Swelling? - I Think She Might Be Dying..

[Bre_B]

Okay, just recently when looking at the "leader" of my tank (the blue one in my sig) i noticed that she looked strangely bull-doggish... on closer inspection i saw what seemed to be that her nose was swelling up. That was about 2 days ago. I wondered if perhaps it was because of fighting, so i treated her a little with some bettafix, and today when I look at her, I notice a white spot on it. so now i come to you, because i know finding white spots is generally not a good sign haha... so yeah, any idea what it is? im going to continue treating with bettafix for whatever the white spot is (perhaps infection?), but if you have any better suggestions for treatment and any idea why shes swollen up around the nose, please let me know!

(oh, and I will be posting pictures ASAP...probably tomorrow morning)

 

[nino]

This happened to one of my girls too, although no white spot. I put her in a hospital tank, treated her with salt and meds. It looks better but still has not gone away completely. She seems to be ok now, I'm not sure what white means

 

[Bre_B]

heres a pic...

and the white spot )which developed AFTER taking this pic) is located around where her nostril is in this photo. It may even be right there, but its hard to tell.




any ideas? at all?

 

[Bre_B]

...anybody? I hate to be a pest, but its not getting any better.

 

[RandomWiktor]

(Ehhh screw leaving for a bit; if it means I won't be able to help out other people's fishies, its not worth it.)

Ooooh. I'd be a little worried about the white patch.
Did it develop rapidly?
Is there more white developing on the face?
Did it start of as a slightly greyish patch, then expand and turn white?
Does any of the white have a cottony appearence coming to it?
If yes to the above, I'd be worried about columnaris, which often attacks the faces of fish. If the symptoms manifest and you start seeing fuzzy white patches around the nostrils and eyes, you need to isolate your female immediately and start a very aggressive treatment protocol, as it will lead to massive facial ulceration and often death. I will not prattle on with treatment protocol for this until I find out if it sounds like the problem, however.

Our other possibilities are equally uncheery. I could def. see this as a possible abcess or tumor developing on the face. Bettas do seem to get tumors, after all. Or, since it is around the nose, she could have suffered an injury to the roof of her mouth while eating, and now has an abcess. I suppose you could try feeding anti-biotic foods and see if the swelling goes down? I can't imagine treating an internalized infection would work too well with water-soluable antibiotics.

 

[Bre_B]

im in school at the moment, so ican only answer the following things:

that picture was taken the day before the white appeared, so uh.. thats how she looked just before it? maybe thats of use.

the white was around the nose, but im not sure if it was cottony or what, its such a small patch (their nostrils are tiny, after all) i dont know if ill be able to tell, but ill try later.

Would it help if i try to get an updated pic? so you can see the white?



shes also not acting like her usual self, so something is definately not right.

 

[Synirr]

That's so weird. I have no idea what it could be

 

[Bre_B]

oh no, you guys, its so much worse now... came home from school and her eye is swollen like crazy, possibly popeye, i wouldnt know cuz ive never actually seen it, but it is sticking out so i assume so. Its all swollen with white all around it... just looking at it i know if she survives she wont be the same. Its horrible - i wish i had done something sooner! now i think its too late...

i think im the only one i know that cries when a fish gets sick.... she was my favorite, she was so spunky, and we were going to breed her next! i dont even have any babies from her. Ive never found a girl quite as beautiful as her, wit hher solid blue body, and she had such large fins in comparison to the others... It's so sad that this might be wasted, gone, with no young to carry that beauty on..


this is very pathetic, but bear with me, im very upset and only just found out a minute ago.



ok here , i just got pictures... ...what do you think? is she too far gone? should i try to help her? I cant buy meds today because i dont have the money, i get paid tomorrow afternoon though... will one day be too much?....whats wrong with her?




sorry the images are so blurry... the glass is dirty, i couldnt focus too easily and i just cant stand seeing her like this as it is, so i only took a few. if you really need it ill try to take more, but i think this shows what its like..

please... is there anything i can do???

 

[RandomWiktor]

Oh my. That looks rather serious. My best guess would be a severe bacterial infection, possibly an abcess, and MAYBE a tumor. Pop-eye often has a bacterial basis. At this point, I would say that treatment is possible, but be prepared for a loss. If she is willing to eat, I would buy a medicated food and use it in conjunction with a strong anti-biotic. I would also add aquarium salt and change the water very frequently, as these are all things that reduce bacterial loads.
Generally when bettas are sick, we raise the temp. However, if you start seeing patches of white fuzz or ulcerations on the face, lowering the temp would be more beneficial (columnaris loves high temps).

