Betta Fish Bubble On Fin

My Betta fish is about three years old. Over the past year or so I began to notice a patch of his scales which had turned white and gray but it didn’t appear to be cotton-y or like something was growing on him. My mom suggested that it might be scarring and didn’t want to treat him unnecessarily. He now has bits of fin that are having the same discoloration. On his back fin he has a large fluidy blister that is quite large. As far as I’ve googled I can’t find any Betta illness that match his description. However when I shine a flashlight on him I do see some of the gold dust on his fins associated with velvet but I’m having a difficult time telling if it is just his natural coloring or not.

He has a live plant in his tank and a few small snails which have been hand me downs from my moms tank over the years but they never caused any issues in the past with Betta fish. He still seems active and swims up to see me and is excited to eat but something is clearly wrong. I have been moving this summer and haven’t been the best about doing water changes. When I noticed the the bump I did a 60% water change hoping it would help. Any advice would be welcome! Thank you

 

I belive he may have lymphocitis, which is a viral issues so there isn’t much to be done. There’s not a ton of info on the web about betta lymphocitis but the general consensus is shiny scally patches that may develop into a lump, spots on fins where it appears like a bubble, and no treatment options other than clean water.

 

Not sure about the scales, they are off and something looks wrong about them but I can't put my finger on it. The "bubble" on his tail is a tail tumor and is quite common. You can't do anything about it but if you want to try, you can try to surgically remove it. Here's a video.

Velvet would be covering his entire body, not just his fins and will cause clamped fins. He will have darting movements or scratch on things in the tank and for long enough, eventually go off food.

 

I belive he may have lymphocitis, which is a viral issues so there isn’t much to be done. There’s not a ton of info on the web about betta lymphocitis but the general consensus is shiny scally patches that may develop into a lump, spots on fins where it appears like a bubble, and no treatment options other than clean water.

This is helpful, thank you! Does this cause him to be in pain? Is there any chance of the ulcer going away on it’s own?

Not sure about the scales, they are off and something looks wrong about them but I can't put my finger on it. The "bubble" on his tail is a tail tumor and is quite common. You can't do anything about it but if you want to try, you can try to surgically remove it. Here's a video.

Velvet would be covering his entire body, not just his fins and will cause clamped fins. He will have darting movements or scratch on things in the tank and for long enough, eventually go off food.

That’s true about the velvet. I would worry about further hurting the fish by trying to remove it

 

Only if growths grow large will they cause problems. You can google “betta lymphocytis” and see s of bad cases but most agree that it doesn’t seem to effect the betta’s behavior.

They may go away, but maybe not. You can liken this disease to warts in people. Some people grow out of warts as their immune system fights it off but some people have them forever.

 

My two cents. This sounds nothing like lymphocystis. Otherwise known as cauliflower disease. Because the tumors look like cauliflower. The bubble could be a cyst or and actual gas bubble. Air embolism. Especially if the temperature is allowed to fluctuate in the tank. The loss of color or grey patches could just be due to age. As long as it’s not getting fuzzy, swollen or indented, keep the water clean and warm. The blister will most likely pop. If it does, swab the area with 3% hydrogen peroxide. As long as he’s eating, pooing and acting ok, just keep an eye on his water and temp.