What disease could my Betta have?

Hi guys i have recently noticed some issues with my betta. She seems quite physically immobilized and not functioning properly

So first off she is 1 1/2 to 2 year old betta and is in a 10g Faux Blackwater Planted tank with Espei Rasboaras (dont nip from observation)
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10

Her fins all around her body all looked rip as it was fin rot. She also has a white cyst like thing on her fin which i also know could be from fin rot. She also swims a lot in the almost 45 degree angle and after going up for air she just kind of floats down and stays at the bottom
This being said shes still extremely responsive to me and trys really hard to say hi and do betta things and she still has a big appetite
No weird eratic swimming
I also sometimes think that the fin damage could be to when she dragges her body along the gravel it could scrap it up but i find that odd

Here are some pics (more to come a little later)




In the first one hopefully you can see the little cyst on the fin and the second one the fin damage
To me it seems as though it is fin rot but please leave any thoughts and advice on potential dieaseses. Thank you!

 

Maintenance
How often do you change the water?
Every 1-2 weeks
How much of the water do you change?
About 50%
What do you use to treat your water?
Seachem Prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water?
Slight vacuum

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish?
What do you use to test the water?
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: about 10
pH: 7.4

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?
Every 2-3 days at large
How much do you feed your fish?
Typically depends
What brand of food do you feed your fish?
Hikari (frozen bloodworms
Do you feed frozen?
Yes
Do you feed freeze-dried foods?
No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish?
About a 1 year
How long ago did you first notice these
symptoms?
Majorly a week ago or so
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
Her fins all around her body all looked rip as it was fin rot. She also has a white cyst like thing on her fin which i also know could be from fin rot. She also swims a lot in the almost 45 degree angle and after going up for air she just kind of floats down and stays at the bottom
This being said shes still extremely responsive to me and trys really hard to say hi and do betta things and she still has a big appetite
No weird eratic swimming
I also sometimes think that the fin damage could be to when she dragges her body along the gravel it could scrap it up but i find that odd
Have you started any treatment fo the illness?
No
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase?
No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all?
Really just the cyst on the fin/body connection point and the fin damage

*Emergency (described in symptoms)

Im starting to think this is not fin rot at all. Based on that cyst (on the pictures above) it seems that it could be sometype of a scale tumor of some sort and the fin damage is just there when she drags herself in the gravel cause swimming seems to be an issue (even though she makes it to the top to breathe) but im really not to sure

Ive set up a qt tank today and am still deciding whether to put her in it or not since I wouldn't remove her from an environment and make her more stressed
Shes still eating voraciously and reacts to me and says hi when i walk by... But she's still pretty lethargic in terms of the fact that she just kinda chills on the bottom

 

Hi,

So sorry your betta girl is having so many issues!

I am not sure that I understand your feeding schedule. Are you feeding her once every 3 days? How many days is she fasting? Are you over feeding her when you do feed her?

That could account for the swimming issues. If she is bloated, then that can affect her byouancy.

I would try to feed her a small amount daily, and introduce some frozen daphnia into her diet. It acts as a natural laxative. If you would like, you could fast her one day a week.

I would also do some small water changes every other day for a while to help her fins heal. Pristine water goes a long way in the healing of fin issues. You could also add some aquarium salt (if you don't have any inverterbrates or fishes that can't have salt in the tank) to her tank for about 2 weeks. Make sure you keep track of how much water you change so you won't accidentally over dose her. Aquarium salt is only removed with water changes. The salt will help with the healing process, too. Hopefully, it will take care of that lesion, too.

I hope this helps!!!

 

Hi
So her usual schedule used to be pretty normal with small amounts of food and i would fast her once a week (sometimes twice)
But than she started to get pretty bloated and with the addition of other fish i would need to feed more and she would eat all of it. So now i just feed a good amount (not a ton where theres just a ton of excess on the gravel) but more than usual every 2-3 days to try and get her system flowing better
I was actually planning on going today to get the frozen daphnia for a laxative
I have some Amanos and i have assassin snails in her current tank so im not sure if i should do salt.
I currently just setup a qt tank thats about 15g, with an air pump, internal filter, java fern, floating rotala hra, and some random decor (no substrate and i plan on adding some tannins and IAL)
However I set this up yesterday and i put some wood and plants from heavily seasoned tanks, as well as a ton of Fritz Zyme 7 which has worked for me that can help boost the cycle. If i do end up putting her in that ill grab some media from an established tank and put it in the filter

Should i transfer her to the qt tank or continue small wc's in her normal tank?
I'll have to get some aq salt as well but i currently have Melafix, Erythromycin, Methneynal Blue, and Marcyn 2 but i dont plan on using those unless i need to.

 

You are right about not using aquarium salt in your main tank with your shrimp and snails.

