Sick Betta, Please Answer

Question
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Followup To
Question -
Thank you so much for your reply.  My dad got her some "Splendid Betta: BettaFix remedy."  The
spots don't appear to fuzzy or cottony or stringy, but it does seem to be spreading a little.  We
changed all of the water, and cleaned the bowl (he's in a bowl) well.  We will try to get a tank and
heater as soon as we can.  And yes, we use a water conditioner to get rid of the chlorine.  Thank
you for your response.  We'll try to get out today to a store and look for tanks and medicine.  
Thank You!
Perrin


Answer -
Hello Perrin,
I'm sorry to hear about you sister's betta. I will do my best to help!

Fungus can be fairly common in bettas. I'm quite certain your betta has either Columnaris, or
true fungal disease. Columnaris is actually a flexibacter bacterial infection which appears cottony
or fuzzy and also is sometimes stringy. This type often affects the fish's head or mouth but can
appear in other parts of the body as well. This is a quite serious illness that must be treated
promptly but first you must be certain to properly diagnos him before treating to avoid
unnecessary stress by uneeded meds. It's difficult to determine what exactly your bettas has
come down with without actually seeing him of course but perhaps this website will help you
diagnos is better than I can with pictures of Columnaris infections on fish---please visit--


True fungus--like many illnesses, are caused by certain stress factors or sites of injury my
mishandling. Poor water quality is a high leading factor of all common illnesses. I highly
recommend that you first change 100% of your betta's water. Does he live in a jar or bowl? If so I
would very highly recommend you try to get him a actual fish tank. Even a small 2 gallon
aquarium with a small sponge of tiny power filter does wonders for a bettas health and well-
being. Living in tiny bowls just isn't natural despite popular belief that bettas live in tiny dirty
mud puddles in the wild. Actually, bettas come from extremely spacious rice paddies in asia
where they have very large amounts of vegetation and flowing water which makes their natural
enviroment clean and healthy. A far cry from their once thought "natural habitat" of tiny puddles.

No doubt about it bettas need clean water and water that is ideally heated. Your sister's betta
would love an aquarium of at least 2 gallons with a working small quiet filter. It can be hard to
keep the water healthy in anything smaller than 2 gallons. For now though, please look through
the websites I have listed which I am highly fond of for giving excellent sound info on illnesses--
and most importantly pictures to help you diagnose what exactly your bettas has.
Here is another link to one I recommend most--
"http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm"

When bettas are introduced to their new enviroment they often won't eat because they haven't
adjusted yet to everything being totally new and sometimes scary to them.
Giving them time for their shy emotions to pass can take up to a week but usually the most is a
few days. Some bettas are also very picky about what they eat. If they were fed a certain food in
the petstore they came from they may take a while to eventually learn to accept the new food you
might be feeding.Some bettas have particular tastes such as some will only eat pellets and not
flakes and sometimes it's the other way around. And then some only accept live or freeze dried
worms and other tiny aquatic animals. Lastly, poor water quality, either by a dirty enviroment or
cold temperatures or illness can make a betta feel sick enough to not eat.
As I've said before bettas need clean water with no ammonia, or nitrites which are pollutants
produced by the waste products of the fish. Bettas are tropical critters needing temps in the high
70s to be happy. Ideally a temperature of 78-80 is best. To keep your betta warm, you can keep
a low lamp over his bowl day and night for warmth. Use an aquarium thermometer to check and
make sure his temperature isn't too warm (above 83F).
~Always insure you try to equalize the replacement water's temperature to that of your betta's
bowl to prevent any shock from totally different temperature. And always dechlorinate it with a
water conditioner. It's also good to fill a 1 gal pitcher or a well cleaned (no soap!)--that is rinsed
out very well cola or other large soda bottle. You can fill the bottle up with lukewarm water, add
water conditioner, screw the lid on and shake the bottle up to mix the ingredients well. Then set
the bottle beside your betta's bowl ideally underneath the lamp where it will be heated as well--
do this the night before and by the next day, your "aged" water should be perfect and completely
safe to use for your water changes.* I would typically recommend a bowl to be changed three
times a week to insure excellent water quality.
And for treatment for his illness, this is ever so important. If you are certain your bettas has true
fungus, treat with good fungus medication, there are many out there and most work very well.
But I do highly trust MARDEL products. Maroxy is made by mardel and should help you if your
betta has true fungus.One of the problems with small bowls is treating with meds can be hard.
Most dosages are rated for 10 gallons on most labels. I have found 1 drop per gallon of water to
be accurate.

This can be hard to treat. But when caught early and you insure he is warm and in clean water
with good medications and a healthy diet. He can get better! I know he will.

I really hope this helps! If you have anymore questions, feel free to email me...
Let me know how he does. I know it can be difficult and maybe even overwhelming with all this
new fish stuff but as long as you do research as much as you can. It will be easier and much
more understandable.

With good care your sister's betta can live 3-5 years and will certainly be a good pet and friend
during that time!!

My very best wishes and Happy fishkeeping! Good luck!!!!
Karen~  

Answer
Hello Again Perrin!

I also wanted to note to you to make sure this odd "spots" aren't normal coloration. Does it have any texture to it or is it smoothed along with the betta's normal skin and scales?  It may not actually be anything! But just normal coloration. I've never heard of anything appearing greenish and not being fuzzy or anything.
*Bettas change their color as they get older. And this may actually be nothing to worry about...

It's great that you took the steps you did for him. Bettafix is also a good medication but it can take a little longer to cure some types of diseases. It would be good to use that until you further decide what he could be coming down with. I do hope you can get him a nice little aquarium with a heater and a little filter!

I really hope this helps! As always, if you have anymore concerns or questions, feel free to email me....

My very best wishes and Happy fishkeeping!
Karen~ You're very welcome for everything!