a cloudyness on the tail and over his left gill

[TAZZ]

hi all my first post =)

i bought a betta fighting fish like few days ago and hes been swimmin happily in his tank. yesterday i noticed like a cloudy thing over his tail. well i thought nothing of it, but today i c he has it over his left gill too, and looks kinda off color.

i have no clue about fish, which is one reason i bought it - to get into it a but.

any help would b very appreciated

thanks

tazz

btw since i got him i havnt changed the water - cause i was told to change it once a week, and saturday will b the week, and i have been feeding him once a day and waiting like 20 mins then fishing out the uneaten grubs.

hes in regular tap water which i added the water conditioner and this waste treatment hting into - about a drop of each

 

[semper fi]

welcome to the forum!

did you cycle the tank? or just plop him in after adding the conditioners? is it like a fuzz ball that is growing? do you have any other fish in with him and if so are they experiencing the same thing. if this is a fish that you have recently gotten from the lfs then it could be something that he carried to your tank with him. if there are other fish in the tank i would move him to another tank by himself til you find out what it is and treat. could try adding some salt to the water. add 1 tablespoon per five gallons of water. dissolve the salt in hot or warm water and then add to the tank. small amounts of hot water will not raise your temp enought to be concerned. when doing water changes just add salt to the amount of water that you are replacing. example: 20 gallon tank replace 5 gals of water add salt to the five galons only (1 tablespoon).

even though you are new. you have learned your first lesson. don't add fish straight from the lfs to your community tanks. if they are carrying parasites they could and often will infest the whole tank. you want to quarantine them in a 10 gallon tank or so for about three weeks and then add to the community. unless you trust where your fish come from. there is only one place that i get fish from that i trust enought o do this. also want to go small with a quarantine/hospital tank so you cut down on the amounts of meds your adding to the water. will be cheaper in the long run.

also, when you are treating fish it is okay to change their water more frequently than once a week. discus keepers change their water daily. as long as you are not going more than about 25% you should be fine. i do water changes on my 180 twice a week whether i want to or not.

maggie

 

[TAZZ]

yea i pretty much just dropped him into the tank after adding the conditioners. whats cycling the tank ?

it does look like fuzz growing from the tail and from the left side gill - kinda whitish, like a very light cobweb. there are no other fish in with him - hes alone in the tank. i just came back from the pet store and they said to add some of this EM tablets they had, into the tank after a water change. any idea what this does? the guy working there said he did it to his and it cured it, but didnt know what caused it or what it was

also whats lfs? lol im such a n00b when it comes to fish - but willin to learn =)


btw thanks for the quick reply =) i want my fish to last a lil longer than 4 days


tazz

 

[Andi]

Hi Tazz, firstly welcome to the world they call fish . There are many experts in here to help you learn about tropical fishkeeping (unfortunately, like you I am a beginner).

Cycling eh? now, thats a big subject

If your gonna keep fish, and keep them happy you may like to read
this and this. William, your host has also posted this link. I myself am on a steep learnng curve and have just cycled my 40 gall bow.

Enjoy your time here, oh and lfs is your Local Fish Shop

 

[semper fi]

well tazz everyone starts out as a beginner. my poor fish! did not even know i was supposed to change their water when i first started. you are better than me, you got here quicker! so, congratulate yourself for making a step in the right direction. like andi said there are alot of wonderful people here who are more than willing and patient to help you learn.

first, cycling is not riding a bike. it is creating a biological filter in your tank that will support the fish and create an environment healthy for them. fish and excess waste create ammonia. one good reason to not overfeed your fish is the leftover food will help to create ammonia. ammonia is then converted into nitrites and then converted into nitrates. with each conversion the amount of toxins is lessened but ammonia and nitrites can kill fish. that is why you should invest in a test kit for your water. when starting a tank you have to get this process started. much slower if not using fish. doing a fishless cycle can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks.

