepods have appeared in his quarantine so now atleast he has snacks all the time lol

 

[MaverickMom]

Honestly, I don’t think you are going to be able to do anything about the tumour. There isn’t any treatment for tumours but they often don’t bother the betta much. If it were mine I’d wait on the salt and just keep the water very clean to avoid infection.

Yeah I know I can't do much for the tumour, I was more so just worried about the holes in his fins (besides the one from the tumour). I'll stick to clean water for now and keep an eye on him, I've also figured out how to lessen the flow from his sponge filter (because I think he was getting stuck against it in the current), so hopefully he won't get anymore holes in his fins. He's scheduled to move into his forever tank on the 8th so i'm excited to see him explore that. Thank you for your response and help!