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Brown bump near top fin?

687 Views 15 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  rurakhan, 
R
This has been worrying me for a while and I finally made an account to see if anyone could help me. I've had my betta for about a year now and I recently treated him for fin rot with maracyn 1 & 2. Now I've noticed a brown bump near his top fin and on his head. They almost look like he's discolored but I can't tell. Last week I used some Tetra lifeguard all-in-one to try and fix the spots, but it seems like some days they're more noticeable than others. I'm not really sure how to post my tank information, but he's in a 10 gallon tank by himself that I clean out regularly. It's filtered and heated. I think his pH is around 7.0 to 7.2, the ammonia is at 0 ppm, and nitrate and nitrite are at 0 ppm. He hasn't shown any signs of gasping for air or being lethargic. Hopefully his color doesn't look too weird? I got him at Petsmart so I didn't expect him to be perfect. I'm not sure if it's bacterial or fungal and I would appreciate any help!

He always swims around when I bring my camera or phone around him to take pictures and this is the best one I could get..



EDIT: I just found this so here I go:

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? I do small changes every week or two and larger changes every month.
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 15-25% and 50% or more
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? I add in conditioner, clarifier, ammonia remover, and beneficial bacteria.

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm
pH: 7.1ish
Hardness: soft
Alkalinity: around the middle (Sorry, but I just took out the trash and the testing stuff was in there...)

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? He has two brown bumps on his head.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? It hasn't.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Maybe at the beginning of the month. Less so when he was on the Tetra Lifeguard.
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, I used Tetra Lifeguard at the beginning of the month for 5 days.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? He had fin rot before.
How old is your fish (approximately)? About 1 year old
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beautiful Betta
Hi, I cant quite tell from the picture but does the lump by the fin look like a ulcer?
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lilnaugrim
Do you have any before pictures? Also has it changed at all like opened up more through the day's?
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R
lilnaugrim said:
Do you have any before pictures? Also has it changed at all like opened up more through the day's?
Click to expand...
I found a few pictures of him before I used the Tetra all-in-one and I have some from before I moved him to his 10 gallon tank and treated him for fin rot. I don't really think it changes? Some days it seems more noticeable to me, but I'm not really sure. Sometimes I can see the one near his fin a lot more than the one on his head. I don't think it's gotten bigger or changed color though.
This one is from February 14th before I moved him to his new tank:

And this one is from before I treated him for fin rot around March 28(This is the only one I could find that showed his side):


beautiful Betta said:
Hi, I cant quite tell from the picture but does the lump by the fin look like a ulcer?
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Hi. I can't really tell either. I'm not very experienced with fish diseases. Are ulcers more red in color? His spots look brown to me and I'm pretty sure they're not open wounds because there's nothing sharp in his tank. Here's another picture from the top view. He's swimming around a lot today so it was hard to focus on him!
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lilnaugrim
Hmm, well first I can tell you he doesn't have fin rot lol. He's been biting his fins unfortunately. Here's my thread on the differences: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=346377

As for the bump, it's actually not a bump but more of a hole where it looks like he's losing scales. So like an indent. For what caused it though, I'm not sure, could be a bacterial infection of which you can use antibiotics for. PM LittleBlueFishlets to see if she can help this one because beyond an infection, I'm at a loss for what it might be.
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lilnaugrim said:
Hmm, well first I can tell you he doesn't have fin rot lol. He's been biting his fins unfortunately. Here's my thread on the differences: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=346377

