Small bump under my koi betta's chin

Hello everyone,

Recently I started a radiology program that's taken me out of the house a lot more, and I haven't had a lot of time to spare for my fish. I still get basic maintenance in, but I haven't been watching them very closely outside of that.

Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 10-20ppm
pH - 6.7

A few days ago I noticed a small bump under my koi betta's chin. I thought perhaps it was something natural that I'd just never noticed about him before, so I left it alone. Last night, I saw that the bump has nearly doubled in size and now has a thin coating of white fuzz. I feel as though it's a true fungus, but because of it's proximity to the mouth, I want to post this here and make sure that infections like Columnaris can be ruled out.

My betta is still eating, although with slight difficulty, but is a bit lethargic. During most of the day, he lays on his stack of Indian almond leaves and props himself up on the wall. He's still responsive and gets up to greet you when you come up to the tank, however.

If you have an idea of what this may be, can you please also tell me what would be the best course of acting towards treating it?

 

Hello everyone,

Recently I started a radiology program that's taken me out of the house a lot more, and I haven't had a lot of time to spare for my fish. I still get basic maintenance in, but I haven't been watching them very closely outside of that.

Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 10-20ppm
pH - 6.7

A few days ago I noticed a small bump under my koi betta's chin. I thought perhaps it was something natural that I'd just never noticed about him before, so I left it alone. Last night, I saw that the bump has nearly doubled in size and now has a thin coating of white fuzz. I feel as though it's a true fungus, but because of it's proximity to the mouth, I want to post this here and make sure that infections like Columnaris can be ruled out.

My betta is still eating, although with slight difficulty, but is a bit lethargic. During most of the day, he lays on his stack of Indian almond leaves and props himself up on the wall. He's still responsive and gets up to greet you when you come up to the tank, however.

If you have an idea of what this may be, can you please also tell me what would be the best course of acting towards treating it?

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Another name for columnaris is called cotton wool disease in Bettas. That's exactly what I see in your photos. I recommend that you theat the tank with both Maracyn and Maracyn 2 as soon as possible.

 

Another name for columnaris is called cotton wool disease in Bettas. That's exactly what I see in your photos. I recommend that you theat the tank with both Maracyn and Maracyn 2 as soon as possible.

Are you absolutely sure? From what I knew of Columnaris, I thought it was very fast-acting and aggressive? This has been relatively slow onset. I don't have Maracyn I & II on hand, but I do have Kanaplex. Would that work as well?

 

I believe there are 2 strains of columnaris. One is more aggressive and faster acting then the other. Kanaplex is effective for columnaris.

 

I believe there are 2 strains of columnaris. One is more aggressive and faster acting then the other.

I just did some background reading and saw that as well. I'll definitely get my medications ready and do a water change before dosing. Do you think dosing Kanaplex in conjunction with Furan-2 would be adequate for treating this? I don't have quick access to Maracyn, but I have those two antibiotics in my drawer.

 

Kanaplex should be a good treatment as it is not only an antibiotic, but also an antifungal.

Are you absolutely sure? From what I knew of Columnaris, I thought it was very fast-acting and aggressive? This has been relatively slow onset. I don't have Maracyn I & II on hand, but I do have Kanaplex. Would that work as well?

 

Kanaplex should be a good treatment as it is not only an antibiotic, but also an antifungal.

As mentioned earlier, should I use it with Furan-2? I saw that recommended on a post here just a little earlier. If I did, would I use the full dose for both medications at the same time?

 

As mentioned earlier, should I use it with Furan-2? I saw that recommended on a post here just a little earlier. If I did, would I use the full dose for both medications at the same time?

Just do kanaplex for now, mixing meds is hard on their kidneys. Kanaplex should be sufficient.

 

As mentioned earlier, should I use it with Furan-2? I saw that recommended on a post here just a little earlier. If I did, would I use the full dose for both medications at the same time?

I've read about using those 2 treatments together with only a 2nd dose of the furan 2 on the 2nd day with 25 percent water changes in between. See if there is any advice for this on Ask.com

 

I've read about using those 2 treatments together with only a 2nd dose of the furan 2 on the 2nd day with 25 percent water changes in between. See if there is any advice for this on Ask.com

I think I'll stick with Kanaplex only for now since I'm a little worried about now he'll react to it.