You might need to adjust how you feed. Even though you are giving a bit more food only every three days, apparently she is eating her share, along with everyone else's! Typical betta behavior!!! The daphnia should help a lot, but if she keeps going after all of the food, she will continue to have problems with bloat.

Have you caught her trying to bother the amanos? Just curious...

I even read somewhere that the amanos can actually go after a betta (damage the fins), but I haven't found a lot of sources for that yet, nor have I read a thread of an actual betta owner who had that problem...for what that's worth.

I would put her in the qt tank. If you do small water changes on it, the ammonia levels shouldn't jump up so quickly as to become dangerous. You can also use Prime as it goes, and that will lock the toxicity of lower levels of ammonia and/or nitrites if you are worried about that. Also, using the already cycled media should help.

I would dose the qt tank with aquarium salt. It is something that is very useful to have on hand. It's cheap, and usually easy to find. It is my go-to for fin issues and breathing issues. I try aquarium salt and water changes before anything else. The thing to remember the most is not to use it for more than 2 weeks at a time, as it will become ineffective with overuse.

The meth blue is good for fin rot, but I only ever use that in dips or paint it directly onto the damaged fins with a q-tip. Painting it directly on to the fins can be stressful to the fish, as you have to hold it in a net, and be very careful when you paint it on so as not to get any in her eyes or around her gills. The quick dip is a bit easier.

Maracyn 2 is great for gram negative bacterial infections. I would use that if you don't see any change after trying water changes and aquarium salt. You could do a fish dip with the M. blue in a separate container, and then dose her tank with the Maracyn 2. They do different things, so they don't interfere with each other.

I haven't had good results with erythromycin, but that is just my experience. I only tried it once, and my betta had a bad reaction to it, so I had to switch antibiotics. It may work great for your betta, as I have read many threads posted by betta keepers who used it and had good success.

I suggest that you don't use any of the "fix" meds with a betta. The tea tree oil in the herbal remedy can actually do harm to the betta's labyrinth organ, which is located behind the gills and is used when they breathe air from the top of the tank. I bought and tried it when I first got into betta keeping, and it did nothing but smell up my tank water. Many pet stores push it, and it may do well with other fish, but just not bettas. Clean water is a much better remedy.

I know that this is a lot of info. I think that you are taking steps in the right direction. If you have any other questions, please post! Hope it all goes well!

 

Thank you so much for your reply. I just wanted to say that you have been so helpful and I really appreciate that

I've seen minimal interaction between the Amanos and my Betta since she's pretty chill with other fish (still betta like but chill than most). Only thing she's harmed is my cherry shrimp [Rip].

Ok i think ill be transferring her tommorow to the qt tank and using the aq salt along with daphnia. Im gonna make sure i have my IAL and decor setup along with my water chemistry since I wouldn't want to take her out of an environment that she still acts betta like and put her into an off situation.
Ill be doing 15% wc's every other day (if that seems good?)

 

Thank you so much for your reply. I just wanted to say that you have been so helpful and I really appreciate that

I've seen minimal interaction between the Amanos and my Betta since she's pretty chill with other fish (still betta like but chill than most). Only thing she's harmed is my cherry shrimp [Rip].

Ok i think ill be transferring her tommorow to the qt tank and using the aq salt along with daphnia. Im gonna make sure i have my IAL and decor setup along with my water chemistry since I wouldn't want to take her out of an environment that she still acts betta like and put her into an off situation.
Ill be doing 15% wc's every other day (if that seems good?)

Sounds great! I hope she bounces back right away!!!

 

Rose of Sharon
Just transferred her today and started treatment using 2 Tablespoons of Aq Salt (in abt a 9g system)
Going to do 10% wc's every other day

Now that she's in a qt tank i got some better pictures of her and maybe we can try to id this


Im not sure if you can see it but there's a little pinkish devolpment/bump on the connection of her fin and body. Other than that all i see is the frayed fins

 

Hi Bruinfishkeeper1,

She has the sweetest little betta face! So cute!!!!

Is that bump on the right side of the photo as you are looking at it?

If so, it may be a very samll cyst or tumor forming. There is really nothing that can be done for that. They are very common in bettas. I would just keep an eye on it. If it turns into a cyst, and bursts, then you will want to keep the water super clean.

The QT should help, along with the aquarium salt. You could also throw in an Indian almond leaf or two, if you have any. The tannins will help with the healing process.

I do hope that she gets better soon!

 

Yep thats the bump ive been talking about. I think thats whats been making her swim slowly and her fins got shred up by the wood and gravel that she had to drag herself across.

Hopefully its just a cyst and not a tumor though!

 

So an update:
Her fins seem to be getting better so far and are looking much less frayed.

Since I didn't even put like a medication recommended amount of aq salt in there and its already getting better that fast, i have a feeling there was really no fin rot and it was probably because her swimming disability (since she was forced to drag herself around)

Im gonna continue to aq salt and wc's at faster pace, and definitely keep her in the qt tank for a while.