As for the bump, it's actually not a bump but more of a hole where it looks like he's losing scales. So like an indent. For what caused it though, I'm not sure, could be a bacterial infection of which you can use antibiotics for. PM LittleBlueFishlets to see if she can help this one because beyond an infection, I'm at a loss for what it might be.
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Thank you for your help! He loves to swim through his silk plants and just stretch out or rest in his log so I'm thinking that he might have just tried to trim himself... I'll go look for some of those treatments you mentioned soon. If it is bacterial, do you have any recommended treatments? I'm not sure if I should look for a general cure again or if there's something specific.
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lilnaugrim
I really like KanaPlex (Kanamycin) but it's not available in all areas, most of the time we have to order it online but of course it takes a few days to get there. You can also try Maracyn II (Erythromycin) or Tetracycline. Both of those treat gram negative and a little bit of gram positive bacteria. Most infections are caused by gram negative bacteria but there are still plenty caused by gram positive and occasionally both. Kanamycin treats for both, so it is a broad spectrum antibiotic.
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lilnaugrim said:
I really like KanaPlex (Kanamycin) but it's not available in all areas, most of the time we have to order it online but of course it takes a few days to get there. You can also try Maracyn II (Erythromycin) or Tetracycline. Both of those treat gram negative and a little bit of gram positive bacteria. Most infections are caused by gram negative bacteria but there are still plenty caused by gram positive and occasionally both. Kanamycin treats for both, so it is a broad spectrum antibiotic.
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I just found some KanaPlex online and I think I'll get some Garlic Guard too. Will I need to get him a new type of food? I give him pellets and a bloodworm every now and then. The KanaPlex instructions said something about frozen food paste. I don't know if I've ever seen food paste for bettas..
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lilnaugrim
Yeah SeaChem makes a frozen food paste but you don't need it, that's more for ingesting the medication which is more effective but they can soak it in through their skin in the water just fine too. I just dose right to the water. GarlicGuard is great too ^_^ you can use it on the regular pellets or you can soak freeze-dried bloodworms in it although I don't suggest using FD bloodworms very often because it's like feeding chocolate to a kid all the time; sure tastes great but there's no nutritional value to it.
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lilnaugrim said:
Yeah SeaChem makes a frozen food paste but you don't need it, that's more for ingesting the medication which is more effective but they can soak it in through their skin in the water just fine too. I just dose right to the water. GarlicGuard is great too ^_^ you can use it on the regular pellets or you can soak freeze-dried bloodworms in it although I don't suggest using FD bloodworms very often because it's like feeding chocolate to a kid all the time; sure tastes great but there's no nutritional value to it.
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Thank you! So I can just get some KanaPlex and add the dose for 10 gallons directly to his water? I should probably get rid of his carbon filter and maybe use a sponge instead, right? I was trying to think about how I wanted to treat his biting and was thinking about either getting this small piece of driftwood or this piece instead to change his tank around a bit.
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lilnaugrim
Yeah just take the media out of the filter and yes, if he's in a 10 gallon then you can dose for 10 gallons (two scoops of medication from the bottle). KanaPlex will help his fins too and yeah, I'm sure he'd appreciate some driftwood :)
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R
lilnaugrim said:
Yeah just take the media out of the filter and yes, if he's in a 10 gallon then you can dose for 10 gallons (two scoops of medication from the bottle). KanaPlex will help his fins too and yeah, I'm sure he'd appreciate some driftwood :)
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Thank you very much for your help! I'm waiting for a reply to my PM before I buy the medicine in case I should get something else too.
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LittleBlueFishlets
Hi Rurakhan,

It looks like an ulcer, or small sore, on him.

1) How long has it been there?

2) Was it there before you treated with the Maracyns?
2a) If so, did the Maracyns (especially Maracyn 2) make any difference?
2b) If it occurred afterwards, how long ago did you use the Maracyns?

Sores like this are often gram negative bacterial infections, as Lilnaugrim said.

Sometimes, these can be treated with non-antibiotic medications, such as Malachite Green (Victoria Green) or Methylene Blue.

However, if the ulcer has been there awhile, you may want to go straight to an antibiotic.

If this was my fish, I would try the furan meds first. Brand names of these include API Furan 2, Jungle Fungus Clear, and Hikari Bifuran. The furan meds (nitrofurazone and furazolidone) are highly effective against gram negative bacterial infections (which are the type that cause the majority of aquatic bacterial infections.)

My second choice option would be the sulfa class. Brand names include API Triple Sulfa and Mardel Maracyn PLUS (must be PLUS). But do NOT use these if you have an allergy to sulfa meds.

As for the other medications mentioned, here are my thoughts about them:

Maracyn 1 (erithromycin) - This is a gram positive antibiotic, and will not be effective on gram negative infections.

Maracyn 2 (minocycline) - This is a derivative of the tetracycline family. It's a broad spectrum antibiotic, meaning it's effective against a wide range of gram negative and gram positive bacteria. However, it's been around awhile, so some types of bacteria are now resistant to it. This is why I asked if you used it while he had the ulcer. If you did, this would indicate the bacterial resistance.

Tetracycline - Also a broad spectrum antibiotic, but if the Maracyn 2 (minocycline) was ineffective, this will likely be ineffective too.

Kanaplex (kanamycin sulfate) - As Lilnaugrim indicated, this is an excellent antibiotic. It's relatively new, therefore there is little resistance to it (so far). BUT I prefer to limit use of this since the more it's used, the more resistant bacteria will become. So I won't recommend it for a minor bacterial infection, unless other medications have been ineffective.

So if this was my fish, I would:
1) Try a furan med first. (API Furan 2, Hikari Bifuran, or Jungle Fungus Clear).
2) If the furan med didn't work, either do option (a) or (b):
a) Try a sulfa med (API Triple Sulfa or Mardel Maracyn PLUS)..... Or
b) Use Kanaplex (kanamycin sulfate)
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LittleBlueFishlets said:
Hi Rurakhan,

It looks like an ulcer, or small sore, on him.

