Male Betta developed white bump help!

[Kimchi94]

Hi everyone, I’m new to this forum and hope to get some help regarding my male Betta. Overnight he developed a white bump on the side of his head. Two nights ago I attempted to introduce a Julii Cory into the tank but after some not so friendly advanced I removed it. This morning I noticed this new bump on him. Does anyone know what it is and how I can heal my fish? It looks like a clear bubble with a white dot inside. I will attempt to post some photos with it. Thank you!

 

[IHaveADogToo]

Yes, please do post pictures; it will be difficult to diagnose without pictures.

What size tank is this? Male bettas can generally get along with corys if the tank is big enough, but 99% of the time betta owners don't have a big enough tank for tank mates, and it causes territory and aggression issues. Did you cycle the tank first? Oftentimes, problems with fish are caused by water issues, or fixed with clean water. What are the water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, temp, etc)? Did you quarantine the cory first? It is possible the cory brought some illness with it if you didn't. Do you have anything sharp in the tank that the betta could've injured himself on, like a pointy plastic plant or a cave with some sharp imperfections around the seams?

 

[Kimchi94]

His water parameters are all where they're supposed to be. It is a 5.5 gallon with a heater and filter. The tank is cycled. I have been doing a weekly 25% water change, he is due for one today. I looked at this bump/bubble today and it has appeared to gone down slightly but I don't see the white portion anymore. It was almost as if a clear bubble appeared on his right side. He does have two artificial plants and one live plant in the tank with him as well as a larger white decoration. I am thinking of removing the decoration as I am concerned he may have injured himself on it, it is slightly rough on some portions. Thank you for the response, anything helps!

I should also say that I went to Petsmart as it was the only store open yesterday and after showing the employee who works with the fish the pictures, he determined it was ick. I wasn't too convinced as he doesn't have white spots all over his body, just that one spot. He gave me ick treatment to begin using but I am hesitant to start that.

 

[Colin_T]

He's just got a boo boo (aka sore). If it goes red and looks inflamed then it has a bacterial infection. If it goes white and fluffy then its a fungal infection. But if it appears to be smaller than yesterday, it sounds like it is healing nicely.

If you do a 50% water change each week, rather than a 25%, it will help keep the water cleaner by reducing the number of disease organisms in the water. Just make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank

 

[Demeter32]

Good on you, don't start the ich treatment as that's probably not the problem. The bump looks too large and ich would of spread by now.

Just give it time. Now and again I see threads where old bettas get a white spec on their head from time to time but it always goes away after a few days. Not saying your boy is old, but I think time will fix the problem just fine. I agree with Colin, start doing 50% rather than 25% water changes. The more the merrier IMO.

I'd not keep anything other than snails and shrimp with a betta in anything less than 10gals. Most corries need a 20gal tank as they need a school of 6+ to be comfortable. I'd look into mystery snails or nerites as tank mates.

 

[IHaveADogToo]

That spot could very well be a wound from bumping into a sharp imperfection in a tank decoration. It is in the prime position on his body to be an injury like that, on the top of his head. That exact location is where I have seen most betta injuries, with the exception of the fins. Remove the decorations from the tank and test them to see if they are betta safe by running some nylon panty hose across the rough edges. If it snags the pantyhose, it's not safe for your betta, and needs to be filed down or sandpapered if possible. Plastic pointy plants are notorious for this, and are best avoided. Also run your finger along the inside of plastic caves, and along the seams of plastic decorations, and look for sharp imperfections. You might be able to remove the imperfection without junking the entire decoration.

There's a couple of problems I'm seeing with introducing a cory to this tank. 5 gallons is a good size for a betta with NO TANK MATES, but it's just not enough space to add tank mates as bettas are quite territorial. You *might* be able to get away with a snail or a shrimp, but that'd be about it. And that's not likely considering the betta already lives there, so no matter what you introduce to the tank, it will be an intruder invading his territory. Also, corys are a shoaling fish that need to be in groups of at least 5 or 6 minimum. So a 5 gallon tank is too small for a shoal of corys on their own, even without a betta. If you are concerned that your betta is lonely (he's not) and you want to get him a friend, I would look at adding a Nerite Snail, as they don't reproduce in fresh water, so you won't get an infestation. But I would remove the betta from the tank and rearrange it (so it's like a different territory), then introduce the snail, then re-introduce the betta.

