pankhi

Hello,
I have attached a photo of our fish. Could someone tell me what it is and how to treat it? The fish is in a 2.5 gallon tank with a filter and a 13W aqua lux light. The tank has gravel and plastic plants too. We have had the fish for 8 months and do a complete water change and aquarium cleaning (hot water only) once a month. We noticed the growth (?) few days ago. Our fish behaves and eats normally. Thank you.

Attached Images

DSC01127.JPG (184.4 KB, 16 views)

Drea

I don't know what that is on your betta. He does look healthy, except for the growth. I was wondering if you use a water conditioner when you change the tank water ? Please wait for other betta experienced folks here to try and help you with this. And a growth does not mean a death sentence for your betta, many of us have rescued them in bad health, and they do well, even if they have damaged fins etc. Thanks for asking about how to help him....
AND WELCOME TO OUR FISH LOVERS FORUM>>>>

His water should be changed about 25% once per week, and bettas should be kept in 78-80 deg temps. Plus like I mentioned the new water should be treated with a conditioner to remove chlorine, metal, and other things harmful to fish.

luna

Welcome to FishLore! I don't know much about fish ailments, but he is a pretty color that goes well with the gravel in his tank. If you could share what your water parameters are (ammonia, nitites, nitrates, temperature) and what kind of filtration you have, and your normal feeding/water treatment routines, it might help the know-it-alls around here to help you.

Also, feel free to join us on the Betta Board!

kra-z-fishmumm

Pankhi, has the coloring of ur Betta changed? eating habit? brushing against things? what about the filter, is the stream light or heavy? air bubbles going? fast or slow? how does his pooh look? did you give him any live food recently? just some things that might help us get to the bottom of this. we're here for you

also, can't tell, is it a solid type of growth or more like a cyst/blister?

COBettaCouple

Your Betta's tank isn't cycled and I'd recommend using something called "Prime" to treat the tap water with. That will help protect him from ammonia, nitrites and nitrates until his tank gets cycled.

The advice to change 25% of his water weekly is right and for now (until the tank is cycled) I would do 25% changes every other day. The best way to test the water is with the API master freshwater testing kit. Test at least 24 hours after a water change for more accurate results.

Since he's eating and behaving normally, it's possible that's an early fungal growth or a parasite, possibly an external benign tumor. It's just guesses now, but has it changed any since you first noticed it?

Welcome to Fishlore and hopefully we can help figure this out with your little Betta.

pankhi

Thank you all for your support. The only thing I add to the water is chlorine remover. I will get the Prime conditioner you have recommended. Regarding the temperature, I had placed a 5 gallon water heater in the tank but after a few weeks, I had a hard time keeping it at a set temperature, it kept getting the warmer than 80 degrees. I have tried several heaters, thinking that the previous one was malfunctioning. I have read the instructions many times and all of the heaters work well in the beginning but then don't control the temperature very well. Maybe it's the size of the tank or the fact that, because it is such a small tank, heater placement is limited and so it is affected by the nano filter pouring water into the tank.

I just changed the water 2 days ago so is it too early to take a water sample, considering that the tank is clean? We feed the betta 3 times a day - around 8:30 am, 4:00 pm, and 11:00 pm. We give 3 pellets of Hakari Betta Bio-Gold. I change the water every month (I was told by the aquarium person that this would be fine since he is in a 2.5 gallon tank and has a filter.

He still has his blue color and is still begging for food every time he sees someone in front of the tank (as usual). I did see him brushing against the plastic plant but I do not see him doing it often. The nano filter stream is fast and heavy, he is used to this. It does not create air bubbles in the water unless the water level is low. At this time we add some more water (maybe every 2 weeks). We have not given him any live food, just the pellets. I don't know about his poo. Regarding his growth, it is difficult for me figure out if it is hard or soft, but it is solid, not semi-transparent or transparent. It looks like a cauliflower or an frog egg mass (I know it is not eggs).
The growth does not appear to have changed in size since my daughter first noticed it last week.

One possibly important thing I did not mention in my original post - we had placed some aquarium snails in the tank from our outdoor 50 gallon bird bath in late fall before it got too cold for the snails. After a few days, we moved the snails to another tank but during that short time, the snails laid eggs that survived several tank cleanings, and hatched. So we had about 12 baby snails in the tank and I moved them to the snail tank last week. I did not put them earlier since they were too small to move. Could this be a snail disease? Also, another aquarium person suggested trying the medication Life Guard. Would this help? I did not try it yet since we don't know the disease. Thank you again.

luna

It isn't too early to take a water sample...that only applies if you've done a water change less than a day before, if your tank is fully cycled. You should be changing the water WEEKLY, not monthly. How much water did you replace?

Oh, and heaters don't tend to work properly in tanks smaller than 5 gallons, it seems...but which ones did you try? The Visi-Therm Stealth 25 watt should work, even in a tank that small. The cheap, tiny ones they sell for super-small tanks are just that...cheap.

pankhi

Thank you all again for your help and concern for our betta. Through the kindness of another fish lover, I learned that our fish has lymphocystis. I hope the above photo can be used as reference for future problems by all.