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Lesion on Betta

23 14:53:12

Question
Thank you for your quick reply!  The white area on the lesion seems to come from underneath the skin  The only thing I can think of to compare the texture of it to is scab-like.  It does not appear fuzzy.  He is still very active and an attention hog, and dances for me when I wiggle my fingers.  But then the size and weight of this "thing" on him seems to tire him out.  It dawned on me after i sent you my first email that I had used a liquid algaecide to kill a green algae bloom, and when I put the algaecide in the tank (1 1/2 gals)he swam under the chemical.  He twitched a bit and then seemed fine.  The bottle said it was harmful to human skin and to scaleless fish.  Do you think this may have caused his "boo-boo"?  I bought some Melacure (I think that's the name)at Wal-Mart this morning and will give that a try.  Can it be used in conjunction with Maracyn Two?
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Followup To

Question -
I have a betta that is about a year old. He recently developed a lesion on his body behind and slightly above his right fin. The lesion has what appears to be white pieces of flesh that is raised, and when some of it sloughs off, there is a red patch underneath it that appears to be bleeding. I treated him for 10 days with Maracyn Two, and it seemed to get better, but didn't clear up completely.  It has now grown to about a half inch in length vertically.  "Jonah" is such a personable fish, and I would really hate to lose him.  Is there anything I can do?

Answer -
Hello Mary Beth-

You can do a repeat treatment of Maracyn Two, if you saw some improvement, or you can try Maracyn One. Personally, I would treat with a strong dose of a medicine containing Formalin (WalMart carries a product called QuickCure) and some aquarium salt. This combo will kill off just about any bacteria, if that's what is causing the problem. However, if the white spot looks "fuzzy," then you should switch to a fungicide. You can compare the spot to some bread mold, except aquatic fungus is usually white (versus green.) I've heard of this problem from a lot of betta owners, but have not heard back recently from any of them, so I can't say what treatments worked best in the past.

Hope your little guy feels better!
-Amber Worman  

Answer
Hello again-

Melafix and other medicines containing Melaleuca can be uses in conjunction with just about everything. As for the algaecide, it should not be the cause of the scabby-thing, unless it seeped into an open sore that was already present. Bettas have incredibly tough scales, and usually just wiggle when chemicals get on them to remove it from their slime coats.

Hope your little guy feels better!
-Amber Worman