[PimLeepet]

Hey all!

I recently adopted a betta fish from an office and he's currently living in a 2.5 gallon tank (Minibow with Azoo Palm Filter)with a heater (Hydor Slim Heater). He really perked up when I first got him, and has been swimming around happily for the past month.

When I first got him he had a small spot by his eye, but it quickly disappeared once he was in his new tank. I've been feeding him a few different types of betta pellets, with bloodworms as a treat. About a week ago I woke up to find his tank extremely cloudy. I tried adding some Jungle ClearStart but it didn't help. I did a water change whic also didn't help. Eventually I found a decaying plant bulb and removed it during the water change today, but the water still isn't clear.

Yesterday I noticed the spot on his face was back. But now it's huge. I would almost say it's pop-eye but it doesn't really look like it. I tried treating him for ick a week ago for the same spot but it didn't help.

I'm not sure if the cloudy water is tied to the thing on his face... Otherwise he's been acting the same. I tested the water and everything was in the normal range (except I couldn't get a nitrate reading). I have another tank for goldfish which is using the same water/chemicals and is still crystal clear. I've attached a few pictures for the thing on his face.

Does anyone know what's going on? The cloudy water might have been from the decaying bulb and just hasn't gotten back to normal yet, but I'm really worried that the spot is going to really hurt him.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[rileysmum]

Does the spot look fuzzy? Or like cotton? Are you able to get a closer pic?

 

[PimLeepet]

I'll keep trying to get a better pic, but my camera doesn't want to focus on him. It looks fuzzy-ish on the sides and more of a white/pink. But at the center there's a very distinct white spot (almost like a whitehead-pimple if you take the top off).

 

[rileysmum]

My first instinct is fungus if its fuzzy. You could treat for that. Finding out whats up with the water is pretty major, I'd think. We don't know what is in the water! Have you taken everything out? You found a rotten bulb, could there be more?

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?
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change?
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change?

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

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

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed?
How has your betta fish's behavior changed?
When did you start noticing the symptoms?
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how?
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
How old is your fish approximately

 

[rileysmum]

Also, if anything's on the bottom of the tank ie sand or rocks, have you cleaned in there?

 

[PimLeepet]

I did a 50% change today and vacumed the gravel pretty well. There's an empty shell at the bottom and one live plant. I've just taken out the last blub that hasn't sprouted. Is there a way to know how long it will take for the water to clear up?

 

[rileysmum]

Ive never had water quite so cloudy so im not sure! Have you checked the parameters of the. Water. Since the change? It could be worth it to change some more water to get more out. For all we know its just rotten matter floating around, I'd change another 50% to clear it out and treat the spot immediately after.

 

[rileysmum]

Really 100% should get it all, if possible that would work better. Then when treating you know there wont be anything yucky to interfere or cause a secondary infection while his immune system is weaker than normal.

 

[PimLeepet]

Update:
Using the 5in1 test strips:

pH 6.5
Alkalimity 300
Hardness Soft (75)
Nitrite 0
Nirate - can't get a reading. Paper gives me white to purple- strip gives me a brown color

And the heat is pretty normal. I also finished a week with the Pimafix to try to get rid of the thing on his face. It was gone a day or two ago but now it's back.

 

[PimLeepet]

Should I try to change more of the water? I have a little bowl I can put him in while I completely clean the tank... but I don't want to stress him out since I already did a water change today. On the other hand I don't want his infection to get any worse.

 

[rileysmum]

I really think clean water will help. Taking them out does stress them, but without being sure what it is... better to be safe. Was the first water change 100%?

 

[PimLeepet]

I really think clean water will help. Taking them out does stress them, but without being sure what it is... better to be safe. Was the first water change 100%?

Nope, just 50%. I'll get going on the full water change then. With luck that'll help. Perhaps I can also get a better picture of his face.

 

[rileysmum]

Yes please! Do you have anything to treat the fungus?

 

[PimLeepet]

After 100% water change

Alright, I emptied the tank and rinsed everything thoroughly with hot water. Tank is much clearer now. There was a lot of gunk on his betta leaf at the top- so I'll have to keep an eye on it from now on.

His face still looks pretty bad, but now that I can actually see it well I think it's some sort of fungus... the medication stuff I have is Pimafix, Jungle Parasite Clear Tank Buddies, Jungle Fungus Clear fizz tabs, Jungle Ick Care, and Nox-Ich.

I added Jungle Start Right to get rid of anything in my water since I'm limited to tap water. However, this tap water has worked really well in the past so that shouldn't be a problem.

Any idea which I should use? I used the Pimafix last week while the water was cloudy and the issue popped back up. I also tried the Ick Care so I'm not sure it's actually ick... he doesn't have any more white spots.

 

[PimLeepet]

I'm going to give the Fungus Clear fizz tabs a shot since the other fungus remedies didn't work earlier. I'll pop it in tonight and check if it gets better in the morning.

 

[rileysmum]

That's the route I'd take with what you have. Just follow the directions on the box. With the water condition being what it was id want to treat with meds right off. He must feel better being able to see lol. Please keep me updated!

 

[rileysmum]

And ich Iooks like salt. Definitely not fuzzy at all. If he were to get a bunch of pin sized dots then it would be. One or two whitish spots that look fuzzy at all is not ich

 

[PimLeepet]

I can't tell if the tabs worked or not. But it almost looks worse on his face. Then again, it might be because it's getting out... he's still acting the same, so at least he hasn't gotten worse.

This morning, I found a quarter sized circle of slime (oil?) on top of the water along with some small bubbles. I cleared it out, but I wasn't sure if that was something that could tell what's wrong with him.

 

[rileysmum]

Does the meds have a timeline? How long should you use it for? If its really getting worse and not even a little bitbetter id start think it could be columnaris
Columnaris
•Symptoms: White spots on mouth, edges of scales and fins, Cottony Growth that eats away at the mouth, Fins rapidly disingrate, starting at the edges
Gray areas around head and gills, As the disease progresses the gray lesions may change in color to yellow/brown/red, Lesions often occur in front of the dorsal causing a “saddleback” appearance, Lethargic, Loss of appetite, Clamped, Gasping for air
•Treatment: There are 2 versions of Columnaris: chronic and acute. Chronic Columnaris can take days to progress while acute can kill within a day. It is contagious so isolate sick fish. If more than one fish shows symptoms then treat the entire tank. Perform daily 100% water change in small tanks or ¾ water change in larger tanks. Make sure to clean the gravel. Treat with Aq.Salt: add 1 tsp/gal Aquarium Salt 3 times, 12 hours apart so that you end up with 3 times the normal concentration. Do NOT raise the temperature as it thrives in temps over 85*F, however, lowering the temperature does not seem to help fight it. Combine salt treatment with Mardel’s Coppersafe, Maracyn I & II, API Erythromycin, OR API Triple Sulfa, combined with Jungle’s Fungus Eliminator (if possible

Thats from the sticky on this forum. That disease is a little above my knowledge, but there have been threads on it. I would try to get some good pictures on here for a good look.

 

[rileysmum]

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=78573

That link has a lot of info too