My betta has white fuzz on his fins

Hello my betta heithcliff was acting strange and I didn’t know what was wrong like he was hiding and not coming out to see me when I walk by which is odd but I noticed almost half of his bottom fin was covered in white slimy looking fuzz and so was part of his top fin and his little arm fins I was so sad. He has had fin nipping problems in the past but I kept him healthy by doing weekly water changes and he was doing great but I think I messed up by leaving his tank for two weeks instead of one and that’s why his fins r now damamges and he is hiding.I did a 50%water change and I started treating him last night with 1tbsp of api aquarium salt per 5gal and this morning the majority of the slimy white fuzz is gone except for a bit on his little arm fins and his other fins r still looking beat up. I will do another 50% water change today and replace 1/2 tbsp of the salt . I was just wondering if anyone else has had this happen. Do you think the salt will be enough to get him better? He has been hiding under his plants on the bottom breathing pretty fast for the last two days and has been swimming like less graceful than usual. I love him so much and it’s almost his one year birthday so I rly want him to recover so I can give him the best care possible.

 

Sorry to hear about your betta. Salt definitely helps, as well as 50% water changes every other day. Botanicals like indian almond leaves, alder cones, or driftwood can help because they release something called "tannins" that help to destress fish.

Can you tell us more about the tank? What size is it? What are the parameters? What temperature do you keep it at? Also, do you have a picture of your fish?

 

Sorry to hear about your betta. Salt definitely helps, as well as 50% water changes every other day. Botanicals like indian almond leaves, alder cones, or driftwood can help because they release something called "tannins" that help to destress fish.

Can you tell us more about the tank? What size is it? What are the parameters? What temperature do you keep it at? Also, do you have a picture of your fish?

Thanks for replying he is in a five gallon tank and I checked the parameters yesterday and it was 0ammonia 0nitrite and like 2.5 nitrate ph was at 6 I believe. I keep his temp between 78-81 degrees (somedays my room is warmer) I also tried to clean his internal filter the other day and accidentally a bunch of like gunk came out and clouded up his tank and I think it stressed him out. I also added a small sponge filter after that happened incase the filter wasn’t working too good and I keep it bubbling very softly so it doesn’t stress him. I’m planning on upgrading him to a 10 gallon tank in a few months if he recovers well because I love him and want to see him thrive. Also I have two catappa leaves in his tank .first two pics r from today and the third is from a month ago when he was looking way better
I just ward his water to make sure everything was okay and it looks good to me, should I do a water change today ? Or wait till tmrw ? I changed his water on Tuesday and again on Wednesday and I added his salt on Wednesday. Today is Thursday and idk if I should change his water again today for the third day straight. I also just noticed him swimming around which is exciting because he was being quite lethargic earlier. I think he might be able to see his reflection tho maybe that’s what’s stressing him out… any tips on reducing reflection I have his lights pretty dim because I want him tofeel calm.

 

What a beautiful betta boy!!!

His fins just look a little clamped in the first 2 pics. You seem to have lots of plants, which is really great!

I think small water changes every other day is fine.

Aquarium salt is great for a number of things, but don't use it for more than 2 weeks at a time. Using it too long will make it ineffective.

To help with his flaring at his own reflection, dim lights, add more catappa leaves; you want to add enough to tint the water brown. Also, you can always put up some cardboard or construction paper on the outside of the tank to cut down on the reflective surface issue.

Dim lights are good. It's good for them to have lights out for a good 14 hours (night cycle).

Hope this helps!!!!

 

Thank youu so much I will change his water tmrw and add more catappa leafs I hope he recovers. I didn’t get a picture of him while he had all the white stuff one his bottom fin and it fell off after putting aquarium salt in his tank. I don’t know why his fins r clamped but hopefully the water changes and aquarium salt helps and I won’t do the salt for too long

 

Thank youu so much I will change his water tmrw and add more catappa leafs I hope he recovers. I didn’t get a picture of him while he had all the white stuff one his bottom fin and it fell off after putting aquarium salt in his tank. I don’t know why his fins r clamped but hopefully the water changes and aquarium salt helps and I won’t do the salt for too long

I think that sometimes they just pick up stuff off of the bottom of the tank or from the plants. I can't count the number of times that I found some form of white thing or bubble on my betta, only to have him rub it off as he was swimming around.

He really doesn't look bad. Clamped fins can be due to seeing his reflection. Or, maybe they were just in that position as you took the pic.

You take good care of your fish babies, so I am sure that he is going to be fine!!!

 

I think that sometimes they just pick up stuff off of the bottom of the tank or from the plants. I can't count the number of times that I found some form of white thing or bubble on my betta, only to have him rub it off as he was swimming around.

