What is wrong with my betta?

He has looked like this for a few months, still energetic, but the fin rot is worse. I can’t tell if the white growth is getting bigger/worse. I tried 4 back to back rounds of Seachem Kanaplex as recommended by the local pet store with no improvement (they didn’t recommend 4 rounds, I chose to do that).

Thank you for any help you can provide!

(Sorry that the photo is a little distorted, he won’t stay still)

Rule #1 when going to a pet store: Trust no one, seriously dont.

Get some API salt and dose it at a rate of 2 tablespoons per five gallons for no more than two weeks. This should help improve him really well. Do not instantly add that much salt into the tank though (may shock the fish). So try to add it over a period of time and once he is doing better start slowly bring the salt down so you don't shock him.

Is it the white bit on his head that's the problem? Or the tail?

That white patch on his head isn't fin rot - looks like an injury of some kind that is leaving scarring, perhaps? Is there a guard on his heater? Any decor that he uses feel rough to the touch? Wondering if he's scraped himself against something like that cave - sometimes in the manufacturing process those things leave rough edges, feel any decor over carefully, and remove any that feel anything but smooth. Sometimes you can sand the decor down. But it almost looks like a heater burn that damaged scales. Another possibility is a tumour of some kind, has it been growing slowly? It doesn't quite look right for that though, more like an injury that hasn't healed well - @GaryE , what do you think?

Hard to spot fin rot on a crowntail - can you try to take more photos, please? Looks like perhaps the fin beneath his body is affected, but really hard to see from that photo. Bear in mind that new growth on fins can look transparent, or looks whiteish, so sometimes people mistake fin re-growth for something bad. But really need more photos.
Salt treatment isn't a bad idea - bear in mind to still keep the tank and water clean, keep up with water changes, but replace the amount of salt that you would have removed. So if you remove 5 gallons, add another two teaspoons of aquarium salt/rock salt (not ordinary tablesalt!!) dissolved into the new water.

Rocky998 said:

Rule #1 when going to a pet store: Trust no one, seriously dont.

Get some API salt and dose it at a rate of 2 tablespoons per five gallons for no more than two weeks. This should help improve him really well. Do not instantly add that much salt into the tank though (may shock the fish). So try to add it over a period of time and once he is doing better start slowly bring the salt down so you don't shock him.

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Yeah, I’m realizing that I can’t trust even the specialty fish store for advice. They also tell me not to trust the internet. So thankful I found this forum. I’ll try the aquarium salt in the way you recommended, thank you!

Kyshiara said:

Is it the white bit on his head that's the problem? Or the tail?

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The white bit on the head was how it all started. The fin rot is secondary.

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

That white patch on his head isn't fin rot - looks like an injury of some kind that is leaving scarring, perhaps? Is there a guard on his heater? Any decor that he uses feel rough to the touch? Wondering if he's scraped himself against something like that cave - sometimes in the manufacturing process those things leave rough edges, feel any decor over carefully, and remove any that feel anything but smooth. Sometimes you can sand the decor down. But it almost looks like a heater burn that damaged scales. Another possibility is a tumour of some kind, has it been growing slowly? It doesn't quite look right for that though, more like an injury that hasn't healed well - @GaryE , what do you think?

Hard to spot fin rot on a crowntail - can you try to take more photos, please? Looks like perhaps the fin beneath his body is affected, but really hard to see from that photo. Bear in mind that new growth on fins can look transparent, or looks whiteish, so sometimes people mistake fin re-growth for something bad. But really need more photos.
Salt treatment isn't a bad idea - bear in mind to still keep the tank and water clean, keep up with water changes, but replace the amount of salt that you would have removed. So if you remove 5 gallons, add another two teaspoons of aquarium salt/rock salt (not ordinary tablesalt!!) dissolved into the new water.

Click to expand...

The white growth started when he was in my 20 gallon tank with my cories. It was slow growing and fuzzy. I thought it was fungal based on pictures so that’s why I treated it. He is in his own 2 gallon aquarium because he was nipping my cories. I don’t know how he would’ve gotten injured in the 20 gallon aquarium, no rough edges there. The cave he has now is actually fairly smooth and I never see him bump or rub on it.

Bluejay72 said:

Yeah, I’m realizing that I can’t trust even the specialty fish store for advice. They also tell me not to trust the internet. So thankful I found this forum. I’ll try the aquarium salt in the way you recommended, thank you!

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Oh... So the stores want to play it like that now do they?

Good luck! I really hope your betta gets better

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

That white patch on his head isn't fin rot - looks like an injury of some kind that is leaving scarring, perhaps? Is there a guard on his heater? Any decor that he uses feel rough to the touch? Wondering if he's scraped himself against something like that cave - sometimes in the manufacturing process those things leave rough edges, feel any decor over carefully, and remove any that feel anything but smooth. Sometimes you can sand the decor down. But it almost looks like a heater burn that damaged scales. Another possibility is a tumour of some kind, has it been growing slowly? It doesn't quite look right for that though, more like an injury that hasn't healed well - @GaryE , what do you think?

Hard to spot fin rot on a crowntail - can you try to take more photos, please? Looks like perhaps the fin beneath his body is affected, but really hard to see from that photo. Bear in mind that new growth on fins can look transparent, or looks whiteish, so sometimes people mistake fin re-growth for something bad. But really need more photos.
Salt treatment isn't a bad idea - bear in mind to still keep the tank and water clean, keep up with water changes, but replace the amount of salt that you would have removed. So if you remove 5 gallons, add another two teaspoons of aquarium salt/rock salt (not ordinary tablesalt!!) dissolved into the new water.

