# sick betta... cottony fungus



## seraph (Oct 23, 2005)

Please help... I need some advice... I am new to owning fish.
I recently bought a 3 Gallon Eclipse tank (has the charcoal filter and the BioWheel filter) and I put in a male betta, an African Dwarf Frog, and two Emerald Cory Catfish... they get along fine. I have one live plant (a frill plant?), one small silk plant, and two plants that had been alive but safely treated to put in a tank(?.. the betta loved swimming around them).

I kept going back to the petstore because I was concerned about the water- it was cloudy. They told me it was going through its cycle and soon the good bacteria would grow and eliminate the bad bacteria (something like that anyway). I was told I could do partial water changes, but not too much because that would slow down the process of going through the cycle. I did a water change a couple days ago (I use filtered water from my sink- it's the same temp as the tank).

Well, last night I noticed some cottony like fungus or bacteria on my betta- also looks like the fins are deteriorating a bit... I added BettaFix to the water (1 1/2 t). Today he is worse! This am he was resting at the bottom of the tank- usually he is right at the front of the tank when I come in and he excitedly swims around and he had more of that cottony stuff. I added more of the BettaFix (I believe I am supposed to do this for 7 days). Now he is just floating at the top (still alive but not moving around much)... it looks like there is a bit of the fungus or bacteria on the treated plants and also a bit on the charcoal filter (the blue scratchy surface that traps debris). The catfish and frog seem fine.

...it makes me so sad... poor fish... I don't like to see any creature sick or suffering  I don't know what I should do... any suggestions?????????? :sad:


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## kelicom (Sep 27, 2005)

I never had much luck with BettaFix either. For what you are describing you need a gram negative anti-biotic (maracyn 2), according to my research. But if I were you, I would not go out and get it and treat your betta. Any kind of medication takes the oxygen out of the water, and my first betta became sick with the same disease and responded just as yours did when I added the medicine to the water--he became even more listless with the treatment. You would probably have better luck if you simply transfered him to clean water (away from the others) with new filter, substrate, etc and then just give him time to heal. I was so worried about my fish, I think I did too much. In other words, just put him in a new tank. You can worry about cleaning out the old one after you get your betta squared away (assuming the others still aren't showing any symptoms).

For future use: I found out that indian almond leaves are what most Thia betta breeders use to treat their sick bettas and ordered some over the internet (ebay). I made a tea out of the leaves (as the seller told me he does) by letting them sit outside in the sun with treated water for a day. Then I added this now yellow/gold colored water to the water. It is supposed to be a natural anti bacterial, anti fungal treatment and it must be because I've had much better luck using it then any "real" medication which I think really stresses sick fish.

I hope your betta gets better! My heart goes out to you and your betta--I know what you're going through. 

It's probably too late for your betta at this point to get the leaves, but he might have a chance just by being in clean water. Make sure he has an easy way of getting air--broad sword leaves or clumpls of leaves from other freshwater plants will give him a floating hammock to hang in and rest while still keeping his nose out of the water. He might be able to get well on his own given these conditions.

Good luck.

Btw, when you say you use "filtered water" from your sink, you mean there is no chlorine or chloramines in the water, right? Because any kind of chlorine or chloramine will stress your fish, and eventually kill him. Just checking.


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## seraph (Oct 23, 2005)

*re:*

That's correct... there is no chlorine, etc. I also use the AquaPlus water treatment anyway because the bottle says it's good protection for their scales.

I have my sick betta in a 1qt bowl (with the BettaFix) and a soft plant (not one from the tank he had been in) for him to rest on to get air easily. Now, I will clean out the tank he had been (the catfish and frog still look fine).

I stopped by a store today and the guy told me I shouldn't expect my new tank to rid itself of the cloudiness for at least a month? He also said to not have a filter with charcoal in it because it will filter out the medicine. They have been in business for 11 years so hopefully he knows what he's talking about.

I appreciate the suggestions- thanks; I will look for the tea leaves. Hopefully he will get better. :-(


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## micstarz (Oct 22, 2005)

I think what you are describing is ich, and also a pinch of tail and fin rot.


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## kelicom (Sep 27, 2005)

I totally disagree that you should allow cloudy water for a month. I have heard that too, and disregarded it as all my new tanks would only be cloudy from one day to a week (without any fish in it) and when I had to put my fish in a new tank that had not been cycled yet, even then, the cloudiness didn't last more than a day or two. If it did, I changed half the water. I have tried giving medicine both with the filter still in and out and it actually was better when I left the filter in, but that could mean that's because the medicine wasn't working anyway. It sounds like you are doing everything right, it will just be a matter of time before you know.


