Glow betta bent spine

Catladynew2fish said:

Hi everyone,
I’m in need of some advice from more experienced fish hobbyists. I bought this beautiful glow betta a little over a year ago. I noticed that he had a white tumor or lump on his tail shortly after i bought him. I've tried treating him with antibiotics(Maracyn) and with ick x as well.
It does seem to help, but then the tail goes back to rot/fraying and regrowing the white tumor(?) It seems the tail frays around the tumor as a disappears, and then the tail regrows, he seems to be doing better, and then the same cycle again.
A few months ago I noticed the bottom of his tail spine looks bent. This has me concerned, as I recently read it can be a sign of fish tb???! He's a little sluggish lately -kind of drooping around. As you can see in pics, has lost color too. Still has a healthy appetite. He shares a tank with a female. There is a divider between the two of them. I’ve noticed she has a discoloration on her back, but swims around, eats and seems healthy.
I will enclose some photos.

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TNG said:

From what I can see, they have fungal infection on the fins and bacterial infection on their bodies, usually caused by poor water conditions.
You didn’t say what the water conditions are like, or how often you change the water, but I’d do a large water change now 75% and 50% change every other day.
I’d treat with fungal and bacterial medication. The infection is far too severe to treat with salt. I don’t think they have ich.

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Back in the fold said:

Post # 2 is a Cambodian Betta . I love those . Now let’s talk about that cool little temple pagoda decoration of yours . Is it ceramic or resin ?

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GaryE said:

I wish this weren't true, but you don't know what it is, therefore, treating it is impossible. Ich meds were just a stress for it, and if Maracyn didn't work, what would be better?

If it is fish tb, there is no treatment. The pathogen can survive bleach. It doesn't look like it to me, cancer, another possibility, won't be cured by antibiotics either. A benign tumour, a best case scenario? No antibiotic ever cleared that.

It's a bind. Keep the water clean, and see how he does.

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Catladynew2fish said:

Thanks so much for your input. The water parameters are fine. The pH is around 6.8 no ammonia or nitrates. I keep water temp between 72 to 75°. Water changes usually are every week and I usually do like a 75% water change.
Now my question is what to treat with and should I treat the entire tank or move the fish into a hospital tank?
I feel like sometimes when I have treated a tank in the past the antibiotics killed the bacteria and the tank has to almost re-cycle again. So should I clean the tank out and move the fish and treat for five days with kanaplex or the maracyn again?

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TNG said:

As you have a good water changing routine but the fish are still infected, the next step would be to treat them. That said, I have not been very successful with treatment.

Both your fish are in the same tank and they are both infected, so it makes sense to treat them where they are now. I can’t tell the size of the tank, but if it’s a big tank you can simply reduce the water level during treatment to reduce the med needed.

I have no experience with either Kanaplex or Maracyn as they’re not available where I am, but I see that Kanaplex treats bacterial and fungal diseases so I’d try that, or any other med that treat same.

Yes, anti-biotic kills bacteria, so it’s strange that Kanaplex claims not to adversely affect the filter bed.

Neither of your fish looks like a glow fish to me.

Hope they will recover.

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AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Hope @Colin_T can help here...

I've seen a betta with a lump on the tail like this before, with a really dedicated owner who tried everything to save him. It was a thread on this forum, and I'm racking my brain trying to remember enough details to do a search and find that thread again. If I find it, I'll link it, but as soon as I saw that tail lump, it was so familiar.

If you do attempt some kind of treatment then yes, treat both, or you'll just be passing whatever it is back and forth.

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