# Possible Betta illness/ growth in tank???



## Jltrimmer (Jun 19, 2010)

My male betta has developed small red spots on his side fins, but he really doesn't seem to notice them. He is red, so I can't tell if he has any more spots on his body. He also has begun to have problems eating; he'll try to eat, but he can't seem to get the food... he "misses" it. The food is a smaller-sized pellet, and he hasn't had trouble with it in previous months. I'm not sure how old he is, I purchased him about a year ago and he has grown dramatically. He lives in a 1.5 gallon tank with a filter that creates a small flow of water, and his tank is usually kept at the proper temperature. I worry about him, especially his eating troubles, because he will try a few times to get the food, and then will get frustrated and dart away from the food. I also have a strange bright-orange growth on the air hose that I can scrape off when I clean the tank, but never seems to go away. It smells musty and has stained the hose. If someone could help me, I would be very grateful!


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

It could just be his color as I find males seem to change a bit as they age. I find as they get older they do start to miss food and I never take that as a positive sign. I wonder if they are going blind. Check and make sure he does not have a swollen mouth or tumor in his motuth. bettas are prone to those.
Will he eat a frozen blood worm? SOmetimes they will go for those if they are used to them. Failing having a blood worm try him with flake food. Some of my bettas prefer it as they get older.
Check out if he is losing his color under his chin- it is a sign of old age.
Can you take the bubbler hose out and give it a wipe with some diluted bleach? make sure you wash it off really well and then wipe that piece of tube with some water conditioner. You could also try a new piece of tubing.
I had a female betta that was obstructed for about 3 months. for 2 months she ate absolutley nothing then she took a frozen thawed worm. For the next couple of months I hand fed her the worm on the end of a pair of tweezers and then one day she attacked the worm herself and has been eating pellets ever since.


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## Jltrimmer (Jun 19, 2010)

mousey said:


> It could just be his color as I find males seem to change a bit as they age. I find as they get older they do start to miss food and I never take that as a positive sign. I wonder if they are going blind. Check and make sure he does not have a swollen mouth or tumor in his motuth. bettas are prone to those.
> Will he eat a frozen blood worm? SOmetimes they will go for those if they are used to them. Failing having a blood worm try him with flake food. Some of my bettas prefer it as they get older.
> Check out if he is losing his color under his chin- it is a sign of old age.
> Can you take the bubbler hose out and give it a wipe with some diluted bleach? make sure you wash it off really well and then wipe that piece of tube with some water conditioner. You could also try a new piece of tubing.
> I had a female betta that was obstructed for about 3 months. for 2 months she ate absolutley nothing then she took a frozen thawed worm. For the next couple of months I hand fed her the worm on the end of a pair of tweezers and then one day she attacked the worm herself and has been eating pellets ever since.



Thanks, I will check out his mouth area to make sure nothing funky is going on there, and I never thought about flake food... that's a great idea! As for the tank growth, I put the air hose in some diluted bleach this past cleaning, and I'm waiting to see if anything grows back. I had just been curious as to what it was, and whether is was harmful. The closest thing I'd read about online that matched the color was diatoms, but this doesn't act the same way.


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## Peeps (May 24, 2010)

As old age happens bettas change colours. Can you get a pic of him, this may help? It could be due to old age. Have to tested the water or do you just do a 100% water change?


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