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## solar-ton (Aug 15, 2005)

i used marycyn II and melafix (in a small dosage) for my bettas and they did okay with it so that might work but i did have an air filter in it just a suggestion anyway...


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

Yes you should take the carbon out of the filter. It filters out the medicine so there is no reason to put in medicine when there is carbon in the filter, you will just end up wasting your medicine.


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## Guest (Oct 24, 2005)

also, im not sure if you've heard this, but about your cories: they are usually happiest when in groups of 5 or more.


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## seraph (Oct 23, 2005)

ok well my fish died    he never showed any improvement even though i gave him the meds as soon as i saw the fungus- he just got worse very quickly  poor fish  (i used bettafix, but now i bought melafix antibacterial (extracted from tea trees) and pimafix antifungal (extracted from west indian bay trees) -both by API (aquarium pharmaceuticals). i put the cories (yeah i heard it's better with more cories but that two were ok) and frog in the tank... and i saw that fungus growing again! :-x I am now cleaning the tank again... the live plant is thrown out, the preserved seaweed plants are thrown out. I have cleaned the silk plant, rocks, decoration and tank with a water/bleach mix- i rinsed it with hot water and have dried them... now i just have them sitting out to dry them further for places i may have missed.... 

is the same biowheel ok to use? i know they say they never need to be thrown out but i'm being paranoid there may be that fungus on the plastic parts of the wheel where there is no good bacteria lol.

should i soak the tank and stuff in water with one of the anti-fungal meds??? should i give the cories and frog meds since they were in the water with the fungus (even though they show no signs of sickness)???

i have a betta waiting for a new home lol (and one that is going to need to be alone in another tank cuz he seems pretty agressive when placed near even the cories and frog- is it ok to have him in a tank with no other critters that will eat the leftover food, waste or algae?).

sorry for SO many questions... i'm just new to all this and want to do what i can to have healthy, happy fish


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

It was not ich. It sounds like columnaris.


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Sorry your fish died. As far as cleaning everything up, rinse the stuff again before you add it back to the tank. Bleach is pretty mean stuff (but I know you had to use it). Also add extra de-chlorinator to the water when you fill the tank back up again, it should help neutralize any leftovers. For the rocks, I would almost suggest getting new ones, but my guess is that 99% of the time bleach kills most everything. 

The biowheel should be fine. Just wipe down everything with a clean rag and insanely hot water. Besides, if it's been unused for a couple of days, bacteria doesn't live very well on dry plastic 

If you're paranoid about leftover bacteria, you can add some meds. I agree with simpte that it doesn't sound like ich. Just remember, about a day before you put fish into the tank, to be sure to put the carbon back in the filter to neutralize it. 

I don't think I'd treat the fish if they don't appear ill. Medicine is hard on them too, so as the rule goes - if it's not broke, don't fix it.

I've kept my bettas alone every time I have had them. What kind of tank or bowl are you going to keep him in?


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## seraph (Oct 23, 2005)

I had a 3 gallon Eclipse tank made by Marineland (?)... I tried again with the betta, 2 cories, and frog... and in 2 days it was pretty cloudy... the next day milky! I don't know if something was wrong with the biowheel or the tank was too small for them (I was told it wasn't too small). I tried the water clarifier and it did nothing- I got frustrated with the dumb thing and today I exchaged it today for a 6 gallon Eclipse tank. I added the water conditioner and bacteria starter for new tanks... so... hopefully NOW I won't have problems. I started with a betta in a 1 gallon unfilter tank and never had problems with the water


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

If this should happen again ( one single fish showing a cottony tuft while everything else is fine ) take the fish out and swab the cottony area with a Q-tip to remove the offending fuzz. Then put a little dab of salt on the spot where it was, but only on that spot, and let it sit for about 20-30 seconds. After that you can put the fish into a separate little recovery container of water for a day while it gets over all that, and then put it back into the main tank. That usually cures most skin infections very quickly, although not exactly gently. It's drastic, but it saves fishy lives, for once the fuzzy stuff comes it's hard to get rid of fast enough to save the fish by medicine alone. it's hard to find anymore, but if you can find something by Jungle called "Small Fish Saver" it's also good for a very quick cure for fungus. I think they quit making it for some reason, but it's good stuff if you can get it.


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## kelicom (Sep 27, 2005)

I hope you are not serious "TheOldSalt". Are you into torture? Well, your name (darth), your icon...??

Next time you get an open wound, can I come over and rub salt on it? :evil:


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