[Tonksy]

I posted on here a couple of days ago about my Betta, Xander, but I never got any feedback on what he may have. Now his symptoms have changed and he looks even worse and I'm not sure what to do.

He's gotten very pale on his body only, with a stress stripe showing. White fuzz has developed on his anal fin and the tips of his caudal fin. There is one white spot (that I thought was ick at first) on his body that was the first white to show before he got fuzz.

He still spits out his food. Eventually it's eaten, but it usually takes a while for him to get anything into his stomach. He's finally looking a tad less clamped than before and he swims around a little more.

I quarantined him yesterday. The only tank I have available is a .5 gallon. He did not have any white fuzz yesterday.

Housing
What size is your tank? 2 gallon. I have him quarantined in a .5
What temperature is your tank? lower to mid 70s
Does your tank have a filter? no
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? bloodworms and pellets.
How often do you feed your betta fish? once a day with a fasting day once a week

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? Since he is so new, I had not done a water change on him because I quarantined him not even a week after owning him.
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? dechlorinator

Water Parameters:
Have not tested. Do not have strips. I tested for overall parameters of my house's water and it was all 0 or all good.

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Described above.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He has always been skiddish and sometimes he'll dart around everywhere. Spits out food.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? a few days ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Aquarium salt in quarantine tank.
Does your fish have any history of being ill? I dont know. He's new
How old is your fish (approximately)? I dont know.

Is this a fungus or something else? I'm already treating him with AQ salt, but it seems to be making the stuff grow not go away. :-?

 

[HeroicPoison]

Could you post a pic please

 

[Tonksy]

Could you post a pic please

I cannot. I'm not at my house for the rest of the day (work).

 

[HeroicPoison]

Well post one ASAP and we will figure it out

 

[ANHEL123]

Well it can be his slime coat from the salt.
How much aquarium salt and how long you been using? Dart around and white spot that he had at the beginning can be ext parasties. And fuzz can be his slime coat from salt and external parasites.
Are you able to raise the temperature slowly to 84*? But very slowly about 1-2* in an hour? Raising temperature will help to speed up parasites cycle so they can fall faster and you will remove them manually.
If you can't raise the temp then i would buy ich medications. If you can find meds with praziquantel,malachite green ,methlyene blue or acriflavine,Hikari Betta Revive, Kordon Rid Ich, Quick Cure.
If you have another betta DO NOT share anything between them, because they will get it too
Meanwhile do daily water changes. Do you know how to acclimate your betta when you do 100% water changes.

 

[Tonksy]

Well it can be his slime coat from the salt.
How much aquarium salt and how long you been using? Dart around and white spot that he had at the beginning can be ext parasties. And fuzz can be his slime coat from salt and external parasites.
Are you able to raise the temperature slowly to 84*? But very slowly about 1-2* in an hour? Raising temperature will help to speed up parasites cycle so they can fall faster and you will remove them manually.
If you can't raise the temp then i would buy ich medications. If you can find meds with praziquantel,malachite green ,methlyene blue or acriflavine,Hikari Betta Revive, Kordon Rid Ich, Quick Cure.
If you have another betta DO NOT share anything between them, because they will get it too
Meanwhile do daily water changes. Do you know how to acclimate your betta when you do 100% water changes.

True, though another betta of mine had a fungal infection the other day (which I treated).

I have ich medication, but I'm not sure if it IS ich seeing as it's only one and is larger than any ich spots I've dealt with before. It's also fuzzy like the stuff on his anal and caudal fins.

I do not own heaters, so I cannot raise the temp. (I usually keep my dorm hot enough to keep them at a good temperature, but I recently moved home for the summer.) I have been doing daily water changes and, yes, I know how to acclimate them.

(by the way, I have six other betta. I make sure not to use anything that could cross contaminate because I'm paranoid about all of them dying at once :lol: )

 

[ao]

Ive had bettas with similar syptoms. It is usually a sign of a fragile immune system. he will most likely need pristine water conditions to recover. for a .5 gallon, you should probably do daily 100% water changes. I recommend to be able to heat his tank.... if he isnt eating, dont worey about food for now...

 

[Tonksy]

Ive had bettas with similar syptoms. It is usually a sign of a fragile immune system. he will most likely need pristine water conditions to recover. for a .5 gallon, you should probably do daily 100% water changes. I recommend to be able to heat his tank.... if he isnt eating, dont worey about food for now...

Oh believe me, I've been scrubbing the crap out of his tank and making sure I change the water enough times. I hope this guy makes it... one of the first betta I adopted was a guy with a really weak immune system and he was constantly touch and go. :-(

Ooh, wait.... I have a heater from the first betta at my house, actually. The only issue I have about using it is the first guy had Dropsy. Even though it's been over half a year since the tank/decor/heater has been used, I'm scared of contaminating any others. How would i wash them to make them safe?

 

[ao]

you can use 1 part bleach to 9 parts water to sterilize,
after you do that soak it in water with extra dexchlorinator. I would usually let this sit for a night. but the dechlorination should be instant...

 

[Tonksy]

you can use 1 part bleach to 9 parts water to sterilize,
after you do that soak it in water with extra dexchlorinator. I would usually let this sit for a night. but the dechlorination should be instant...

Ok, sounds good! I'm also able to use vinegar, correct? I don't own any bleach and I really don't want to accidentally kill my fish. Especially one with a weak immune system.
(I think I'm just going to toss the tank since it's acrylic and I had to fix it. Just wanting to sterilize the decor)

 

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Does the fuzz look like this?

If so, it could be Columnaris, which is a common bacterial infection. Or it might be Saprolegnia, which is a fungal infection. (Both diseases result in white fuzziness.)

Here is an excellent article describing the differences between these, and how to treat them: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/columnaris.html

 

[Tonksy]

Does the fuzz look like this?

If so, it could be Columnaris, which is a common bacterial infection. Or it might be Saprolegnia, which is a fungal infection. (Both diseases result in white fuzziness.)

Here is an excellent article describing the differences between these, and how to treat them: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/columnaris.html

It looks like that except there is only one little spot on his side and it's on the fins and, so far, not AS fuzzy. I was beginning to think it was Columnaris since the AQ salt hasn't worked yet...
(which worries me because the other day I had to treat another betta who had fuzzies, but the fuzzies are all gone and he's fine. hope it was just fungus..)
Now that I look at him, he looks like he's getting a saddleback... looks like it's time to go get maracyn 2. :|

 

[LittleBlueFishlets]

I see that you've lowered the water temp to the mid 70s, which is good.

(Edited to remove additional information about treatment. I want to check some things before posting.)

 

[Tonksy]

I see that you've lowered the water temp to the mid 70s, which is good.

(Edited to remove additional information about treatment. I want to check some things before posting.)

Snagged some Maracyn 2. Going to start treating asap

 

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Keep us updated!

 

[Tonksy]

Will do!