 

Good idea. Don't mix if you don't have to... unless you're making him a Margarita!

I think I'll stick with Kanaplex only for now since I'm a little worried about now he'll react to it.

 

As mentioned earlier, should I use it with Furan-2? I saw that recommended on a post here just a little earlier. If I did, would I use the full dose for both medications at the same time?

Just Kanaplex. The addition of Furan-2 is for an entirely different disease.

 

Just Kanaplex. The addition of Furan-2 is for an entirely different disease.

Just as a little update, it's been about 12 hours now since I've added the Kanaplex and he seems to be doing well! I wouldn't say he's improving just yet, but he's definitely not getting worse like he was either. He's up and about right now, which could just be him being hungry (since it's feeding time), but that indicates two good things: he feels well enough to move, and that he has an appetite!

 

Just as a little update, it's been about 12 hours now since I've added the Kanaplex and he seems to be doing well! I wouldn't say he's improving just yet, but he's definitely not getting worse like he was either. He's up and about right now, which could just be him being hungry (since it's feeding time), but that indicates two good things: he feels well enough to move, and that he has an appetite!

Yay! Keep us updated. Please.

 

Just as a little update, it's been about 12 hours now since I've added the Kanaplex and he seems to be doing well! I wouldn't say he's improving just yet, but he's definitely not getting worse like he was either. He's up and about right now, which could just be him being hungry (since it's feeding time), but that indicates two good things: he feels well enough to move, and that he has an appetite!

Keep us updated! Glad to hear he is looking alright

 

As an update, I was getting ready to do my water change and add more Kanaplex, but I'm starting to feel like it's not working. As this bump grows and manifests more, I'm questioning whether or not this really is Columnaris. It looks very, very fungus-y on close inspection. The lack of effectiveness regarding the Kanaplex has me questioning it, too. The one, fuzzy-looking bump on his chin has turned into four, smaller bumps with a long yellow-ish line through the middle. Pardon the blurriness of the picture, but my camera was refusing to focus even when he was standing still. Should I still treat this as Columnaris? He seems more active recently, so I don't know what to do.

I'm gonna go on ahead and treat it as if it's Columnaris still, since he is more active. I'm not sure if it's normal for it to dissipate like that or not, but since he at least "acts" like he's feeling better, I'll continue what I'm doing. I just hope that I'm making the right choice.

 

If it doesn't work, I would try Jungle Fungus Clear because it's fuzzy, it might be fungal but most fungal looking things are bacterial. So Jungle Fungus Clear should treat for both.

 

If it doesn't work, I would try Jungle Fungus Clear because it's fuzzy, it might be fungal but most fungal looking things are bacterial. So Jungle Fungus Clear should treat for both.

Just as a little update, I'm starting to have trouble getting him to eat. He'll excitedly eat the first pellet, but then completely ignores the rest. It's really unusual. After 3 days on Kanaplex, the bumps seem to almost be getting dislodged and falling off of his chin. While he is more active, all this other stuff is really odd to me.

 

Sadly, as an update to my last update, I've got a strong feeling I'm gonna lose my betta tonight. He's completely refused food, and tonight I found him trying to rest belly-up on the filter outtake. He's really steadily worsened these past few days, and I have a bad feeling that tonight's gonna be his last. At this point, he's unresponsive, so I'm just trying to cope with the fact that it's out of my control now.

 

I know by now this is an "old" post, but I wanted to come on here to say that things have dramatically turned around for little Theo. He fought for his life for a good few days before I added in some API Fungus Cure. Within hours, he was up and swimming again, and just today I finally got him back to eating normally. Unfortunately, there's a small hole in his chin from the fungus, but he at least seems like he's feeling like himself again. It's amazing to me how this guy managed to do a complete 180 in almost no time at all. He's a real fighter, and I just wanted to share that. He finishes his medication tomorrow and will hopefully make a complete recovery. I really appreciate you guys helping me out and just wanted to end this post on a more positive note. Thank you again.

 

So glad to hear that. Be sure to keep his water very clean and watch the hole. Hopefully with all the meds he’s had it’ll clear up in no time.