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Questions about diagnosis

1K views 5 replies 2 participants last post by  RussellTheShihTzu 
#1 ·
My Betta is still very new. Only been with us for a few weeks and over the past few days I started to notice a change in behavior which then led to me noticing a white crust on its head and a tear on its fin. I could see some other white dots on its body so I started a Super Ick treatment just to be on the safe side. I set up a hospital tank with a spare 5 gallon tank just to give it a place to relax and heal, but I want to make sure that I’m treating the right thing. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.


Housing:
How many gallons is your tank? 10 g (5G hospital tank currently)
Does it have a filter? Yes. Sponge filter on main tank and internal filter on hospital tank.
Does it have a heater? Yes.
What temperature is your tank? Both at 78°
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? Yes
Does your Betta have tank mates? What kind? One mystery snail

Food:
What food brand do you use? Hikari pellets and frozen bloodworm as a treat once or twice a week.
Do you feed flakes or pellets? Pellets
Freeze-dried? No
How often do you feed your Betta? How much? Well for the first few days it was a couple pellets a two or three times a day but then it stopped wanting to eat and struggled finding the food.

Maintenance:
Before your Betta became ill how often did you perform a water change? Once or twice a week.
What percentage of water did you change? 25-35ish
What is the source of your water? Tap
Do you vacuum the substrate or just dip out water? Either. Depending on how the substrate looks.
What additives do you use other than conditioner? What brand of conditioner? Tetra brand. No other additives.

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.
I’ll have to check. I just did a water change so the numbers won’t do much good.
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Hardness (GH):
Alkalinity (KH):

Symptoms and Treatment:
When did you first notice the symptoms? A few days ago.
How has your Betta’s appearance changed? Noticed the scaly crust on its head along with some spots and the fin tear.
How has your Betta’s behavior changed? Was a little lethargic. Spent more time napping and wanting to rub up against things.
Is your Betta still eating? It wasn’t too interested in food for a bit but would eat only a little.
Have you started treating your Betta? If so, how? Started API Super Ick today.
Does your Betta have any history of being ill? No.
How long have you owned your Betta? A couple weeks.
Was he or she ill or suffering some sort of damage when purchased? Not that I could tell.
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#3 ·
He doesn't have Ich.
Eye Fin Fish Terrestrial plant Underwater


Can you get a photo of him from above? And of the entire tank?

Have you added anything new to his tank in the last couple of weeks? Ornaments or other decor? To eliminate leaching issues, I would advise removing all decor except the plants. Anything resin or not for aquariums. Do two 50% water changes several hours apart.

Has he ever eaten voraciously? Sometimes new Betta take a while to adjust to something other than the food they were raised on. And sometimes they don't recognize what we offer as food.

Will he eat the Bloodworms more readily than the pellets? If so, I would feed him Bloodworms 3-4 times per day. His head looks more to me as if he's a partial dragon scale.I believe what you are calling "crust" are the scales. A growth would cover his sensory pits (those tiny holes) and they are open and clean.

I would use either Indian Almond Leaves or plain Rooibos Tea for their antibacterial and antifungal properties. Float a leaf or a teabag in his tank or brew a strong tea, condition and add to his tank. You want the water to be this color or darker:
Flower Plant Nature Leaf Botany


So, do two 50% water changes several hours apart, feed him only Bloodworms, add IAL or Rooibos and watch. If it's decor leaching he should perk up.
 
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