Help! My Beta Has A Hump On His Back

Hello,
I've had my Blue beta, Mr. Bigglesworth for about a year now. He's been healthy and happy all along. I have had him in a 2.5gal Tetra tank with a Whisper Filter, a heater, and plant friendly lighting. I just recently changed the filter after rinsing it with tap water first. I also scrubbed down a few decorations in an aquarium salt bath with a fish tank designated toothbrush. then I placed the items back and changed out about 30% of the water. Mr. B usually handles changes really well, but this time, he has hid behind the heater a while. He wouldn't eat and did short, crazy bursts around his tank. That was Thursday last week.

Friday he didn't come out except to turn around. He's been laying on top of the suction cup that attaches the heater to the tank, with his mouth right up to the top of the water. This morning (Monday) he came out dancing as his usual self and even ate heartily, but I noticed he has either lost weight or gained a bump on his back. For some reason it is hard to tell which.

He's back in the corner again, but comes out once in a while. I'm concerned he has a parasite or something, but I'm not sure what to do. I've noticed the live aquatic plants seem to be browning a bit as well, which is unusual.

Any suggestions?

He may just be getting on a bit. you say you've had him for a year... damn just re-checked the title about the hump... be back in a minute

Bret

Hello again,
I'm very new to forum etiquette, so I appologize if I was rude by not signing off. I'm still trying to figure out how this all works.

Mr. Bigglesworth had a tank mate about two and a half weeks ago that died (Chaco the Ghost Shrimp) about three days after I got him. And Mr. B seems to have possibly have a shrunken back end that makes it look like he has a hump.

Thank you for any help or advice anyone can give. I'm trying not to panic.

Thanks,
PbMadison

4:43pm I started a treatment of "Quick Cure" for fast relief for Ick and other parasites, as well as Melafix. I noticed he had some white dots on his lower body, after this original post. Talk about slow observation on my part! 3 posts later...

Thanks bunches! Makes me feel better that others care about their Betas, too.

PbMadison and Mr. B

Hello, welcome to the betta bit. Someone will come along soon and answer your question who knows what they are on about.

One thing you said about the filter.. I always rinse my filters out in some of the dirty tank water, as it kills all the bacteria if you dont. I found this out ages ago and lost a lovely goldfish!

PbMadison said:

Hello again,
I'm very new to forum etiquette, so I appologize if I was rude by not signing off. I'm still trying to figure out how this all works.

Click to expand...

lol... You don't have to "sign off". Most people don't. Some people do, I'm not sure why they do.... I mean, the "signature" is where stuff like that should go IMO. But oh well.

Update on Mr. B.
As of 7/19/06 at 2:30pm he seems to be struggling to breath, his "hump" has pineconed, and I can see he definitely has Ick or parasites. He doesn't looks so good. He is also making jerking movements. His tank is on my desk and he's been struggling all day. I'm amazed he's hung on so long. I don't know if I should move him to a smaller space or not. I don't know if it'd help, because he's able to stay on top of water edge.

Update 2 on Mr. B.
As of 7/21/06, 8:30am he is still alive, but barely hanging on. I feel so bad for him. He can hardly move (or choses not to) and is breathing very, very shallow. I thought he was going to pass on Wednesday at the rate he was going. I had gone on the live chat and asked what I should do with him, and they suggested lowering the water level in my tank to a few inches. I moved him to a hospital tank instead (easier) and have been medicating as usual. I also put him in a 30 minute Epsom salt bath. He didn't seem to mind it. I thought for sure he'd have passed by now. How long can a fish hang on? Wow. I love him dearly and it's very stressful to wait for him to die. I guess I understand now why some people have been tempted to ethanize. I can't and won't do that.

Well, I thought it would be good to update this post. I hate when you read one and it never finishes the story. As for Mr. B, I'm not sure if it's Tb or just old age and parasites.

On a sweet note, Mr. B can hardly breathe or function anymore, but yesterday I must have caught his eye, because he did a little wiggle dance. This morning, I was staring at him closely, and he had just kinda "dozed off" and fell to the bottom of the hospital tank. The fall "woke"him up and he turned and swam to another corner. Mid-way, he turned to me and did a small wiggle back and forth, back and forth. Then to the corner where he just treads water ever so slowly and breathes ever so slowly. It reminds me of how a dog, even when it's dying, will wag it's tail at it's owner. Bettas are really the puppies of the fish world.