My beta is sick!!!

Question
QUESTION: Hi my name is carissa and i just recently made a move from montana to seattle. I have a beta and he came along with me. But when i got him here he seemed to get really depressed and not eating alot,he just floats at the top of the tank like he cant get air. And now it is getting worse and he has a white cloudy substance on his body and he cant seem to shake it off. Please help my fish!

ANSWER: Hi Carissa,
   Floating near the surface is not a bad thing on its own. However, the fact that he has a white cloudy substance on his body is NOT good at all.  Is it like cotton, i.e., with fin little puffy filaments, or is more like a slick of thick milky slimy stuff?  (Or something else)

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


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

QUESTION: Its is more of a puffy cotton like substance and he just lays at the top and tries to breath.  And its like coming out of his gills where he breaths.

Answer
Hi Carissa,
  It sounds like a fungal infection.  That sort of thing usually happens after a fish has been hurt. Did he get handled roughly during the move?

  You should treat the tank with an anti-fungal agent, something like Maracyn or Paragon.  There are several such products that you will find at most pet stores.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>