Click to expand...

Here are some older pics

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

That white patch on his head isn't fin rot - looks like an injury of some kind that is leaving scarring, perhaps? Is there a guard on his heater? Any decor that he uses feel rough to the touch? Wondering if he's scraped himself against something like that cave - sometimes in the manufacturing process those things leave rough edges, feel any decor over carefully, and remove any that feel anything but smooth. Sometimes you can sand the decor down. But it almost looks like a heater burn that damaged scales. Another possibility is a tumour of some kind, has it been growing slowly? It doesn't quite look right for that though, more like an injury that hasn't healed well - @GaryE , what do you think?

Hard to spot fin rot on a crowntail - can you try to take more photos, please? Looks like perhaps the fin beneath his body is affected, but really hard to see from that photo. Bear in mind that new growth on fins can look transparent, or looks whiteish, so sometimes people mistake fin re-growth for something bad. But really need more photos.
Salt treatment isn't a bad idea - bear in mind to still keep the tank and water clean, keep up with water changes, but replace the amount of salt that you would have removed. So if you remove 5 gallons, add another two teaspoons of aquarium salt/rock salt (not ordinary tablesalt!!) dissolved into the new water.

Click to expand...

Here are some newer photos. Suspecting fin rot as I have seen fins fall off and it looks like his tail fins were trimmed (they weren’t)

Bluejay72 said:

Yeah, I’m realizing that I can’t trust even the specialty fish store for advice. They also tell me not to trust the internet. So thankful I found this forum. I’ll try the aquarium salt in the way you recommended, thank you!

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The store people were right about that! Up to a point. There's a ton of misinformation out there about fishkeeping. Anyone can write a blog, or make videos, and it can be incredibly confusing trying to figure out what sources are reliable, and which aren't. For general species information, Seriously Fish is a reliable site written by experts. Forums like here or reddit fishkeeping subs are a way of crowdfunding ideas and info from other fishkeepers, which can be helpful times, other times, not so much! Most stores where people buy fish are pretty unreliable when it comes to information, especially when dealing with potential illness, since a lot of stores, like the big chains, often have inexperienced staff who won't admit when they don't know something, and don't have time to teach a customer about the cycle in depth, or that the fish a customer wants need a much larger tank. Many stores just want to sell you a quick fix product and move on to the next customer.

Some stores are run by people who love the hobby, and the staff give great advice. I'm lucky to have one like that fairly close to me. But it takes some time and experience to get to know which places you can rely on for real info, sadly.

Bluejay72 said:

The white growth started when he was in my 20 gallon tank with my cories. It was slow growing and fuzzy. I thought it was fungal based on pictures so that’s why I treated it. He is in his own 2 gallon aquarium because he was nipping my cories. I don’t know how he would’ve gotten injured in the 20 gallon aquarium, no rough edges there. The cave he has now is actually fairly smooth and I never see him bump or rub on it.

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It doesn't look fuzzy in the photos, and you can see that the scales at the front of the white patch look forced up? It's possible that it did develop a secondary fungal infection that you've since successfully treated, but the underlying issue isn't a fungal infection I'm afraid. There's no fuzziness to it now, the way you see in fungal infections. It does look similar to heater burns I've seen on fish before, but since it appeared slowly and grew over time, it's sounding more and more like a tumour, which bettas and goldfish are quite prone too. I'm not saying that that's defintely what it is - I'm far from a disease expert! Only my suspicions based on the images and descriptions, and ruling out a current fungal infection.

Hoping @Byron @Essjay or @Crispii would give their opinions too.

Bluejay72 said:

Here are some newer photos. Suspecting fin rot as I have seen fins fall off and it looks like his tail fins were trimmed (they weren’t)

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Ah, I can see what you mean now, with the newer pics. In one of the newest pics though, you can see what looks to do a decent amount of regrowth on the tips of the tail, those clear parts on the outer edge? Looks like regrowth, so I'd stick with the salt treatment, and take regular photos of his white growth and tail, so you can monitor his progress and see any changes more easily.

Oh! I meant to add, Wet Web Media is also a really great resource, written by known fish experts. Worth searching for the symptoms you've listed there and reading their prior responses to other people with similar issues, or even emailing them with your photos and description, and seeing what they make of it. It's a very useful site to bookmark, very educational when it comes to fishkeeping and health issues.

You should have gotten a Red one. Red Bettas are hardier.

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Oh! I meant to add, Wet Web Media is also a really great resource, written by known fish experts. Worth searching for the symptoms you've listed there and reading their prior responses to other people with similar issues, or even emailing them with your photos and description, and seeing what they make of it. It's a very useful site to bookmark, very educational when it comes to fishkeeping and health issues.

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Thank you for both of your responses! It’s helpful to know a couple of reputable sites to go to for information (besides posting to and reading through other posts on this forum). I see what you’re saying about the scales pushing upward. Now that I think of it, the fuzzy appearance could have been tissue coming off rather than a fungal infection. Glad there is some regrowth of his tail! I will try the salt and see if that helps. He definitely has hope because he’s very reactive to me watching him especially when I’m about to put the bug bites in

Back in the fold said:

You should have gotten a Red one. Red Bettas are hardier.

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I am going to bear this in mind...