Sick Betta

[rjdoghouse]

I purchased a betta and got a free one with it last week. I took the free one as it was ill and I wanted to give it a chance. It had a bump on it's head that is stiff cauliflower bumpy, crater shaped and greyish brown.

I wasn't quite sure what I was dealing with, but today it's definately come up more and sticks out further. I took a flashlight and got a really good closeup look and now I see it's got a cottony look to it that wasn't there last night. I'm assuming it's fungus on his head.

Now, I'm not sure if I'm treating it right - I have a small 'living world' container for him at the moment. It's only about 1/3 gallon - but it's the only thing I have as to use for him until he gets better. I've been treating him with Melafix since Thursday - and I suppose I should change the water every few days with that - haven't done so yet but will tomorrow evening. The bottle said change after 7 days 25% of the water, but this is such a little container I won't wait that long.

I'm also treating with an anti-fungal - 3 drops in the container (is 10 per gallon) as of this evening.

I'm concerned about this getting worse and wondered if anyone could advise me on anything else I can do for him. I'd like to see him get over this. I'd meant to buy aquarium salt tonite, but forgot - would that help? I can get it on my way home from work tomorrow.

Any advice is very much appreciated - I've not had a fungus like this one before and it has me a little worried as I know that bad cases can kill my fish.

rj

 

[SnowyzMom]

Hi doghouse. Wouldn't you know it, the minute I go looking for my excellent fish book it's taken a walk on me and I can't find it anywhere! (now to turn the house upside down!) You're certainly right to immediately quarantine that fish. It is a fungus and you are certainly treating it aggressively. I am wondering if you could get one of those $5 glass goldfish bowls which holds more than 1/3 gallon for him to be in? I am thinking less fish stress hence faster recovery? I have several sitting here ready for hospital use if needed.

I was looking over in the Betta forums, of course nothing on fungus during my search. Argh! The anti-fungal med should be the main one used, I am just abit concerned about over medicating in such a small container, ie. less melafix and stick with the anti fungal. Definitely use water changes every second day or so, this was emphasized in another thread as the main way to keep Bettas healthy and in this case it will keep the water clean. Way to go for striving to save this little fella. It's distressing to see a sick fish. Here's some general quotes taken from the Betta Forum....the first one agrees with frequent water changes in the case of illnesses.

The best info that I can think of is...CLEAN WATER! I can't stress this enough,all of the fin rot cases,all of the illness' can easily be avoided by staying on top of your water changes.

That is from wuvmybetta's thread on betta care

Diet
Besides clean water and appropriate tank size, diet is the most important factor in keeping healthy bettas. Try to give a wide variety of fresh,frozen and pellet food. I prefer Hikari brand for everything, they're wonderful and full of vitamins.Though they are carnivorous, they enjoy the occasional veggie,so offer some now and then. Avoid freeze dried treats, they have a tendency to cause internal damage
Tempestuousfury

Also, a FAQ is how much food a betta should get and how many times a day. I've read quite a few books on bettas, and they all state that bettas have fast metabolisms. Therefore, ti's best to feed them small amounts of food (1-2 pellets, brine shrimp, etc.) multiple times a day. I personally feed my betta 1-2 pellets 3-4 times daily. Once in a while I make my betta fast, just to make sure the food exits his system and to make sure it's healthy. My guy's been with me for quite a few months, so my method must be working. (also tempestuous fury)

I agree with the above, my Betta is starving unless I feed him several times a day. Mind you, keep one in a teeny space and he won't move as much and won't burn up the food energy so fast so won't eat as often. While yours is sick a smaller container might be better but 1/3 gallon sure seems way small. They don't care for alot of water flow/aeration either so either a whisper type tiny pump or none at all, so long as there is decent surface area for oxygen exchange into the water.

www.bettatalk.com recommended by James

I am sure somebody here must have experience with treating fungus in fish. Dang eet that I can't find my book! Relying on my memory is NOT a good idea.

Good luck and keep us posted and I hope someone else can be more help! So far as I know, you have to be careful with aquarium salt and Bettas. Someone else may know more on this. Sorry I can't help more.

 

[Cian McLiam]

I have a tried and trusted method I used to use on fungus that always gave me good results, but it may be too stressful for very ill fish. If the fish is acting normally, I take it out of the water (your hand would be much kinder than a net especially in sucha small container) and place it onto a wet piece of kitchen paper (not toilet tissue, it will stick to their skin), then I paint on a diluted malachite green/formalin medication (such as Tetra Contra-Spot or Quick Cure) directly onto the fungus using a model paint brush which has never been used with paints and has been sterilised with boiling water just before. The mix I use is four drops of Contra Spot in a cup of water. Be careful not to put too much on the brush or it may run into its eyes or gills.
Place the fish carefully back into the container as soon as possible and use half the recommended salt dose as stated on the pack.

 

[rjdoghouse]

Thankyou for the advice - I looked at my gallon of milk jug - and I think that my container is 1/2 3/4 gallon - I thought it was smaller, but I didn't realize the size of a gallon.

I didn't get the salt yet, and need to - and I"m hoping that the fungus meds I have are good. I was going to buy Maroxy - but they were out - so I bought another liquid one that I could put in as drops. Changed his bowl tonite and just put the fungus meds in it - no melafix. I had thought about putting some diluted meds right onto the sore - but didn't tonite. If it doesn't start healing some by tomorrow night (more than 48 hours of medication) I'm going to try this - thanks

Hes not too perky, although he does swim and watch me - but I still have not seen him eat anything which has me worried.

rj