Sorry that your girl is doing so rough; I hope she is somehow able to recover, the poor thing. =(

 

[Angel Lady]

Start by changing the water and adding salt until you get paid tomorrow. I dont think she is too far gone to help. I hate this for you, Mabey she will respond to the meds well when you get her started on them. In the mean time just keep her tank very clean..

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I wish I could give you a definitive answer on what is wrong with your beautiful girl, but I don't have one. I agree with what others have posted. I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of your girl. I hope she gets better.

 

[Bre_B]

thanks



im at school now, but this morning when i looked at her i saw that her gills are now covered in white as well. It looks sooo bad.

this afternoon once i get out of school im picking up medication?


what should i get? I cant get tetracycline - lots of people have said to get that for past illnesses ive experienced with my fish, but we dont have that around here... so is there anything else i should look for ? or something..? should i get something seperate for the popeye, or should i treat whatever is CAUSING the popeye?

 

[squeeker]

That looks like Columnaris to me. It seems to be spreading quickly... you might be out of time. You'll need a strong antibiotic to get rid of it... what do you have available locally? Good luck...

 

[RandomWiktor]

Ok. I have treated columnaris sucessfully, though yours looks possibly like a late-stage case, which my be uncurable. I used the following method. Others may have different opinions, this is just what worked for me:

- Buy a medication especially made for Columnaris. I believe Maracyn-2 does this, but I'd double check and make sure its not regular 'ol Maracyn.
- Buy a medicated food. Jungle sells an anti-bacterial food that bettas love, you just need to grind it up smaller.
- You def. need an abundance of aquarium salt for this, so make sure you have it.

- Put the fish in isolation. Columnaris is VERY CONTAGEOUS. I don't even handle tank water from another tank on the same day as cleaning a columnaris tank. Do not bother putting her in a cycled tank, as you need to change the water very frequently. If the tank the fish is in has ornaments and gravel, you need to clean these thoroughly in alternating hot and cold salt water with every water change, so it might be easier to put her in an tank with only some hardy fake plants that can be cleaned so she doesn't feel exposed.
- Keep the water temp as low as possible for betta health. I kept mine around 74. Columnaris is often caused by raised tank temps, and loves water in that nice 80-82 range our bettas also enjoy. Lowering the temp will slow the growth of the bacteria.
- Add the full reccomended dose of Maracyn/M.2 to the water; do not halve the dose for the animal's sensitivity as people sometimes do with antibiotics. (ie. in a 5g tank, use a full 1/2 tablet. In a 2.5g tank, use a full 1/4 tablet) I grind it before putting it in, as the tablets tend to dissolve very poorly from my experience.
- Feed the anti-biotic food 2x's daily, in a small enough amount that she can eat without being constipated. You can feed it for cycles of 5 days, then give a day to fast, and perhaps a day of a healthy, high-protien food.
- Add the full medicinal dose of Aquarium salt. Columnaris does not live well in a salty environment.
- Keep the tank extremely clean. When my fish had Columnaris, I did a full water change every 3 days, scrubbing the plants, gravel, and tank walls. I used alternating extremely hot and extremely cold salt water, as most bacteria are sensitive to temperature extremes, and because Columnaris does not fair well in salt. However, I'm sure that a mild bleach solution would work just as well. Just make sure you can get it out of the fake plants if you have any.
- Make sure to keep the fish in a low-stress area of the house; not much noise and activity, plenty of dim lighting, etc. Stress can weaken the system and thus make the columnaris spread more quickly.

Finally, just be patient and persistant. It can take a long time to conquer columnaris, and you might see some nasty things happen before she gets better (ulcers and the like). Once you get rid of the "white fuzz," it is adviseable to treat for a little longer, just in case there is anything residual in the tank. I would also isolate her for maybe a week after she seems "cured" to make sure there isn't another flare up.

Good luck, and I'm sorry to hear she is fairing so poorly =(

 

[Bre_B]

shes worse now. I just got paid, am about to go out and hopefully get medication, but i thought id tell you all i dont think shes going to make it. I looked in just now and shes now bloody where the fuzz is. She can barely move, just floats at the top, squirming to get some air every so often... I was too late ot help her.


however, one of my other females is starting to swell up, so this time i immediately removed her and although im hoping its not REALLY swelling (shes a big girl, maybe thats just how she always is and im just being paranoid) but i might as well isolate her just in case. Now every day im examining all my girls, since she was in with them for a while before i knew that something was wrong.

so far it seems only one other has gotten it as well, hopefully no more.