[DucktorHannah]

This is a slow-motion video of my betta boy to show his two lumps. It's not that visible on the video but it's probably never truly going to be perfect so I'm going to post this.

First off, he doesn't have fin rot. His fins are incredibly heavy and they grew larger and longer than they probably should have, so he bites his tail himself so he doesn't carry all that weight. I know it doesn't seem like that in the video, but I think one of his parents were a giant because he is noticably bigger than any other adult bettas I've seen. i think he might have some genetic issues like fin curling that is just there no matter how ideal my water quality.

There are two bumps on his right side. The one closer to his tail was there first. I thought he was bloated and started to feed him bloodworms instead of dry food to try and help it. But no, he poops okay, eats okay... But then the bump sort of lifted the scales and something white poked out. Then the other one appeared.

It doesn't look like ich. To me anyway. From what I've seen, Ich looks way more... salt-like, grany and so on. But this is just coming out of a bumpy spot.

Now, this IS NOT MY BETTA. I understand it's not ideal to use photos I found online, but this looks really close to what I see and I can't seem to manage to take a good close-up.

I'm so worried they might be cysts or tumors from similair threads online... Please help.

What I'm currently doing:
- put a almond/katappa leaf in his tank to let the tanins soak out into the water
- poured some boiling water over two other leaves in a jar to create an extract "betta spa" water that I want to put him in for ten minutes a day. Haven't done this yet, letting the water sit overnight first. Will match the temperatures so I don't cause shock
- started "only frozen bloodworms" diet , no dry pellets
- water qualitx is good, did 20% water change just two days ago, I always put in some live bacteria and conditioner

I'll be grateful to anyone who tries to help.

 

[DucktorHannah]

I also found this thread http://www.bettafish.com/99-betta-fish-diseases-emergencies/759274-tumour-parasite.html and it looks like these photos attached.

 

[ryry2012]

I can't tell from the video, but if you are sure the white thing look like those in the pictures, yes, it can be a beginning of tumor or cyst. Ich look grains of salt.


If what he has are really cyst or tumor, there is nothing special you can do. Keep water clean and warm. Feed him nutritious food. What brand of pellets do you have? Omega One and New Life Spectrum make good pellets that have least fillers. Yes, using IAL is a great idea. They are natural antibiotics. I have had two betta that grew tumor or cyst. It was painful to look at them. I hope what he has is not anything serious and will be better.

 

[DucktorHannah]

I will try to cup him for a little while today and get a better picture. What he has is smaller, but it may just be the beggining of it
I'd try to touch it but he rarely lets me touch him ever since it developed. Before we played a lot. Otherwise, he acts the same. Just sleeps a little bit more.

I have Hikari pellets and I fed him about one or two worm-shaped bites by Tetra a day since his instincts kick in with those and he "hunts" them in comparison to just lazily and slowly swallowing some pellets.

But I think I'll switch to freeze dried bloodworms on a daily basis. I have an entire "chocolate" of them in the freezer, he loves them and since I have only one betta, it's pretty much to last him an eternity.
Or is that a bad idea and should he have more variation in his food?

 

[DucktorHannah]

Okay so I cupped him. It was hard to watch him panic so I took two videos under different lightning because trying to take a picture was a disaster and I didn't want to stress him out too much.

In this light you can see the way the bump lifts up like four of his scales.

And in this one with a camera flashlight you can see the white growth that's lifting them up.

 

[ryry2012]

You shouldn't touch it. I've read fish can get "burn" when people directly touch them. I watched the new videos. It looks like a beginning of tumor/cyst. Can be wrong though. I still recommend to keep the water extra clean and warm, wait and see if it grows or disappears. IF it is really a tumor or cyst, there is no cure.


Hikari and Teta pellets are not good. When you look at ingredients you can see more fillers than proteins. Betta are carnivorous. New Life Spectrum and Omega One make better betta food. I'm not familiar with frozen food. I only feed mine Omega One betta flakes.


I hope other members will chime in.

 

[DucktorHannah]

I'll try to get them then. Also, you mentioned that you had experience with two of your bettas growing a tumour.
Did their lifespan shorten significantly? Or did they get complications?
I understand each case is different, but there's hardly any info online

Hikari and Teta pellets are not good. When you look at ingredients you can see more fillers than proteins. Betta are carnivorous. New Life Spectrum and Omega One make better betta food. .

 

[ryry2012]

Did their lifespan shorten significantly?

Yes. They had been swimming and eating normal at first until the growths got really big though. They were brothers from a same spawn. I believe it was generic.

Or did they get complications?(

No, they didn't get any complications.

 

[DucktorHannah]

Did their lifespan shorten significantly?

Yes. They had been swimming and eating normal at first until the growths got really big though.

Or did they get complications?(

No, they didn't get any complications.

I'm really scared of the fact that it seems to be growing from the inside so who knows if it's ready big inside or not...

Well I suppose I'm glad I found out. I was going to buy him a female soon since he makes giant nests and has a gentle personality to be a great dad, but I think this is the third genetic issue that came to surface so I think it's better to stop it there...

I think I'll still get a girl, but as a distraction to divide my attention between more pets when the inevitable stars happening.