 

[Kimchi94]

He's just got a boo boo (aka sore). If it goes red and looks inflamed then it has a bacterial infection. If it goes white and fluffy then its a fungal infection. But if it appears to be smaller than yesterday, it sounds like it is healing nicely.

If you do a 50% water change each week, rather than a 25%, it will help keep the water cleaner by reducing the number of disease organisms in the water. Just make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank

Thank you for the reassurance! I will start to do the 50%, I would hate if anything happened to him.

 

[IHaveADogToo]

I will start to do the 50%, I would hate if anything happened to him.

Clean, fresh water is the best heal-all for bettas. 50% weekly is a good place to be for general maintenance. During this time that he's healing, though, I'm sure he'd appreciate an additional water change. If it were my fish, I'd do 2 water changes this week, each at 50%, just to make sure he gets enough clean water to promote healing.

 

[Kimchi94]

Thanks everyone! Since I am still new to this, will doing 50% water changes frequently at all disrupt the bacteria in the tank? I just don't want him to go into shock or anything. I am going to remove the piece today and any other potentially harmful items.

 

[Colin_T]

Doing a 50% water change will not affect the filter bacteria as long as any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank. My preferred way to do this is get a clean bucket that is only used for the fish. Fill it with tap water and add the required amount of dechlorinator. Then aerate the water and conditioner for 30minutes or so. You can add a small amount of boiled or hot water to get the temperature similar.

 

[FroFro]

That spot could very well be a wound from bumping into a sharp imperfection in a tank decoration. It is in the prime position on his body to be an injury like that, on the top of his head. That exact location is where I have seen most betta injuries, with the exception of the fins. Remove the decorations from the tank and test them to see if they are betta safe by running some nylon panty hose across the rough edges. If it snags the pantyhose, it's not safe for your betta, and needs to be filed down or sandpapered if possible. Plastic pointy plants are notorious for this, and are best avoided. Also run your finger along the inside of plastic caves, and along the seams of plastic decorations, and look for sharp imperfections. You might be able to remove the imperfection without junking the entire decoration.

There's a couple of problems I'm seeing with introducing a cory to this tank. 5 gallons is a good size for a betta with NO TANK MATES, but it's just not enough space to add tank mates as bettas are quite territorial. You *might* be able to get away with a snail or a shrimp, but that'd be about it. And that's not likely considering the betta already lives there, so no matter what you introduce to the tank, it will be an intruder invading his territory. Also, corys are a shoaling fish that need to be in groups of at least 5 or 6 minimum. So a 5 gallon tank is too small for a shoal of corys on their own, even without a betta. If you are concerned that your betta is lonely (he's not) and you want to get him a friend, I would look at adding a Nerite Snail, as they don't reproduce in fresh water, so you won't get an infestation. But I would remove the betta from the tank and rearrange it (so it's like a different territory), then introduce the snail, then re-introduce the betta.

I thought nerites didn't reproduce in freshwater either, until two weeks after I bought one ALL my driftwood was covered in tons of little snail eggs.

 

[Essjay]

But the eggs won't hatch, they'll just stay there till you scrape them off. Your tank will never be overrun with baby nerites which is what people mean when they say they don't breed in fresh water.

 

[FroFro]

But the eggs won't hatch, they'll just stay there till you scrape them off. Your tank will never be overrun with baby nerites which is what people mean when they say they don't breed in fresh water.

Yeah... just make the tank ugly.

 

[NickAu]

He's just got a boo boo (aka sore).

Agreed, It should start fading over the next few days.

ALL my driftwood was covered in tons of little snail eggs.

But the eggs won't hatch,

Yeah... just make the tank ugly.

And thats why Mystery snails are betta they are easier to feed and thats very important if you have softish acidic water

 

[Essjay]

The problem with mystery snails - Pomacea (apple snails) of all species - is that we can't get them in the EU. Import of them is banned by the EU. The vast majority of shops won't sell those snails bred in the EU either because the legislation includes a phrase something like it being illegal to spread them within the EU as well.