[ElFish]

Hi,
I noticed yesterday that my fish's mouth seems rather swollen, and was hoping to get some advice from all you knowledgeable folks. Has this ever happened to anyone? What did you do? I started treating him with epsom salt yesterday, since I read that that is supposed to help with swelling.

Housing
What size is your tank? 5gal (but right now he is in a 1gal hospital tank)
What temperature is your tank? 78F
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? not currently (it is summer here, and the heater was making his tank too hot)
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Omega One
How often do you feed your betta fish? 4 pellets 2x a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? conditioner (right now I'm using StressCoat)

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

Ammonia: 0.0
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness:
Alkalinity:

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? his mouth is puffy (see pictures)
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? he still seems himself, thankfully.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Two days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Yes, he is in a 1-gal hospital tank with 1tsp epsom salt; I am changing the water daily
Does your fish have any history of being ill? Nope, he has always been pretty healthy
How old is your fish (approximately)? 3 years

 

[ElFish]

I'm going to sleep now, but I will keep this thread updated. If you have any advice, please share. My fish is my buddy and I want him to get well soon

 

[ElFish]

He looks the same Today; it's day 3 of the Epsom salt treatment. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[FrostPixie]

Hi,

I apologize, but I'm not sure how to help - I've never come across something like this before.

I am writing, to let you know that someone has read this thread and I guess you can consider my post a buffer until some of the more experienced members are able to assist you.

How is he doing today?

 

[lilnaugrim]

It could be a bacterial infection, much like Pop-eye but instead, it affects the mouth. You can use an antibiotic to help him along. I prefer KanaPlex, if he's still eating then you can soak the pellets in the meds for a few moments and then feed them to him, ingesting KanaPlex is the best way to administer it, but if not, it will do fine just being in the water as well.

Keep in mind that if he's been with you for 3 years then he's likely just about 3.5 years old in total (they're roughly 3-5 months old at the store) and so he may not react to medications very well. 3.5 years is old for a Betta, they average out around 2-4 years, some of the fancier ones tend to live shorter lives for whatever reason; genetics and all.

 

[TerriGtoo]

A bit hard to see from the pics, but
I believe his jaw is just "dislocated". This sometimes happens when they "yawn". Or he was possibly "mouthing" playing around with something in the tank.
A few of mine have done this and, not knowing what to do, I did nothing and eventually their mouths went back to normal.

 

[ElFish]

Thanks to everyone that has responded. I got home from work today and discovered that he has a white dot near the top of his mouth, so I'm thinking it is something fungal. I called the PetSmart near me, and they don't have Kanaplex... is there anything else I could use? Should I be using aquarium salt rather than epsom salt to treat him? (Sorry for the quality of the picture; he's been hiding under a leaf.)

 

[ElFish]

Please help if you can. It is spreading quickly. I am going to change him over to aquarium salt.

 

[lilnaugrim]

Looks like Ich.

Sorry, I forgot to mention that KanaPlex is only bought online.

For Ich, you can use Quick Cure (Malachite Green), that will knock it right out.

 

[ElFish]

Thanks. Can I use aquarium salt first, and then add medication to the aquarium salt?

 

[lilnaugrim]

If you want to, AQ salt doesn't do a whole heck of a lot for Ich, the Quick Cure will do much better for him. It's 1 drop per gallon daily until the symptoms clear up. Usually takes a few day's but I dose to a week.

 

[ElFish]

He made it through the night with 1 tsp/gal aquarium salt! The white fuzzy spots on his face are gone, but his mouth/face is still swollen. I may pick up some medicine after work. Any suggestions? I am inclined to think it is something fungal rather than ick because the white spots were fuzzy rather than fleck-like. He is not eating and is very still, but hanging on and not clamped up horribly.

 

[lilnaugrim]

You can use Furan-2 for fuzz stuff. It's an antibiotic that works for fungi.

But I don't really think he needs it, how is he acting still? Is he eating? Still like himself?

 

[ElFish]

Thanks lilnaugrim! He is not eating-- he tried to eat a pellet but just spit it back out. I think it must be uncomfortable for him to chew. He's not his usual peppy self... He hasn't been swimming around much, but his fins are not clamped or anything.

 

[ElFish]

Just got home from work, and he is still with us! He seems a little more active, and he ate one pellet. Haven't seen any white fuzzies, but the swelling looks much the same. I'm on day 2 of aquarium salt at 1tsp/gal. Do you think I should be treating for ick?

 

[lilnaugrim]

Still sounds like Ich though if it's gone for the moment. Keep on the salt if it seems to be helping him. I really feel like you should get the KanaPlex if you can buy things online. It's a fairly easy antibiotic so you can use it multiple times on him without worry.

 

[ElFish]

Thanks lilnaugrim, I am ordering KanaPlex from Amazon, since that seems like it will get here the fastest. In addition to the KanaPlex, do you think I should also be using Quick Cure? Can/should these two medications be combined?

 

[lilnaugrim]

I would use one at a time. Quick Cure is probably going to be the quickest way to get rid of Ich so use that for a couple more day's first and then you can give him a couple day's off of all medications and salt and then start the KanaPlex from there.

KanaPlex can be combined with other things but I generally like to keep it limited to salts or probiotics. Just like in humans; antibiotics don't always make you feel better right away so best to keep things as least stressful as possible while dosing him.

 

[ElFish]

Thanks again for all your help, lilnaugrim! I am headed to PetSmart now, but I am pretty sure they don't have QuIck Cure... is any other ick medication okay? And do you really think he has ick? I haven't seen any white fuzzies since 2 days ago...

 

[lilnaugrim]

I can't remember if I got my Quick Cure at Wal-Mart or PetSmart, I think it was PetSmart though. PetCO can't carry medications since they don't have a license, PetSmart does though but each store varies of course.

I'd just keep an eye on him, have the medication on hand just in case they come back.

Kordon Ich Attack (or Rid-Ich) is okay too, it's more holistic, isn't as potent as Quick Cure (Malachite Green) is, but it will work okay too.