He really doesn't look bad. Clamped fins can be due to seeing his reflection. Or, maybe they were just in that position as you took the pic.

You take good care of your fish babies, so I am sure that he is going to be fine!!!

Thank you I appreciate the reassurance

 

I think that sometimes they just pick up stuff off of the bottom of the tank or from the plants. I can't count the number of times that I found some form of white thing or bubble on my betta, only to have him rub it off as he was swimming around.

He really doesn't look bad. Clamped fins can be due to seeing his reflection. Or, maybe they were just in that position as you took the pic.

You take good care of your fish babies, so I am sure that he is going to be fine!!!

Hey I just got home from work and checked on heithcliff and he wasn’t looking too good. He continues to sit at the bottom and breathe very heavy. I see some more white fix on his top fin. He looks a bit bloated so I didn’t feed him last night or today. I love him so much I did a 50%water change with nutrafin aqua plus dechlorinator and 1/2 tbsp of salt to replace what I took out. I was looking at him because he moved from his hiding spot in the corner to the middle where I can see him and I notice his scales on his spine look almost as if they’re pine coning. I don’t know if I’m being paranoid though I rly don’t want to lose my boy. I’ll attach some pics of him from today. I circled where the white fuzz is on his top fin but it’s blurry. Do you think he is pine coning??

 

Sorry to hear he's not looking well. There appears to be some slight pineconing. Treating Kanaplex might be your next best option, it treats dropsy and other fungal and bacterial diseases.

 

Sorry to hear he's not looking well. There appears to be some slight pineconing. Treating Kanaplex might be your next best option, it treats dropsy and other fungal and bacterial diseases.

Okay do you think I should remove the salt from his aquarium and then start Kanaplex or is it safe to do both?? I don’t want to stress him out more than he already is. I also just found out Kanaplex isn’t sold in Canada apparently so I gotta do some searching see if I can find some on Facebook or something…

 

Yes kanaplex can be used with salt. Your plants will be at risk with salt, kanaplex probably isn't to great on them either. If your plants have survived the salt so far you should be fine, but I wouldn't want to have a bunch of melting plants cause a shift in parameters. If possible, a hospital tank might be a good idea.

 

Yes kanaplex can be used with salt. Your plants will be at risk with salt, kanaplex probably isn't to great on them either. If your plants have survived the salt so far you should be fine, but I wouldn't want to have a bunch of melting plants cause a shift in parameters. If possible, a hospital tank might be a good idea.

I don’t know if he is just rly stressed out rn I don’t want to take him out of his tank and stress him out more.do you think just fresh water changes every other day and aquarium salt until he gets better? His plants haven’t been damaged yet they’re all pretty hardy I think. I would rly prefer not to move him because he is showing symptoms of stress more than dropsy I think… idk I’m so sad he is My sweetest boy and he used to be so full of brightness and spirit but now he isn’t showing any of his amazing personality ahhhh I don’t know what to do

 

I'm so sorry you are having a rough time. But yes you can continue to treat the salt with more added after water changes and see if that helps him out. You could also try being more aggressive with the tannins. I wish you best of luck!

 

I'm so sorry you are having a rough time. But yes you can continue to treat the salt with more added after water changes and see if that helps him out. You could also try being more aggressive with the tannins. I wish you best of luck!

Thank you I appreciate all of your help I have lots of happy thoughts for him and am positive he will pull through, he is so strong <3

 

I would also really like to hear how the situation progresses.

 

I would also really like to hear how the situation progresses.

I’m so sad I woke up this morning and he is dead… I don’t know why this happened he was the light of my life and im devastated… Im going to bury him under the spring crocuses I found the other day

 

So sorry for your loss!!!! You did everything that you could!

He went pretty quick, so it could have been a really fast moving bacterial thing, or something like that. Bettas seem to be very genetically weak due to over breeding, so maybe it was something that he just could not fight off.

Again, so sorry, Axanna!

SIP, beautiful boy!

 

So sorry for your loss!!!! You did everything that you could!

He went pretty quick, so it could have been a really fast moving bacterial thing, or something like that. Bettas seem to be very genetically weak due to over breeding, so maybe it was something that he just could not fight off.

Again, so sorry, Axanna!

SIP, beautiful boy!

Thank you I rly tried to help him he was so good. When I found him at the PetSmart he was sitting in a cup of his own waste with finrot and just the sweetest face I’ve ever seen. Someone to you by the banners was playing on the radio and He stole my heart. We have had such an amazing time together and I appreciate all the joy he brought to my life. Here are some photos of him in his prime what handsome boy.

 

I'm so sorry about your loss. He was a gorgeous betta.