Beta Health Questions

Question
Hi Chris,

I have a beta I recently got as a gift.  This is my first pet fish as an adult.  My beta is red in color.  Recently it started loosing color below its lips and around its jaw.  Its now a greyish color and some yellowih-white pathches by its gills.  It has also started to loose part of its tail fin.  It looks like it is shreaded. I cant tell if the beta is ripping it while swiming around the plant in the vase or if it is a disease.  The fish is with a snail in the tank.  The tank is a vaze that you often find betas in.  I hope you are able to help me.

The rest of the body is find.  The fish's appetite is good.  I took some pics and took it to the local pet store but they were not able to determine what it was.  So I bought some aquarium salt and put s few granules in there (its a small vase fish tank) and bought a better brand of food (Hikari Betta Bio-Gold).  Its been a couple of days.  No improvement as of yet. is there an email address where I can email you the pics?  I am hoping you can help.

Ash

Answer
Hi Ash;

It sounds like he has a bacterial infection. His fins are showing signs of finrot too, which is a very common betta ailment also caused by bacteria. Get a medication from the fish store to treat him. I would use something with Tetracycline in it along with aquarium salt. You will probably have to remove the plant to treat him because it will absorb the medication and aquarium salt your betta needs. Change the water in the vase twice a week to keep it clean so is immune system will be stronger as he heals. It needs to be changed at least once a week anyway. Here is a good web page about finrot and what to do for him;

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/finrot.htm

His illness may be a preview of more trouble to come. Unfortunately, a vase with a plant in it is not a very good home for a betta and the instructions that come with them often cause bettas to become sick. The people that invented them just didn't know enough about keeping bettas healthy. Here is a good web page about good betta homes and bad betta homes so you can decide what is best for him and his long-term health;

http://www.bettatalk.com/housing.htm

You could email me the pics but I'm sure it's an infection that he will need medicine, salt and clean water to cure. Here is my email address;

AllExperts_Fish_Guru(a)yahoo.com

Let me know if you have more questions. I hope he feels better very soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins