[carinaerickson]

Last month, I got a betta from a close by pet shop. He always had this little bump on his side but it didn't effect him. Now it has gotten pretty large and he floats to the top of the tap and I feel really bad for him.It seems as if that large bump is a tumor and it is causing him to stay at the top of the tank! What should I do??

Housing
What size is your tank? 5 gallon.
What temperature is your tank? around 78º
Does your tank have a filter? yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? no
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? none

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? betta flakes and freeze dried blood worms for a snack once a week.
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day.

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? every saturday
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 50-30% it really depends
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? API Splendid Betta Complete Water Conditioner

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? No.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? his 'bump has grown significantly"
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? he can't swim easy because he is always dragged to the top of the tank by the bump, he likes to sit under the fliter so he can stay submerged.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? a couple weeks back
Have you started treating your fish? I don't know how to treat him, i've fed him less.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? he had a small bump (barely visable) when we bought him.
How old is your fish (approximately)? no idea

Please help guys! I want to know if there is anything i can do for him! I have another betta who has been living in the same room who hasn't had any problems so I dont know what went wrong.

 

[ThatFishThough]

When you bought him, he was 6-8 months. So about?

Pictures would help. 'Go Advanced' -> Paperclip Icon

 

[carinaerickson]

picture

Here is the picture of him, the part that is sticking out of the water is his 'bump' or tumor, he is forced to be in this postition all day....i feel so bad.

 

[cakes488]

So he can't right himself at all?

 

[carinaerickson]

reply

No, he can only swim around in that position at the top of the tank.

 

[cakes488]

That looks swim bladder-ish.
Do you have a betta leaf? When my guy had swim bladder I made sure there were leaves he could lay on close to the top...regardless I think doing that for him no matter what he has will comfort him.

You are feeding him less...so that means he is eating....? How is his poo?
Do you have a hospital tank?"

 

[carinaerickson]

reply

he does have a leaf, but it is mid way on the tank, so i'll raise it. I don't think he is eating because when I check on him after I fed them, I usually have to clean it out. I don't think he is going to the bathroom either but Im not sure. I don't have a hospital tank, what is that?

 

[XTashX]

Sorry about your guy. My 2cents is going by the symptoms (and photo) that is not a tumor but swimbladder disease unfortunately. Both scenarios are pretty bad.

 

[carinaerickson]

reply

Yikes! Is there anything I can do?

 

[XTashX]

I have copied and pasted this from another thread in this forum:

Swim Bladder Disease (SBD)/Bloat
•Symptoms: Betta has trouble swimming, maybe he can’t stay upright and can only swim on his side.
•Treatment: This is not a contagious or fatal illness. If it isn’t congenital (aka a condition that he/she has had since birth), then it is caused by over feeding or feeding the wrong foods. Bettas will typically recover after a day or two of Epsom Salt treatments (1-2tsp/gal) and fasting. You can help prevent a reoccurrence by switching to a better pellet food, feeding less and offering a more varied diet. To make it easier for the betta to eat and breath, you can make the water shallower. You can offer him/her frozen daphnia (sold at Petsmart) as daphnia will help him/her pass stool. DO NOT FEED THEM PEAS.

I have also heard it can also be cause by bacteria. This can be caught by the feeding of live foods. (Rarer) Or dirty environment? Also it is a good idea to keep the water level low so he will not struggle as much to swim with the water pressure during treatment. The method above by using Epson salt and fasting is a good way to go about it. Hopefully with this treatment you can cure your guy. I imagine SBD would be uncomfortable for him but hopefully not painful. The good news is there is a chance you can cure him unlike a tumor. If after fasting he pulls through, I would switch to a quality pellet food like full life spectrum rather then flakes and try not to overfeed.

 

[jadaBlu]

There probably be won't be much you can do. Lower the water level Keep epsom salt in the tank. You don't have to use the whole dose in this case because it's palliative at this point just to relieve swelling if possible and to help him poop. I had betta with tumor he lived about 9 months after he got the tumor and I had to keep lowering the water for him to help keep him comfortable and I did find keeping a little epsom salt in the tank helped but did not cure him.