Betta sick swollen

Question
Hi Chris,

I have a male betta red and blue for 3 years now. I keep him in a gallon tank. I feed him Hikari betta bio-gold pellets (5-6/day) and use tap water with eater conditioner. I change 1/2 of the water everr 2-3 weeks but varies. He has always been great. But noe he has some swolling on his left side. I don't know much about fishes (it's my first fish) but it seems to be a whitish lump right under his fin, very close to what I believe is the gill. I know he is not moving his left fin, he swims very little and is not eating at all. Lately my fiancee has fed him and I think he doen't wait for the fish to eat, or doesn't remove uneaten pellets so that the water was very dirty. I changed the water, but I'm not sure what else to do. What do you suggest?

Answer
Hi Edith;

Poor little fella. He may have an infection causing an abcess. You can use an antibiotic called "Maracyn 2". It absorbs inside the fish to get to where the infection is. Other medicines only treat the outside of the fish. Most medicines are packaged to treat 10 gallon tanks or larger. Here is a web page about adjusting dosages to treat fish in small tanks;

http://www.healthybetta.com/easymeds.html

He may not feel like eating for a few days until the infection clears up. It's okay because fish can go for many days with no food at all. Make sure that any food not eaten is removed. If you don't want to clean the whole tank, net old food out, use a turkey baster or you can also use a clear piece of plastic tubing as a siphon tube. Hold your finger over one end to keep the air in. Put the opposite end into the tank next to the excess food and let your finger off a tiny bit to suck the junk in and close it again with your finger when the junk goes in the tube. Take it out and empty it. Do it again as many times as needed to get all of the junk out. Some people use a clean clear soda straw, if it's long enough. Whatever you use, make sure it has no soap or chemical residue on it.

If the antibiotic doesn't work, he may have a tumor or something. There isn't anything you can do about that I'm afraid. He's getting to be an old little guy now so he will be more prone to things like that. He also may need more frequent water changes and higher temperatures to stay healthy. Bettas live to be 2 or 3 so you have certainly taken good care of him to have been with you for so long. When we buy them they are already almost a year old so yours is about 4! Wow! Maybe change his water weekly and put a lamp near his tank to warm it up a bit if it is lower than 76 degrees. Older bettas and/or sick bettas like it closer to 80. It speeds up their metabolism and helps boost their immune system.

I hope he feels better soon.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins