Betta White Patches on Fins and Fin Loss

Hello all, This is my first post, and I am desperate for help with my 2 year old betta with the white patches on his fins and finn loss. Please see the attached photos from a year ago and now.

It all started about a year ago with fin rot. We used Maracyn and it seemed to stop the fin rot for a bit. However, the fin rot always returned, and eventually the white patches started appearing slowly.

2. We tried Maracyn again as soon as we saw the white patches progressing, but Maracyn did not help much this time.

3. We then decided to see an exotic pet veterinarian. The vet took a small smear of the white growth, and said that it did not look like a bacteria under the microscope. The vet mentioned the lump in the fish body and that it could be a tumor. As far as I remember, this lump has always been there and didn't seem to cause any issues previously.

The vet prescribed Tricide Neo powder, which we used exactly as instructed, but this also did not help with the white patches.

4. We then tried Methalyn Blue. The white patches never really became stained with the blue color and Methalyn Blue did not help much.

5. After a few weeks, we tried Kanaplex, which also did not help.

5. After a 2 week long break from Kanaplex, we tried API Fin and Body cure. This again did not help.

Behavior wise, the fish spends most of the time in his little cave at the bottom of the tank and on his Betta bed by the surface of the tank. He seems weak and inactive, and does not swim around the tank anymore. He does come up to the surface of the tank twice a day for feeding, and eats well.

I change about 30% of the water 2 times a week. The tank has a heater, an air stone, and a filter. I test the water parameters once a week, and they are mostly within the recommended limits for a Betta.

Has anyone seen this type of disease in their Betta? Could anyone please help with thoughts and recommendations on how I can save my Betta at this point.

Thank you.

Sorry you're having these issues, sounds like you've tried a lot. The only other thing I can think of may be adding salt for a while to help with healing, but am bumping this up so someone more knowledgeable can hopefully help. You've done well as lots of bettas don't live as long as two years, he may be coming to the end of his natural life but hopefully not.

Unfortunately, he is in very poor condition now, and whatever the whiteness is, it's doing harm. I can't say if it is a cancer or a virus. Since you've fired all those antibiotics at it, it is probably not bacterial, although it could be something antibiotic resistant.

I don't think there is much you can do except keep him comfortable. Stay the course with the usual weekly partial water change, but maybe reduce the water level. His fins were bred for show and will be heavy for him to drag around if he is weak, so make it easier for him to get to the surface for air.