the white cottony substance forming on your fish is a form of ich. there are a number of meds on the market that can help to cure parasites. never heard of em tablets though. you could also use salt. salt is good for scaled fish. when a fish is ill or diseased gill function is impaired. fish release toxins absorbed or breathed through the water and discharge them through the gills. salt helps to maintain gilll function so the fish can help to overcome bacteria and illness. mostanks ( a member here) says that he just uses salt to treat parasites in fish. tried this and it works great. so try that before you go into the expense of the meds.

i am sure that some of the other members will be by to help out.

welcome to the wonderful world of fish!

maggie

 

[TAZZ]

well the fish isnt lookin any better = hopefully the "overnight" time will do something - with the addition of the EM tablets of course

heres a link describing what they are -- im not a msg board wizard hehe so im just gunna paste the URL and hope for the best =P

http/www.fishsupply.com/cgi-bin/common/a...i?item_no=SMEAR

thanks for all the help

will keep u posted about Montana's (my fish =) ) condition

tazz

 

[TAZZ]

oh one thing i forgot... as im kinda broke - all ive got is a tank with tap water in it, and some stones at the bottom. i was told at the store that this is all i needed

just got a job, so when the cash starts coming in, il prolly look into gettin something better... but im thinkin if i cant handle a small tank, what chance do i got with a large one LOL

tazz

 

[cichlidmaster]

Hi Tazz and WELCOME......

First off don't get discouraged by a few setbacks. These happened to all of us at one time or another.

The best thing you can do is ask a lot of questions and believe me all of us here will be happy to help you out.

I believe Maggie meant to say the white cottony substance on your fish is a form of fungus and not ich.

The em tablets are more than likely erythromycin tablets. It's an antibiotic that may well cure the fungus problem. Make sure to follow the directions on the package exactly. Dose for the entire period stated.

Let us know how things are going.

 

[William]

Welcome to the site and yes the EM are erthromycin tablets CM good guessing .

 

[semper fi]

hey cm, i thought that the white cottony fungus was a form of ich. just a different manifestation of it. like with flus. there are several variations of it.

or..... maybe old age is setting in and i am confused. always a possibility. glad i got my big brother to watch my back!

maggie

 

[TAZZ]

hi all thanks for the info... fish kinda died =(

im thinking of goin down the pet store later and grabbing another - anything i should do or get to make this one last longer??

i changed the water yesterdayand he died in it - so should i change the water again?? the water seems kinda cloudy - i was told that the em tablets do that

this is all i have so far - a tank, some stones at the bottom, tap water, water treatment, waste treatment, betta food - freeze dried red grubs.

not much of an emergency now seing hes dead - where should i post from now on? heh u lot have been great!!!

thanks again

tazz

 

[semper fi]

sorry to hear about your loss. as long as you learn it is not a total loss though

i would take everything out of the tank and satart from fresh. rinse everything filters, gravel, tank in hot water. cycle the tank properly. some things you may want to consider are a fishless cycle or a fish cycle. andi gave you some very good pointers int he way of cycling your tank. read through these before making your decision.

just remember everyone is here to help you through it. before you know it, you will be giving advice to some new beginner. so chin up! don't give up. fish can be forgiving. i know mine are!

mags

 

[cichlidmaster]

Well said Mags....couldn't have said it any better myself.

We are all here to help and help we want to. Without new people getting into the aquarium hobby it would eventually die away.

Learn from this experiance and be a little better prepared the next time. And don't get discouraged if sometimes you don't get an immediate response as someone will surely be around to help...sooner or later!!!

Sorry to hear about the loss as well.

Also i remember in an earlier post up top you made the comment "if I can't keep fish alive in this small tank, then how am I going to keep them alive in a bigger one?"

Actually keeping fish alive in a larger tank is a lot easier. The larger water volume is more forgiving to mistakes.

I would be happy to expound on this but right now I have to go finish the next 20 tanks worth of water change. Just finished the first 20 tanks.

Man the joys of owning multiple tanks.......

 

[semper fi]

cichlidmaster is not really all that old just stays pruney looking form keeping himself in water changes! heehee! he's really only 21.