Sick Betta, please help

Question
Hi. I have a sick male betta, who i found out today is suffering from some sort of fungus. He darts around a little bit and stays near the top of his little aquarium. I have just started to treat him with Bettafix. There was a thick, white mucousy, smelled bad slightly substance covering his tank. I did a complete water change and removed the mucous. I just had another betta who recently died because he lost his slime coat and passed away because of the mucousy fungus infection.

I removed all of the gravel from my sick betta's tank and will continue to treat him with the Bettafix. Someone suggested I should replace his gravel with new gravel. I am also wondering if I should get my betta a completely new aquarium. Maybe this would get rid of the fungus, not sure though. I had my other betta for about a year before he passed away.

Some people have suggested aquarium salt too, but i think it might be overmedicating. And I have been told that you have to be careful when using aquarium salt, because if you use too much it can be harmful. I have also heard about doing frequent water changes but i'm not sure if that is a good idea because you have to medicate with Bettafix for 7 days and then do a water change (that's what it says on the bottle anyway)

P.S. My betta lives in a 1.84 L aquarium if that helps. It is not cycled and I haven't taken a water sample in to be tested but maybe I should. However I'm not sure if it would be a good idea since he is being treated with Bettafix and that might affect the results of a water test. Please help. My sick betta and I thank you for any help you can you can provide.

Sincerely,

Lisa McEachern

Answer
Hello Lisa,

I am so sorry it has taken me this long to get back to you. My email was temporarily out of service.

Well getting a new aquarium is not necessary. You can definitely add some salt. A bit less than two teaspoons would be perfect for that tank size and would help the fungus. Bettafix is not really going to get rid of the fungus. You could get jungles fungus clear or any other brand fungus cure. Betta fix is better for frayed fins than anything. It is never successful at treating on it's own. You can always add salt while medicating. The beauty of salt is it is not adding anything that will interfere with the meds. Also, the betta fix will not interfere with getting the water tested. you can also buy API ammonia and nitrite and ph testing kits and that will help you in the long run to eliminate problems and make sure mr betta is in ammonia free water.

So to conclude this is the plan of action I advise you take.....


Step 1.  Do full water change. Take all proper measures to do this safely. If you can age some water overnight in order to make it as stress free as possible. Make sure it is close to the temp his water is when you change it.

step 2. Buy fungus cure medication and add a bit less than two teaspoons of salt. Follow directions with the medication (duh LOL).


And if your wallet is willing buy API test for ammonia and nitrite and PH

If you plan to cycle the tank you can go ahead and get a master testkit. You can find them cheaper online if you want to go that route. I hope your friend gets better. Follow up with me if you need to. :) Good luck!