1) How long has it been there?

2) Was it there before you treated with the Maracyns?
2a) If so, did the Maracyns (especially Maracyn 2) make any difference?
2b) If it occurred afterwards, how long ago did you use the Maracyns?

Sores like this are often gram negative bacterial infections, as Lilnaugrim said.

If this was my fish, I would try the furan meds first. Brand names of these include API Furan 2, Jungle Fungus Clear, and Hikari Bifuran. The furan meds (nitrofurazone and furazolidone) are highly effective against gram negative bacterial infections.

My second choice option would be the sulfa class. Brand names include API Triple Sulfa and Mardel Maracyn PLUS (must be PLUS). But do NOT use these if you have an allergy to sulfa meds.

As for the other medications mentioned, here are my thoughts about them:

Maracyn 1 (erithromycin) - This is a gram positive antibiotic, and will not be effective on gram negative infections.

Maracyn 2 (minocycline) - This is a derivative of the tetracycline family. It's a broad spectrum antibiotic, meaning it's effective against a wide range of gram negative and gram positive bacteria. However, it's been around awhile, so some types of bacteria are now resistant to it. This is why I asked if you used it while he had the ulcer. If you did, this would indicate the bacterial resistance.

Tetracycline - Also a broad spectrum antibiotic, but if the Maracyn 2 (minocycline) was ineffective, this will likely be ineffective too.

Kanaplex (kanamycin sulfate) - As Lilnaugrim indicated, this is an excellent antibiotic. It's relatively new, therefore there is little resistance to it (so far). BUT I prefer to limit use of this since the more it's used, the more resistant bacteria will become. So I won't recommend it for a minor bacterial infection, unless other medications have been ineffective.

So if this was my fish, I would:
1) Try a furan med first. (API Furan 2, Hikari Bifuran, or Jungle Fungus Clear).
2) If the furan med didn't work, either do option (a) or (b):
a) Try a sulfa med (API Triple Sulfa or Mardel Maracyn PLUS)..... Or
b) Use Kanaplex (kanamycin sulfate)
Click to expand...
Thank you for the detailed response! I think it was around the beginning of May that I started to notice it. It wasn't there before I used the Maracyn 1 & 2 on him and I used the Maracyn for 5 days then let him off of it for a day or two and then used it for another 5 days from the end of March to the beginning of April. I'll buy the furan and sulfa. Hopefully one of them will clear him up. I'll clean out his tank while I wait for the package then try out the furan. Should I maybe give him a day without medication before trying the sulfa if the furan doesn't work? Afterwards, I'll give him some driftwood for his biting. Is there anything special that I should do for him before or after treatment with any of the medications?
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LittleBlueFishlets
If you're getting them locally, then I would just get the furan now, and wait to see if I needed something else.

Or are you ordering everything online? If so, I would opt to get the furan and Kanaplex.

It sounds to me like you're ordering online, so here's what I would do:

Get the furan and Kanaplex.... Then:
1) Use the furan medication.
2) If this is not effective, or if the ulcer gets worse while using it, switch to Kanaplex.

One of the advantages of Kanaplex is that it's gentle on the body, which means you can use it right after the furan meds. (It's even possible to combine these together, if the condition is very severe.)

Since you have a filter, be sure to follow the directions on the package regarding removal of media and/or carbon.

Do you have live plants? Or is there anything else in the tank with him (snails, fish, etc?) Antibiotics can kill/damage plants and other animals. If you have these, you may want to treat him in a smaller hospital tank.
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LittleBlueFishlets said:
If you're getting them locally, then I would just get the furan now, and wait to see if I needed something else.

Or are you ordering everything online? If so, I would opt to get the furan and Kanaplex.

It sounds to me like you're ordering online, so here's what I would do:

Get the furan and Kanaplex.... Then:
1) Use the furan medication.
2) If this is not effective, or if the ulcer gets worse while using it, switch to Kanaplex.

One of the advantages of Kanaplex is that it's gentle on the body, which means you can use it right after the furan meds. (It's even possible to combine these together, if the condition is very severe.)

Since you have a filter, be sure to follow the directions on the package regarding removal of media and/or carbon.

Do you have live plants? Or is there anything else in the tank with him (snails, fish, etc?) Antibiotics can kill/damage plants and other animals. If you have these, you may want to treat him in a smaller hospital tank.
Click to expand...
I'll have to check the pet stores nearby before seeing if I need to order online. I don't have any live plants in his tank and he's all alone for now. Thank you again for the help! I'll post any questions about treating him or updates if I can.
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