Betta fish white lump on back

Question
QUESTION: My daughters betta has a white lump on his back near or on his fin. Small 1/2 gallon tank with just him in it.  We've been told to feed every other day and he eats pellets only. We've also been told he likes dirty tanks.

Help set us straight, please.

ANSWER: David,
Unfortunately, the information given to you has been wrong. He cannot be in a half gallon bowl or tank. The smallest size tank for him is 2.5 gallons where a 5 gallon is best. All 18 of my adult male Betta's are in their own 5 gallon tank. My 22 adult females are all sharing 3 20 gallon tanks. He also needs a heater set at 80 degrees at all times. He needs to have weekly water changes of 25%. He also needs to be fed daily and not just pellets. He also needs frozen or freeze dried brine shrimp and blood worms. You should fast him one day a week and the next day feed him a cooked shelled pea cut into bite size pieces. Do not feed him the shell of the pea because he cannot digest it. As for the dirty water, that is why he has this problem. They do not and cannot live in a dirty tank. Give him a complete water change. I would get him a bigger home and add a heater that will keep his water at 80 degrees all the time. Add a little aquarium salt to his tank until the white spot is gone. The ratio is 1 teaspoon aquarium salt to one gallon of water. Make sure it is dissolved before you add it to his tank or it will burn him. I would put 1/4 teaspoon of salt in his tank. The salt is only added to the water being replaced during the water changes. Salt does not evaporate so it will have to be removed after he is better. You will do 25% water changes every day for 4 days and that should remove all the salt. Since he is in such a small home, water changes have to be done daily. After you give him a bigger home with a heater, add the salt to his water for now, and keep his tank water clean, he should start getting better in about a week.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Jaymie:

Well, we changed the tank to a 3.5G tank, with a filter and a heater, as well as a really cool light that has about 12 settings (I hope she does not wig out due to light).  We put her in the tank with some salt (I think per your quantities above) and have changed 1 gallon of her water each night for the past two nights, adding just a touch of salt to the new water (is that correct?).  We purchased some blood worms and brine shrimp and have began feeding those to Chester.  How long will it take for this white thing on his back to go away?  Is it possible to remove it for him (carefully) or will this traumatise him or kill him?

How often should he get the blood worms, brine shrimp and pellets?  I understand he should be fed each day, but what frequency on each item?


Sorry for all the questions but we are trying to save Chester for Karlie who is 10 years old and rather attached to Chester, after losing Bella to other diseases, due to bad info from PetSmart.......

Answer
David,
It is great that you have given him a bigger home. I have a question for you. When you set the tank up with the filter, did it cycle first or did you set it up and put him in right away? The Betta fish has an organ called the labyrinth organ. This allows him to come to the surface of the water to get air. Since he has this organ, he does not need nor does he really like a filter. The male is a very slow swimmer due to his long fins and tail. Adding the filter causes a current that the males just do not like. If the filter was not cycled, I would remove it before it start with the bacteria blooms. It is the first bloom that cause the fish to get sick and die. It is ok to continue with the salt for another week or so. Now that he is in a bigger home, the water changes do not have to be done daily. You can now do them weekly by removing 25% of the water replacing it with clean conditioned water. Make sure the water going into the tank is the same temperature as the water he is in. Even 2 degrees up or down can cause him to go into shock. Keep his water temperature at 80 degrees at all times. The pellet food is his staple. Once a week feed him the blood worms and on another day the brine shrimp. This will also help keep him healthy. As for the white spot, it could take awhile. Sometime the injury heals but the scar is left behind. It might go away yet it might stay. It took some time to get it that way it will take time to get rid of it. With the salt, remember, it is added only to the water going into the tank during the water changes. Once he has healed, you will start removing the salt from his water.